UORA — UAE Online Review Arbiter

Binding arbitration for disputes about public reviews, seated in Dubai and decided on documents alone.

The parties agree to it in advance by adopting the UORA clause. A dispute is then filed, served and decided in writing, on a fixed timetable, by an arbitrator appointed from the UORA Roster. There is no hearing and nobody travels.

Get the clause File a case

How a case runs

Every period below is counted from service and runs in Dubai time (UTC+4). Service is effected on transmission to any one of the contact details the parties gave — email, telephone or WhatsApp — under Rule 5.4, not on delivery.

  1. Add the clause

    Put the UORA clause in your terms, your booking confirmation or your contract. It fixes Dubai as the seat, adopts the UORA Rules, and sets out what an award may order if a review is later disputed.

    Time limit None. No period runs until a notice is served.

  2. File a notice

    You file the review and the particulars. UORA screens the case, serves a Cure Notice on the reviewer, and — if the review stands — an Election Notice after it.

    Time limit 48 hours to cure, then a further 24 hours after the Election Notice.

  3. Arbitrate

    An arbitrator is appointed and both sides file in writing. Track A is a review that lacks the Minimum Particulars; Track B is a review making specific factual allegations said to be false.

    Time limits 3 days to file a defence, 2 days to reply, 10 days to the award, 48 hours to comply.

What it costs

Two stages, each payable when the case reaches it. Read the full fee schedule.

Fees are non-refundable, except where a case is rejected at screening.

What an award can order

These are the remedies the parties agree to in the clause, at the figures the clause sets. They are not UORA's fees, and UORA does not receive them.

  • Removal of the review by the party who published it.
  • Liquidated damages of AED 20,000, where the clause provides for them.
  • Costs of AED 1,000.
  • Interest at 9 per cent.
  • The award is final and binding on both parties, and is issued in English and Arabic.
  • It is ratifiable by the Dubai Court of Appeal under Article 55 of UAE Federal Law No. 6 of 2018.

The Rules in force and the Roster

Rules in force

Read the UORA Rules

The Roster

Arbitrators are appointed from the UORA Roster and act independently of the platform and of the parties.

See the roster