Mediation gets smarter with Dubai Chamber app

Dubai - Mediation is known for its safety, speed, maintaining of trade relations in the long run, and low cost compared to court settlements.

The concept of mediation is becoming increasing popular in the Middle East and Dubai Chamber's newly introduced Smart App helps clients to submit request in less than 10 minutes.
Mediation is known for its safety, speed, maintaining of trade relations in the long run, and low cost compared to court settlements with their long-term procedures and administrative complexities.
This shift towards smart services especially in the legal services provided by the chamber is in line with the future vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of the UAe and Ruler of Dubai, in making Dubai the smartest city in the world.
This smart service is directed towards supporting innovation in the private sector, and complements the chamber's innovation strategy with its focus on supporting the business community as well as to support the chamber's commitment to facilitate ease of doing business in the emirate.
Speaking to Khaleej Times Jehad Kazim, director, Legal Services, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that as part of the chamber's effort in providing state-of-art customer facilities and services, the organisation has launched the Smart Mediation application, which is the first-of-its-kind in the region.
"This makes us one of the first global chambers in the world to provide this unique service for the settlement of trade disputes in the emirate. The Smart App is the first-of-its-kind in the Middle East and North Africa region, and we also believe that it's the first-of-its-kind in the world as well," Kazim informed.
This alternate dispute resolution method assists parties in reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement. The value of mediation cases which was settled by the chamber during this year through mediation reached Dh18.3 million, she said.
The Smart Mediation application will help the customers in applying for a mediation service request in less than 10 minutes due to the client's need in downloading supportive data for the case and the written description about the trade dispute. This reflects the efficiency in performance; however, the other legal services requests through this application will not take more than five minutes.
Talking about sectors face more trade disputes, she informed that conflicts in the construction and services sector top the list mainly because of non-payment of dues.
Dubai Chamber has received 482 cases from the beginning of this year until the end of October as 199 cases were settled with an increase rate of 42 per cent compared to the same period last year when 408 cases with an increase rate of 18 per cent were received.
"Today, there is more awareness about the importance of alternative means of settling trade disputes among the business communities, which inspired more members of Dubai Chamber to use mediation for trade dispute settlement. So, we expect to receive 550-600 mediation cases until the end of this year," she said.
Customers can submit a request through the smart app to obtain the four services provided by the Legal Services at the Chamber, which includes mediation, registering in events and workshops organised by the department, formulation of incorporate contract, and requests for access to legal information.
"We have launched this service after a precise research that showed its importance and relevance to the business community, especially the overseas investors. In order to highlight the importance of this service, we have to understand that contracts as legal documents are very important for a successful business transaction, as these documents provide the legal rights and obligations of all parties concerned. And, if designed in a clear legal manner, these contracts will reduce conflicts between parties, especially during the initial days," she explained.
This App allows applicants to submit their mediation requests and relevant documents and to make payment. It is bilingual (Arabic & English), user-friendly, simple and fast and has the options to track new and previous applications and obtain status update reports. It also provides Dubai Chamber news and membership registration facilities.
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai