Insights | Kobre & Kim — Disputes and Investigations

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is becoming increasingly friendly to global judgment creditors looking to enforce their judgments.
Recent developments signal increased receptivity to fast-tracking recognition and enforcement through reciprocity.
We survey the landscape and look at how the country can form a crucial part of a worldwide enforcement campaign.

A Chinese court recently recognized a commercial judgment issued by the English High Court in a landmark judgment.
China has also made it easier for Hong Kong arbitrations to be recognized and enforced in China, as well as opening the door to interim measures.
Our Claim Monetization team analyzes what these developments mean to foreign judgment and award creditors looking for opportunities in a historically tricky jurisdiction.

Many parties, especially those based in Asia Pacific, soon discover that a recalcitrant debtor can frustrate enforcement of a hard-won arbitration award.
In cross-border enforcement campaigns, the debtor may throw up obscure legal challenges to cause delays and distraction.
A recent Kobre & Kim victory demonstrates how, through quick and strategic action, these distractions can be defeated and pressure can be maintained on the debtor.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a gateway to enforcing judgments in the Middle East, has just seen significant barriers to enforcement removed.
Creditors now have a much smoother path to collect on what they are owed both in onshore Dubai and across the region.
Our global Claim Monetization & Dilution team unpacks how creditors can save significant time and money.

Investors and creditors can gain potentially large returns if they successfully enforce a large judgment against a sovereign debtor.
However, with such high-stakes, sovereign governments have begun fighting back using state powers against creditors, turning civil proceedings into a quasi-criminal cross-border dispute.
A creditor must employ anticipatory and nonconventional counteroffensive measures in order to protect themselves and maximize their odds of success.

The current economic downturn has triggered record-breaking amounts of debt owed by governments to overseas investors.
The crisis, however, has the potential to create large returns for creditors and investors willing to aggressively pursue their claims over a sovereign government.
A proven yet unorthodox cross-border litigation strategy that catches sovereigns by surprise can achieve the monetization of judgments previously thought too tough to enforce.

There are many reasons why sovereign debtors can be challenging targets.
The right combination of high-pressure tactics, coupled with aggressive, creative, multijurisdictional strategies, can force sovereign debtors to take a seat at the bargaining table.
Here are specific examples of effective techniques from recent successful matters where legitimate claims were recovered against sovereign entities.

U.S. courts traditionally have been a generous forum for foreign judgment creditors.
A recent ruling from a New York state court has further broken down barriers for recognition of a foreign judgment in the U.S., even when the debtor is subject to a foreign insolvency proceeding.
The New York decision is part of a trend of U.S. courts rejecting "fairness" and "corruption" challenges to Russian courts' judgments. Similar challenges can be overcome with the aid of proper counsel.