The DIFC Laws Certificate Programme aims to provide education and training that provide legal practitioners with the necessary knowledge and skills to support their practice in the hybrid UAE legal system. The course covers the relevant areas of common law, the foundation of the DIFC legal system, DIFC laws and DIFC Courts procedures, advocacy and legal drafting, legal tech and tax law.
This initiative is in furtherance of our mission of preparing lawyers in the Middle East for international commercial law practice, and our strategic objective of providing legal education with global value by cross training learners in multiple legal systems with a focus on DIFC Laws.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the programme, participants should be able to:
- Understand and explain the operation of the English legal System
- Demonstrate a knowledge of areas of substantive English common law such as contract law, tort, company law, law of agency, land law, law of trusts, as well as employment law and arbitration
- Demonstrate knowledge of DIFC laws and Courts procedures, particularly company and insolvency, trust and foundations, employment, real property, and arbitration
Upon completion of the course, participants should acquire several skills relevant and necessary to practicing law within the DIFC and to exercising rights of audience before the DIFC Courts. Such skills include the ability to:
- Research, evaluate and retrieve information from a variety of sources
- Analyse, synthesise and apply the law in common law settings
- Draft legal documents in common law settings
- Make oral submissions in common law settings
Duration: 6 Months (with holiday and summer breaks)
Next intake: May 2025 - October 2025
The programme consists of seven modules that can be taken together as a whole or as individual components. The modules are as follows:
English Common Law, Basic Advocacy and Legal Drafting I 36 hours
Legal Tech | 10 hours
Tax Law | 6 hours
ADR & Arbitration | 8 hours
Developed and delivered by Middlesex University Dubai, Department of Law and Politics.
DIFC Laws & Courts Procedure I 30 hours
Developed and delivered by DIFC Legal Practitioners
Advanced Advocacy Skills I 24 hours
Developed and delivered by Outer Temple Chambers, London based Chambers.
Cryptocurrency and Dispute Resolution I 6 hours
Developed and delivered by KBH
Climate Law I 4 hours
