News

Dubai Financial Center Launches Digital Economy Court

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court will now be taking cases online using advanced new technologies.

Published

4 years ago

December 16, 2022

Nour Nasir

dubai financial center launches digital economy court

Dubai Media Office

These days, it seems as though virtually everything has shifted from the real world to the online space. From productivity and office apps, to cloud storage and industry-specific software, most sectors of the global economy now function without a reliance on bricks-and-mortar locations.

Although the legal profession has moved many of its administrative processes online, until recent years, court proceedings have largely been conducted the old-fashioned way — that’s to say, in person.

Now, it seems, even court hearings are being digitized, as the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has just announced the launch of the world’s first international court, aimed at settling digital economy disputes. The complex infrastructure of the new legal operation will be managed by judicial experts with wide international experience, and authorities claim that the platform will provide the best legislative environment for startups and digital economy enterprises.

“The world’s first international digital economy court will enhance the ability of global companies and institutions operating in the digital economy to adapt to the future requirements of this fast-growing sector,” says Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE, and President of DIFC.

Also Read: Saudi Arabia Set To Invest $1 Trillion In The Real Estate Sector

A team of expert developers and international lawyers was tasked with building and standardizing the fully paperless platform, which will use AI and complex algorithms to help process the various forms and paperwork required by court officials.

The DIFC Courts formed a Digital Economy Court (DEC) Division back in 2021 to oversee difficult national and international cases. As technologies such as blockchain, AI, unmanned vehicles, and fintech services become increasingly complex and intertwined, new rules and regulations must be developed to manage and resolve legal disputes.

Dubai’s digital economy court represents a considerable milestone for the emirate and places the progressive, tech-first Dubai International Financial Centre at the heart of a global, fully interconnected economy.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.