Introduction
The Abu Dhabi Global Market ("ADGM") represents a two-tier judicial system, as Abu Dhabi Global Markets Courts ("ADGM Courts") entailing a court of first instance and a court of appeal, established on Al Maryah and Al Reem Islands. The ADGM Courts operate as common-law courts within the predominantly civil law environment of the Middle East. Structured into three distinct divisions as commercial and civil ("Commercial and Civil Division"), employment ("Employment Division"), and small claims ("Small Claim Division"), they provide a specialized approach to resolving disputes based on their nature and monetary value, emanating from the legal framework of the ADGM Court Procedure Rules ("CPR") and Practice Directions ("PD").
In our previous article, we discussed and reflected upon the intricacies of initiating and serving a claim and acknowledging the same, within the ADGM Courts. Building upon that foundation, this brief overview further elucidates the process of answering the claims in the ADGM jurisdiction.
Responding to a Claim
As has been established though our previous article, a defendant must file and serve an acknowledgment of service within 14 (fourteen) days after the service of the claim, in accordance with Form CFI 7. In consequence to the acknowledgment of the claim, the defendant, within 28 (twenty-eight) days after the afore-stated, must file and serve:
- an admission and any request for time to pay;
- an admission and any request for time to pay, and a defence, together with any counterclaim, if the defendant admits only a part of the claim;
- a defence, together with a counterclaim, if the defendant disputes the whole of the claim; or
- an application to dispute the Court's jurisdiction to try the claim.
I. Admission and request for time to pay: As per CPR 42, if the claimant is seeking the sole remedy of the payment of money, the defendant may admit, in Form CFI 34, as per PD 2.12, the liability to pay the whole or part of the claim for the specified amount of money or, wherein the amount is not specified, the whole or part only of the claim, within 28 (twenty-eight) days after service of claim form. The court may allow a party to amend or withdraw any such admission made, if it deems fit. In the event the defendant makes the afore-said admission, the claimant has the right to enter judgment for the amount of money for which the liability has been admitted. Wherein, the court has entered judgment in relation to the part of the claim that has been admitted, and the defendant has filed a defence in relation to the part of the claim not admitted, the court shall proceed to determine that part of the claim. However, the part of the claim that has not been admitted and a defence has not been filed by the defendant on the part thereof, the claimant has the option to apply for a default judgment on such part of the claim.
Additionally, as per CPR 43, the defendant who makes the aforementioned admission may request for a time to pay the same. The request for time to pay is a proposal about the date of payment or payment in instalments at a time and a rate of interest specified in such request. Unless the court specifies, the request for time to pay is limited to 3 (three) years from the date the first payment is due and payable. The request for time to pay is to be submitted by the defendant with the admission of facts, along with information about employment and financial circumstances of the defendant, and if the said request is accepted by the claimant, a judgment can be obtained thereof. If the request for time to pay and the intricacies thereof are not accepted by the claimant, a notice to that effect and a request for judgment is to be filed by the claimant with the court. Thereupon, the court will enter judgment for the amount admitted along with any interests and costs to be paid in accordance with the time period or rate as determined by the court.
As per PD 2.15, the claimant must respond to the defendants admission of facts and request for time to pay within 14 (fourteen) days after the same is served on him, in accordance with the Form CFI 45. The same procedure is followed in case of the Small Claims Division, as per PD 3.10 and 3.12, and the Employment Division, as per PD 4.8 and 4.10.
II. Defence: As per CPR 44, a defendant who aims to defend all or part of the claim has to file a defence and serve a copy of the same on the claimant and other parties thereof, within 28 (twenty-eight) days of the service of the claim, in accordance with Form CFI 8, as per PD 2.8. The period to file and serve the defence may be extended by up to 28 (twenty-eight) days, as per CPR 46, and by 7 (seven) days in the Small Claims division, as per CPR 311(3) and by 14 (fourteen) days in the Employment Division as per CPR 317(3), and any extension thereafter, may be upon an application to the court.
As per CPR 49, the defendant must state in his defence the allegation in the particulars of the claim which he admits or denies and if either is not stated for a particular allegation, the same is considered as admitted. The defendant must attach the copy of the documents relied upon in the defence. If the defendant contends that he is entitled to money from the claimant and relies on the same for the whole or part of the claim, the contention is to be included in the defence and set off against the claim. The same procedure is followed in the case of Small Claims Division, as per PD 3.15, and Employment Claims Division, as per PD 4.13.
III. Reply to a defence: As per CPR 45, if any claimant wishes to file a reply to the defence, he may file and serve the same on the other parties, within 21 (twenty-one) days after the service of the defence, and in accordance with Form CFI 10, as per PD 2.25, in Civil and Commercial Division. However, the timeline to file the same is 7 (seven) days in Small Claims Division, as per PD 3.20. The reply must set out the claimant's reply to the particulars of the claim. The same procedure is followed in the case of Small Claims Division, as per PD 3.20, and Employment Claims Division, as per PD 4.19.
