ADGM Courts Introduces First-Of-Its-Kind Blockchain Technology During Abu Dhabi Finance Week

Abu Dhabi Finance Week witnessed during its Fintech Abu Dhabi Festival the announcement by ADGM Courts of the first-ever introduction of blockchain technology for the global enforcement of commercial judgments.

The blockchain solution will result in substantial time and cost savings for parties in the enforcement of their commercial judgments. Secure, immutable judgments will be immediately available to parties and enforcing courts, via ADGM's website, an API or directly on the blockchain for member courts.

Parties will no longer need to wait for a certified copy of the judgment to start the process in the enforcing jurisdiction. This is a major development for international trade and commerce.

Commenting on this transformational development, Linda Fitz-Alan, Registrar and CEO of ADGM Courts said; "Our vision has always been to massively transform the delivery of judicial services through technology. Our focus has now turned to enforcement to respond to the pressing needs of the international business community, and to drive sustainable change for the justice sector. This trailblazing introduction of blockchain technology for commercial courts underscores ADGM and ADGM Courts' reputation as leaders in the digitization of justice.

It is important to note that the first edition of the ground-breaking event, Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW), started on Monday, congregating global financial market leaders from a wide array of backgrounds and expertise with its first theme day, Asset Abu Dhabi, that hosted a selective group of invitees who gathered in an exclusive event at ADGM to address strategic macroeconomic and financial topics that shape global, regional and industry.

The week-long event is hosted by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), along with its strategic economic partners, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), G42 and Etisalat.

Top investment funds that attended the event include Bank of America, Blackrock, Chimera, Goldman Sachs, Gulf Capital, Investcorp, J.P. Morgan, Lombard Odier, Pictet and Tikehau Capital.

The discussions during the first day of this forum focused on the shifting investment landscape cascading from global economic challenges and explored sub-theme topics such as sovereign wealth funds, family office investments, changing strategies and risk approaches to diversified portfolio construction across asset classes.

An important session by the economist and president of Nasser Saidi & Associates, Dr. Nasser Saidi, outlined the economic transformation of the Middle East, deep diving into the economic factors that are driving the growth of the UAE in the region and globally.

Asset Abu Dhabi also witnessed a key announcement by H.E Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) where he updated the audience on milestones and achievements on the emirate’s economic agenda, including the operations of the Abu Dhabi IPO Fund, helping the emirate solidify its position as the region’s next financial capital.

The AED 5 billion (USD 1.4 billion) ‘Abu Dhabi IPO Fund’ is critical to boost and enhance the emirate’s global capital markets and financial sector landscape within the macro-economy. Having already shortlisted 6 private sector companies for potentially receiving advisory and/or investment services, in addition to helping them qualify for a listing on ADX, the Fund has also developed an additional pipeline of 32 companies as potential candidates for receiving these advisory services.