Can a DIAC Tribunal Order an Asset Freeze? What Recent UAE Court Rulings Mean for Interim Relief

DIAC registered 312 cases in 2025, with about USD 3.8 billion in dispute. When that much money is at stake, one fear comes up fast: the other side may move its assets before a final award. So, can a tribunal stop that? In many cases, yes. Where the arbitration is seated onshore, Article 21 of the UAE Federal Arbitration Law lets the tribunal order interim measures, including steps to preserve assets. But that power has limits, and recent court rulings have clarified how far it goes and when the courts can step in.

This blog explains what a tribunal can do, where courts step in, and how to protect your position.

What Powers Does a UAE Arbitration Tribunal Have?
Article 21 of the Federal Arbitration Law (Federal Law No. 6 of 2018) gives tribunals wide authority. Unless the parties agree otherwise, a tribunal may order any interim or precautionary measure it considers necessary, based on the nature of the dispute. It can act on a party’s request or on its own initiative. In practice, this covers:

• Preserving assets or property linked to the dispute
• Keeping the status quo while the case runs
• Protecting evidence
• Restraining conduct that harms the arbitration, such as a parallel court case

The tribunal may require the applicant to provide security for the costs of the measure. If the tribunal later decides the applicant wasn’t entitled to it, the applicant may have to pay the damages its enforcement caused.

The DIAC Rules 2022 follow the same approach. Appendix II lets the tribunal order interim measures on a party’s application, including steps to prevent the dissipation of assets. The Rules also add an emergency arbitrator process for urgent relief before the tribunal is formed.

Some contracts still refer to DIFC-LCIA arbitration. In 2021 the DIFC Arbitration Institute, which ran the DIFC-LCIA centre, was abolished and its role passed to DIAC. New cases under those clauses now run under the DIAC Rules 2022. Tribunals seated in the DIFC rely on Article 24 of the DIFC Arbitration Law (DIFC Law No. 1 of 2008) instead of Article 21.

Where a Tribunal’s Power Stops

A tribunal can order a freeze, but it cannot compel compliance. Its orders bind the parties, not banks, land registries or other third parties, which act on court orders. So a party usually needs the competent court to enforce the measure: onshore under Article 21(4) of the Federal Arbitration Law, or in the DIFC under Article 24(2) of the DIFC Arbitration Law, with the tribunal’s permission. Measures issued as an interim award, rather than a procedural order, are generally easier to enforce. Where speed matters, a party can also go to court directly for a freezing order, even before the tribunal is formed. Assets held outside the UAE add another layer, because courts in that country must get involved, and their approach to interim measures varies.

What Recent UAE Court Rulings Say

In July 2025, the Dubai Court of Cassation gave a landmark ruling (Commercial Appeal No. 657 of 2025). The case arose from a Dubai-seated ICC arbitration in which the tribunal issued an anti-suit injunction. The Court of Appeal had annulled it, but the Court of Cassation reversed that decision. It confirmed that a tribunal in a UAE-seated arbitration can issue interim measures under Article 21, and that only the tribunal can cancel, suspend or amend those measures while the arbitration is ongoing.

This matters for interim relief in UAE arbitration. It closes a route some parties had used to attack interim orders in court and slow the case down. Courts still play a role at the enforcement stage, but they should not annul the order itself. Because Article 21 covers interim measures generally, commentators see the same reasoning applying to orders to preserve assets.

Still, be careful. The ruling dealt with an anti-suit injunction, not a freeze, and it comes from the Dubai courts, so courts in other emirates are not bound by it. Onshore practice on tribunal-ordered measures is still developing, especially for emergency arbitrator orders. Each case depends on its facts. 

Conservatory Measures UAE Courts Can Grant

Courts remain a key part of interim relief in UAE arbitration. Under Article 18 of the Federal Arbitration Law, a party can ask the court for conservatory measures, such as a precautionary attachment, before or during the arbitration. Asking a court for this does not waive the arbitration agreement. Court relief is especially useful when the tribunal is not yet formed, when the assets sit with a third party, or when surprise matters and the application must be made without notice.

The DIFC Courts are also refining their approach. Dubai Law No. 2 of 2025 now lets them grant interim measures in support of arbitrations seated outside the DIFC, as long as the measures apply within the DIFC. That condition has teeth. In early 2026, the DIFC Court refused a freezing application for a Paris-seated arbitration because neither party nor the targeted assets had any link to the DIFC. Where proceedings are running in both the Dubai Courts and the DIFC Courts, the Judicial Tribunal for the two court systems may decide which court has jurisdiction.

How to Build a Strong Freeze Application

The UAE Federal Arbitration Law does not set a fixed test, and each forum applies its own standards. In practice, tribunals and courts tend to look for the same core elements:

• A plausible claim: show a serious, arguable case on the merits. You do not need to prove you will win.
• Real risk: give evidence, not just suspicion, that assets may be hidden, sold or moved.
• Balance of harm: show that the harm of not acting outweighs the burden on the other side.
• Clear targets: identify the assets and where they are held, as far as you can. Onshore attachments require this.
• Proportionality: keep the request tied to the amount in dispute.
• Security: be ready to offer a guarantee or an undertaking to cover any loss if the measure proves unjustified.
• Candour: if you apply without notice, disclose the facts that weaken your case as well as those that support it.
• Speed: delay weakens any claim of urgency.

Protect Your Assets With the Right Counsel

Timing decides whether a freeze order helps or arrives too late. The Law Office of Sean Ekhlas is a US law firm with offices in Washington, DC, Atlanta. Attorney Sean Ekhlas has 16 years of experience, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and is on the DIAC panel of arbitrators. Because he sits as an arbitrator as well as acting as counsel, he knows how tribunals assess interim relief applications. Where court proceedings are needed, the firm works with Nasser Malalla Advocates & Legal Consultants in Business Bay, Dubai, licensed advocates before the entire UAE courts.