IV. Counterclaim: As per CPR 50, a defendant may file a counterclaim against the claimant at the same time with the defence. The counterclaim must contain the particulars of the claim. As per PD 2.19, the counterclaim must state what final orders the defendant seeks, along with the particulars of the facts and the sum sought by way of interest relevant to the counterclaim. The counterclaim is to be limited to 50 pages, as a general rule, and must be filed in accordance with Form CFI 9. The same procedure is followed in the case of Small Claims Division, as per PD 3.16, and Employment Claims Division, as per PD 4.14.
V. Defence to any counterclaim and subsequent reply: As per PD 2.26, if a party wishes to defend any or all part of the counterclaim, it shall have to provide a defence to that effect within 28 (twenty-eight) days after being served with the counterclaim and any responses to such counterclaim. The said reply shall be in accordance with Form CFI 8. Further, a reply to the defence to counterclaim shall be served within 21 (twenty-one) days from being served with the defence to the counterclaim, and in accordance with Form CFI 10. The same procedure is followed in the case of Small Claims Division, as per PD 3.23 to 3.26, and Employment Claims Division, as per PD 4.21 to 4.24.
VI. Defendant's additional claim: A defendant may make an additional claim at the same time as the defence which may include claims as per the following understanding:
- a claim made by the defendant against any person for contribution or indemnity or other remedy, but excludes the counterclaim; and
- where, an additional claim has been made against a person who is not already a party, any additional claim made by that person against any other person (whether a party already or not).
Disputing the court's jurisdiction
As per CPR 38, any defendant who wishes to dispute the jurisdiction of the court may apply to the court for seeking an order declaring no jurisdiction on the Claim or an order abstaining the court from undertaking any proceeding. The said application has to be made, in accordance with Form CFI 12 and CFI 15, as per PD 2.16, within 28 (twenty-eight) days from being served with the claim along with evidence to that effect. In the event no such application is made by a defendant, it shall be presumed that the defendant has accepted that the court has jurisdiction to try the Claim. However, as per sub-rule 9, the defendant is not obligated to file a defence until a court hearing take places with respect to the dispute of jurisdiction.
As per CPR 311 and 317 as well as PD 3.13 and PD 4.11, the application to dispute the court's jurisdiction is to be made in Form CFI 12C for the Small Claims Division and Employment Division, respectively.
Default Judgment
As per CPR 39, a default judgment means a judgment without trial or hearing and is opted for by the claimant in the instance the defendant fails to file and serve an acknowledgment of service. The default judgement includes interest, and in the event, the defendant has filed an acknowledgement of service or a counterclaim but has failed to file a defence, the default judgment may be opted for. A default judgment may not be opted in the following events:
- if the defendant has applied to have the claimant's statement of case struck out; or
- if the claimant has opted for summary judgment; or
- if the defendant has satisfied the whole claim; or
- if the claimant is seeking judgment on a money claim and the defendant has served an admission of liability to pay with the request for time to pay.
However, the court may set aside a default judgement, if it is of the view that the same was wrongly entered as it falls under any of the afore-stated instances or if the court determines a good reason thereof. In the Employment Division and the Small Claims Division, an application for default judgment as per CPR 318 and PD 4.25 as well as CPR 312 and PD 3.27, respectively, may be opted for in accordance with Form CFI 12 B and must include the orders that the applicant seeks from the court, witness statement evidence, and interest rate agreed between the parties.
Summary judgement
As per CPR 68 to 70, a court may give summary judgment if it so feels that the claimant or the defendant has no real prospect of succeeding on the claim or no compelling reason exists for the claim to go to trial. A claimant may not opt for the summary judgment until the defendant has filed an acknowledgement of service. The defendant need not file a defence before the summary judgment hearing. The respondent to an application for summary hearing has to file written evidence 7 (seven) days before the hearing of the same, if he wishes to rely on it during the hearing. However, the same has to be done 3 (three) days before the hearing if the applicant of the summary hearing wishes to rely on written evidence in reply.
As per PD 4.72 and PD 3.73, the claimant may apply for summary judgment in accordance with Form CFI 12C, in the Employment Division and Small Claims Division, respectively.
Conclusion
The ADGM Courts offer a structured and comprehensive approach to resolving legal disputes across its Commercial and Civil, Employment, and Small Claims Divisions. The process of answering a claim is meticulously outlined, whether through admission, defence, counterclaim, or challenging jurisdictional matters, parties have well-defined procedural options, wherein the option to put a stay on the claim exists with the court if not admitted or defended and no default or summary judgment is opted for. Through the aforesaid structure it can be concluded that the legal framework in the ADGM Courts entails a transparent dispute resolution within the unique two-tier judicial system of ADGM.
Originally published 16.12.24
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
