Dubai Court of Cassation (General Assembly), Resolution No. 8 of 2023, 24 October 2023
Under Article 9(1)(b) of the Civil Procedure Code, if the process server does not find the addressee at his domicile or residence, he serves any spouse, relative, in-law or employee living with him; if they refuse, nobody who may lawfully receive it is found, or the residence is closed, he must either affix the notice visibly to the outer door of the residence or post it on the court's website. The word 'or' gives him a choice between the two. Posting the notice directly on the court's website, without first affixing it to the door, is therefore valid service and not a breach of the law.
The President of the Court of Cassation, acting under Article 20(a)(2) of Dubai Law No. 13 of 2016 on the Judicial Authority, asked the General Assembly to rule on service by affixing (اللصق) and on the validity of posting a notice directly on the court's website.
The Assembly examined the closing part of Article 9(1)(b) of the Civil Procedure Code. If the person serving the notice does not find the addressee at his domicile or place of residence, he must deliver it to any spouse, relative, in-law or employee living with him. If any of them refuses to accept it, if he finds nobody to whom it can lawfully be delivered, or if the residence is closed, he must directly affix the notice visibly on the outer door of the residence or post it on the court's website.
The Assembly held that the text clearly gives the process server, once delivery to the addressee or the persons listed fails, an option: he may affix the notice to the outer door of the residence, once he has confirmed that the premises belong to the addressee, or directly post it on the court's website. If he chooses to post directly on the website, he commits no fault and the step is not defective, because the legislature, by using 'or', allowed either route.
The Assembly resolved that direct posting of the notice on the court's website is a valid procedure under Article 9(1)(b) of the Civil Procedure Code.
Disputes over service are frequent in Dubai debt and commercial litigation, where defendants often argue they never received notice. The resolution confirms that, once personal or household delivery fails or the premises are closed, posting on the court's website is valid in itself, narrowing challenges to default judgments based on the absence of a notice on the door.
| Article 9(1)(b) of Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022 (Civil Procedure Code) — text of article 9 |
| Article 20(a)(2) of Dubai Law No. 13 of 2016 on the Judicial Authority in the Emirate of Dubai |
“صحة الإجراء بالإدراج المباشر للإعلان في الموقع الإلكتروني للمحكمة”Short quotation from the judgment as published by the court. The full judgment is on the court’s official service.
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