The Dubai Courts said it has launched a new interactive system for case management of the Commercial Court of First Instance.

Inaugurated by the Director of the Courts, Taresh Eid Al-Mansouri, the developmental initiative will contribute to the reduction of the first hearing date from thirty to nine days.

The system comprises the activation and utilisation of modern technology, including a defendant notification servicevia e-mail, SMS and telephone contact.

Judge Mohammed Al-Sabousi, the head of the Commercial Court of First Instance for Dubai Courts, said: “The new system will initially be implemented for a three-month trial period at the commercial case registration desk(which deals with cases of both full and restricted jurisdiction)at the Dubai Courts’ Central Services Section.”

He pointed out that the system aimed to switch from the traditional method of dealing with cases to an interactive system by reducing the number of procedures and the comprehensiveness of their submission, and also via the reduction of the periods of time that must be met.

The previous system required a delay in the setting of the first hearing date for a period of one month from the date of registration, for a second month to investigate the defendant's address data, and for a third month for the date announcement. And these were the best case scenarios.

Judge Al-Sabousi said rather than having to wait for approximately three months for the defendant’s verification notice, the period has been reduced to an immediate action that is achieved at the same time that the plaintiff registers the case.

"This will be achieved by entering the required information at the registration desk at the Dubai Courts’ Central Services Section. Then the defendant will receive ane-mail notification, an SMS and a phone call requesting them to collect a copy of the summons and its annexes, in order to be able to prepare theirplea and present it during the first hearing," he explained.

"The advantages of this initiative and the challenges that we may face will be examined during the three coming months. We will work on improving, adopting and circulating them among Dubai Courts’ Specialised First Instance Courts. These proceedings serve to strengthen confidence in the judicial system both locally and internationally by increasing the efficiency of the case management system,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service