By Dr. Abdultaiyab Bahrainwala, Head of Corporate.
Dubai has introduced a significant procedural development aimed at strengthening the judicial handling of disputes involving complex technical issues. Pursuant to Decision No. 9 of 2026 concerning the Rules for Referring Cases to Judicial Circuits Assisted by an Expert, Dubai Courts has established a framework under which designated judicial circuits may be assisted by one or more experts during the preparation, consideration and determination of eligible cases. The Decision was issued on 3 August 2026 and was published in the Official Gazette on 6 August 2026, taking effect from the date of publication.
The Decision represents an important step in the continuing development of Dubai’s dispute-resolution system. Modern litigation, particularly in commercial, construction, real estate, employment and technically intensive civil disputes, frequently requires courts to consider issues that extend beyond questions of law and into specialised areas of accounting, engineering, valuation, technology, project management or other technical disciplines. Decision No. 9 of 2026 creates a more structured mechanism for integrating such technical expertise into the judicial process.
Legislative and Institutional Foundation
Decision No. 9 of 2026 does not operate in isolation. Its preamble expressly refers to a number of important pieces of legislation forming the legal and institutional basis for the new framework, including Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022 promulgating the Civil Procedure Law, as amended, Dubai Law No. 6 of 2005 concerning the regulation of Dubai Courts, as amended, Dubai Law No. 13 of 2016 concerning the Judicial Authority in the Emirate of Dubai, as amended, and Dubai Law No. 13 of 2020 regulating expert activities before judicial authorities in Dubai.
The Decision also refers to Dubai Law No. 11 of 2025 establishing the Dubai Judicial Expertise Centre, together with Decree No. 40 of 2025 concerning the duties and powers of the President of Dubai Courts, Decision No. 9 of 2023 concerning the delegation of certain powers of the head of the local judicial authority, and Decision No. 11 of 2025 concerning the judicial and administrative competencies of the President of Dubai Courts.
This legislative background demonstrates that the new expert-assisted circuit mechanism forms part of a broader institutional framework governing judicial expertise rather than creating an entirely separate expert system.
What Is an Expert-Assisted Judicial Circuit?
Article 1 defines the relevant “Circuit” as a judicial circuit formed within the Court of Appeal or a specialised court, which is assisted by one or more experts during the stages of preparation, consideration and determination of the cases identified under Article 3. Those experts may be tasked with reviewing or preparing technical expert reports.
The Decision defines the specialised courts within the Courts of First Instance as including the Civil Court, Commercial Court, Real Estate Court and Labour Court. Accordingly, the mechanism is directed principally toward areas of litigation in which technical expertise may play a particularly significant role.
Importantly, the expert does not replace the judiciary or exercise the court’s judicial function. Rather, the framework contemplates technical assistance to the judicial circuit. Questions of law, evaluation of the parties’ cases and the ultimate determination of the dispute remain matters for the court.
Formation of the Expert-Assisted Circuits
Article 2 authorises the President of the Court of Appeal or the President of the Courts of First Instance, subject to the approval of the Acting President and following coordination with the competent organisational units of Dubai Courts, to establish one or more such circuits within the Court of Appeal or specialised courts.
The experts assisting these circuits may be selected from experts registered with Dubai Courts or those registered in the expert roster maintained by the Dubai Judicial Expertise Centre. They may be assigned to review or prepare technical expert reports in accordance with the mechanism referred to in Article 30 of Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022.
The Decision expressly excludes the Criminal Court, Execution Court, Personal Status Court and Inheritance Court from the framework for formation of these expert-assisted circuits.
Which Cases May Be Referred?
Article 3 establishes the substantive scope of the referral mechanism. Civil, commercial, real estate and labour cases may be referred where their consideration and determination require technical expertise.
This potentially gives the Decision considerable practical relevance. Commercial disputes can involve complicated accounts, financial reconciliations or contractual calculations. Real estate disputes may require technical analysis concerning construction, valuation, completion, defects or project-related issues. Labour disputes may occasionally involve specialised calculations or other technical matters. Civil claims can likewise raise engineering, accounting or valuation questions requiring specialist analysis.
The Decision nevertheless establishes clear exclusions. Cases and applications falling within the jurisdiction of the Criminal Court, Execution Court, Personal Status Court and Inheritance Court are excluded. Administrative cases, urgent applications and proceedings, applications for payment orders, and bankruptcy applications and proceedings are also outside the scope of referral.
The exclusions are significant because the Decision should not be understood as introducing expert-assisted circuits throughout the entire Dubai Courts system. Its operation is specifically directed toward qualifying civil, commercial, real estate and labour litigation.
A Critical Requirement: Technical Expertise Must Already Have Been Used During Case Preparation
One of the most important provisions is Article 4. Referral is not available merely because a dispute happens to involve a technical issue.
The Decision provides that referral to the expert-assisted circuit is restricted to eligible cases in which technical expertise was already utilised during the case-preparation stage before the Case Management Office of Dubai Courts, and the technical expert report was deposited in the case file before the case was referred to the circuit and a hearing was scheduled for its consideration and determination.
This requirement is fundamental to understanding the procedural model. It indicates that technical issues may be addressed at an early stage of the proceedings rather than technical evidence first becoming relevant only after the dispute reaches an advanced hearing stage.
