Dubai Arbitration
Week 2026

The intersection of arbitration and insolvency presents one of the most challenging procedural questions facing parties, tribunals, and practitioners in the UAE today, following the issuance of the new UAE Bankruptcy Law No. 51 of 2023.

While arbitration agreements are generally upheld and parties are free to pursue claims through arbitration, the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings introduces a competing legal regime designed to protect the debtor’s estate and ensure the equitable treatment of creditors.

This session will examine whether claims and counterclaims brought against a company undergoing bankruptcy proceedings that initiates arbitration against its debtors remain admissible in arbitration, or whether such claims must instead be pursued within the framework of the UAE Bankruptcy Law.

Through an analysis of statutory provisions, judicial decisions, and practical experiences from recent UAE arbitrations, the discussion will explore the tension between arbitral autonomy and insolvency protections, and consider how tribunals should navigate issues of jurisdiction, admissibility, set-off, net account, final account, and enforcement when a party to the arbitration has entered bankruptcy.