British Irish Commercial Bar Association supporting Dubai International Arbitration Centre next mont

British Irish Commercial Bar Association should be aware that in working with the Dubai International Arbitration Centre next month, they are supporting extensive illegal and corrupt misconduct within the UAE legal system, misconduct committed by the Chairman of DIAC himself.

Next month, the British Irish Commercial Bar Association is holding a joint event with the University of Dubai to discuss a leadership role for the UAE in the field of arbitration and the UAE as a world centre for arbitration. Ironically, the Chairman of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre & Chairman of Baker & McKenzie’s Dubai office Dr Habib Al Mulla, has abused his role in the Dubai Courts by displaying extreme (and illegal) professional misconduct that would see him seriously punished in the United Kingdom.

While Al Mulla remains the Chairman of the DIAC in Dubai, the British Irish Commercial Bar Association cannot seriously enter into legitimate discussions about whether the UAE is leading the world in arbitration.

To explain Habib Al Mulla’s actions in simple terms, he illegally represented both parties to civil proceedings in Court on over 20 occasions. He opened a case as the Plaintiff representative (of a British man) without his permission, authority or power of attorney. He opened the case against his true client and acted for both parties. The purpose was, to confess to a crime as the “plaintiff”. When the civil judgment was issued, Al Mulla used the civil judgment to open criminal proceedings against the British man.

It was a convoluted and complicated way to secure the misappropriation of the man’s 250 million pound stake in a company jointly owned by him and an Emirati business partner. Al Mulla’s client is from a prominent UAE family, Al Rostamani and the company she was a joint partner in was named KM Holdings. Both Dr Al Mulla and his client Al Rostamani are friends with the Ruler of Dubai and have an effective license to get away with anything. Al Rostamani transferred all of the assets of the jointly owned company to the Ruler of Dubai's cousin for a $0 despite being worth around 500,000,000 pounds.

The victim in this case, Mr Haddad, was another victim of a judicial system that welcomes abuses from people who are considered influential, or in Arabic terms, people who have Wasta. Official complaints have been lodged with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office who have advised that these actions are in breach of their Treaty with the UAE. Dr Habib Al Mulla has been requested to discuss the matter but has so far declined.

The evidence to prove that Al Mulla has acted unlawfully was posted on the Twitter account @3adala_111. In response, a lawsuit was opened in Dubai to have the Twitter account removed but the request was rejected.

The UAE government is now aware of this case, but has done nothing yet to open any kind of formal inquiry into the misconduct and serious breach of judicial proceedings.

Detained in Dubai has been dealing with cases of legal abuses and corruption for nearly a decade and unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. The case of Mr Haddad is a perfectly evidenced example of the normal day to day incidences of corruption that British & Irish Nationals have been subjected to in Dubai.

The judicial system has not received the same kind of investment that Dubai has used to develop the rest of their infrastructure, and unfortunately, it is still subject to serious and regular abuse. If the Chairman of DIAC himself, is willing to unlawfully breach laws that he has in fact been involved in drafting, the UAE can NOT be taken seriously as the leader in any area of law or alternative dispute resolution.

The British Irish Commercial Bar Association should review these serious breaches before endorsing the UAE as a leader or even a participant of any legitimate legal process. If the BICBA endorses or promotes Dubai’s legal system, while serious corruption and abuse is evidenced, they are promoting the abuse of their own citizens.

We urge David Casement QC, Michael Stephens, Victor P. Leginsky and Monye Anyadike-Danes QC to read all releases and details of this example of legal abuse coming directly from their co speaker Dr Habib Al Mulla.