From a litigation-strategy perspective, this may increase the importance of the Case Management Office stage in technically complex disputes. Parties and their lawyers should therefore consider from an early stage whether the case involves issues requiring expert analysis and whether the underlying documentary and technical evidence is sufficiently organised for expert examination.
The Expert’s Role During the Judicial Process
Another important feature is that the Decision describes expert assistance as potentially operating during the preparation, consideration and determination of eligible disputes. Experts assigned to the relevant circuits may review or prepare technical expert reports.
This can be particularly valuable in disputes containing extensive technical documentation. Construction and engineering disputes, for example, may involve contracts, variations, drawings, completion certificates, payment certificates, correspondence, delay records and technical reports. Commercial cases may involve complicated account statements, ledgers, invoices and reconciliations. Real estate proceedings may similarly require technical or valuation evidence.
The framework therefore provides a structured basis through which judicial decision-making can be supported by specialised technical input where the applicable conditions are satisfied.
Existing Civil Procedure Rules Continue to Apply
Decision No. 9 of 2026 does not establish an entirely separate procedural code for cases referred to these circuits. Article 5 expressly provides that proceedings before the relevant circuit remain governed by the rules and procedures contained in Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022 concerning Civil Procedure.
This is an important safeguard for procedural continuity. The expert-assisted circuit is therefore better understood as a specialised judicial mechanism operating within the existing civil procedural framework, rather than as a new or parallel dispute-resolution forum.
Practical Implications for Litigants and Legal Practitioners
The Decision has several important practical implications. First, technically complex litigation may increasingly require parties to prepare the technical component of their cases at an early stage. Legal arguments alone may not be sufficient where the outcome depends heavily upon accounting, engineering, valuation or other specialist evidence.
Second, the quality and organisation of documentary evidence can become particularly important. Where an expert is required to analyse a contractual or technical issue, incomplete documentation can materially affect the expert’s ability to reconstruct events and reach conclusions. Parties should therefore maintain comprehensive records of contracts, amendments, invoices, payment records, technical correspondence, notices, reports and other evidence relevant to the particular dispute.
Third, lawyers handling such disputes may need to develop the case simultaneously on two interconnected levels: the legal case and the technical case. The legal case addresses contractual obligations, statutory rights, breaches, remedies, limitation issues and procedural requirements. The technical case provides the specialist analysis necessary to establish matters such as quantities, valuations, defects, calculations or other technical questions.
Particular Relevance to Construction and Real Estate Disputes
Although the Decision is not limited to construction cases, its application to civil, commercial and real estate disputes makes it particularly noteworthy for the construction and property sectors.
Construction disputes are frequently expert-intensive. Claims may concern variations, defective works, completion percentages, delays, payment certificates, final accounts and other matters requiring specialist examination. Real estate disputes can likewise involve technical questions concerning property condition, valuation, development obligations and related issues.
The possibility of a judicial circuit receiving structured expert assistance can therefore be especially relevant where the court must evaluate extensive technical material while simultaneously determining contractual and legal liability.
Greater Importance of Early Case Strategy
Decision No. 9 of 2026 reinforces the importance of preparing litigation strategically from the outset. Because Article 4 links referral to the use of technical expertise during the Case Management Office stage and requires the expert report to have been deposited before referral to the circuit, parties should identify technical issues early rather than treating expert evidence as an afterthought.
A claimant contemplating proceedings should therefore assess not only whether a legal cause of action exists, but also what technical matters will have to be established to prove the claim. A defendant should similarly identify whether the claimant’s technical assumptions, calculations or conclusions require specialist challenge.
This may influence the manner in which pleadings, documentary evidence and technical records are prepared before the substantive judicial consideration of the dispute.
Implementation and Further Decisions
Article 6 authorises the President of the Court of Appeal and the President of the Courts of First Instance, each within their respective competence and in coordination with the heads of the competent courts and relevant organisational units, to issue the decisions necessary to implement the Decision.
Accordingly, the practical operation of the framework may be further developed through implementing decisions and administrative arrangements within Dubai Courts.
Article 7 further provides that any provision contained in another decision is repealed to the extent that it conflicts with Decision No. 9 of 2026. Article 8 provides for publication in the Official Gazette and confirms that the Decision becomes effective from the date of publication.
Conclusion
Decision No. 9 of 2026 represents an important development in Dubai’s approach to technically complex litigation. By permitting designated judicial circuits in the Court of Appeal and specialised courts to be assisted by registered experts, the framework seeks to integrate specialised technical knowledge more closely with the judicial consideration of eligible civil, commercial, real estate and labour disputes.
Its most significant procedural feature is the requirement that technical expertise must already have been utilised during the Case Management Office stage and that the expert report must have been placed on the case file before referral to the relevant circuit. This places greater emphasis on early identification of technical issues, comprehensive documentary preparation and coordination between legal and technical aspects of a dispute.
For businesses, developers, contractors, employers, employees and other parties involved in technically complex litigation before Dubai Courts, the Decision underscores a broader practical reality: successful dispute preparation increasingly requires the legal and technical dimensions of a case to be developed together from the earliest procedural stage.
As Dubai continues to develop specialised judicial mechanisms and its institutional framework for judicial expertise, Decision No. 9 of 2026 provides another structured mechanism intended to assist courts in dealing effectively with disputes where the correct determination of the legal issues depends upon a clear understanding of specialised technical evidence.
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