Court of Appeal Judge and Judge in Charge of the Arbitration Division, DIFC Courts

H.E. Justice Shamlan Al Sawalehi has over 23 years of experience in international commercial and financial litigation in common law, civil law and Sharia’ legal systems. He has experience in arbitral practice in civil and common law systems, as has served as sole arbitrator, Co-arbitrator and Chairman of many arbitral tribunals. He joined the DIFC Courts in 2010 as a Judicial Officer before becoming a Small Claims Tribunal Judge and then a Court of First Instance Judge before he was appointed as Court of Appeal Judge in 2017. He was appointed by the DIFC Courts Chief Justice as Judge in Charge of the Arbitration Division of the DIFC Courts in 2020. Prior to joining the DIFC Courts, Justice Al Sawalehi was the founder of Shamlan Law firm, where he represented governments and private clients on complex commercial and financial disputes in the UAE and MENA region. Prior to that, he served as Director of Strategic Affairs at The Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai where he was involved in number of strategic legal cases.