UNCITRAL Awards and Judicial Discretion in the UAE: Doctrinal and Comparative Insights on Public Policy Challenges

This paper focuses on how the broad and undefined interpretation of public policy by United Arab Emirates (UAE) courts under Articles 53 and 54 of the UAE Arbitration Law impedes the enforcement of arbitral awards rendered under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. Although the UAE has adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law and ratified the New York Convention, the absence of a clear framework for interpreting public policy enables inconsistent judicial intervention, undermining legal certainty and party autonomy in international arbitration. The study adopts a doctrinal legal research methodology, supported by comparative qualitative and law case analysis, to systematically examine relevant UAE court decisions and statutory provisions. The article’s original contribution lies in its focused assessment of how judicial reasoning in public policy cases directly affects the enforceability of UNCITRALbased awards. It concludes by recommending legislative clarification and judicial guidelines to narrow the scope of discretion, thereby enhancing the UAE’s reliability as an arbitrationfriendly jurisdiction.