ADGM Courts launches a blockchain-based system to enforce judgments globally

The Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts, the judiciary in the UAE capital’s financial free zone, will launch a new blockchain-based system that will digitally certify judgments and allow their availability and enforcement anywhere in the world.

The new system, a first for any court in the world, will go online in the first quarter of 2023 and will help litigants save time, effort and costs, said Linda Fitz-Alan, CEO of ADGM Courts. The national in an interview during the first Abu Dhabi Finance Week on Tuesday.

Businesses, particularly in international trade and commerce, are expected to “overwhelmingly” welcome the development, she said.

They can benefit from the prompt enforcement of commercial judgments, particularly within the “important subset” of commercial disputes.

“This is another game-changer for justice. Millions of commercial judgments are enforced worldwide every year. If they come through in courts that are on the blockchain, the enforcing court will go to the blockchain or a website of the court to immediately pick up that sentence, Fitz-Alan said.

“They don’t have to go back to the enforcing jurisdiction to get the documents and wait for them to be issued.”

The initiative will “enormously” contribute to the legal system’s path to sustainability, she said.

– It will all be digitalised. Courts will be connected all over the world in what we believe will inevitably follow from this.”

The ADGM Courts initiative capitalizes on the immutability of blockchain technology, providing high assurance of authenticity.

Blockchain is the underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance, which is generally considered a safer way to conduct transactions and one that could end up replacing middlemen, such as brokers and banks, in the financial system.

In the ADGM Court’s new system, lawyers can go directly to jurisdictions where they need to obtain a judgment, whether through a website or mobile application, Fitz-Alan said.

The solution will result in significant time and cost savings for the parties, who will no longer need to apply and pay for a certified copy of a judgment or order to start the enforcement process in the foreign jurisdiction.

The new system from ADGM Courts is the start of several moves it will make to integrate blockchain into its services, Fitz-Alan said.

“We are now going to massively expand the digitization we have designed,” she said.

The United Arab Emirates has taken several steps to integrate blockchain into its economy, government and society as part of efforts to develop the economy of the future.

Last week, Abu Dhabi launched the ADGM-backed Middle East, Africa and Asia Crypto and Blockchain Association to accelerate the development of blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the region.

Updated: November 15, 2022, 12:43 p.m