Dubai Court of Cassation (General Assembly), Resolution No. 12 of 2023, 11 December 2023
Federal Decree-Law No. 48 of 2023 on Regulating Insurance Activities, in force from 1 December 2023, sends challenges against decisions of the insurance dispute settlement committees to the Court of Appeal within 30 days and bars insurers from challenging decisions in disputes of AED 50,000 or less. Under Federal Law No. 6 of 2007, as amended, challenges went to the Court of First Instance within 30 days. Because committee decisions are judicial decisions, Article 1(1)(c) of the Civil Procedure Code applies: the means of challenge are those in force when the decision was issued. Decisions issued up to 30 November 2023 are challenged before the Court of First Instance, whatever the date of filing; decisions from 1 December 2023 go directly to the Court of Appeal.
The President of the Court of Cassation asked the General Assembly whether Article 101 of Federal Decree-Law No. 48 of 2023 on Regulating Insurance Activities, in force from 1 December 2023, applies to challenges against decisions of the insurance dispute settlement committee issued before that date.
Article 101 requires insurers to handle claims under the policy and the law and to give written reasons for rejection; allows the claimant to complain to the banking and insurance dispute resolution unit; creates committees chaired by a judge; bars insurers from challenging committee decisions in disputes not exceeding AED 50,000, which are final and enforceable; allows insurers to challenge larger decisions, and other parties to challenge any decision, before the Court of Appeal within 30 days of issue or knowledge; makes referral to the committee a condition of admissibility; and gives decisions executory force, suspended by a challenge above AED 50,000. Under the former Article 110 of Federal Law No. 6 of 2007, as amended by Federal Law No. 3 of 2018 and applicable until 30 November 2023, decisions of the committee could be challenged before the competent Court of First Instance within 30 days of notification, failing which they became final and enforceable.
The Assembly held that committee decisions under both laws are judicial decisions. Article 1 of the Civil Procedure Code applies procedural laws to pending matters but excepts, in paragraph 1(c), provisions governing means of challenge in respect of judgments issued before they took effect, where those provisions abolish or create a means of challenge; a step validly taken under the old law remains valid. The new law abolished insurers' right of challenge for decisions under AED 50,000 and created a direct challenge before the Court of Appeal, so the means of challenge is governed by the law in force when the decision was issued, not when the challenge was filed.
The Assembly concluded that challenges against committee decisions issued up to 30 November 2023 remain governed by Federal Law No. 6 of 2007 and go to the Court of First Instance, while those against decisions from 1 December 2023 go directly to the Court of Appeal under the 2023 Decree-Law.
Insurers, policyholders and injured parties challenging insurance committee decisions face a strict 30-day window and a forum that depends on the date of the decision, not of the challenge. For decisions from December 2023 onward, insurers cannot challenge awards in disputes of AED 50,000 or less, which are final and enforceable on issue.
| Article 101 of Federal Decree-Law No. 48 of 2023 on Regulating Insurance Activities |
| Article 110 of Federal Law No. 6 of 2007 on Regulating Insurance Operations, as amended by Federal Law No. 3 of 2018 |
| Article 1(1)(c) of Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022 (Civil Procedure Code) — text of article 1 |
“فتقدم الطعون عليها إلى المحكمة الابتدائية بغض النظر عن تاريخ تقديمها أو قيدها”Short quotation from the judgment as published by the court. The full judgment is on the court’s official service.
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