The procedure
How a UORA case works
UORA runs one procedure. It is conducted on documents, in writing, through a case page, and it ends in a binding arbitral award that a party may take to the Dubai Court of Appeal for ratification under Article 55 of Federal Law No. 6 of 2018. This page sets out every step, the period that applies to it, and what each party receives at that step.
The procedure is contractual. It runs only where the contract between the two parties expressly incorporates the UORA Rules by version and date. P L M Portal L.L.C. operates the platform and acts as delegated person for limited procedural purposes: it checks that a submission is complete, issues and serves the standard-form notices on the claimant's behalf, maintains the Service Log, issues Certificates of Service and designates the arbitrator from the Roster. It does not assess the merits and it does not decide anything. The arbitrator decides, independently.
- Procedure
- Documents only. No hearing.
- Tribunal
- Sole arbitrator, from the UORA Roster
- Seat
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Languages
- English, with an Arabic version of the award
When these Rules apply
All three conditions must be met. If the Rules are not expressly incorporated, they do not apply and no case can be opened.
- The contract between the parties incorporates the UORA Rules by their version and date.
- The dispute concerns a public review about the goods or services supplied, the premises, or the other contracting party.
- The claimant is one of the contracting parties, or an assignee notified under Rule 9.
Every period is calculated in Dubai time (UTC+4) and every document states it in the form DD-MM-YYYY at HH:mm (Dubai time). A period runs from the moment a document is transmitted, not from the moment it is opened. Days are calendar days unless the step says business days.
The nine steps
The party who brings the case is the claimant. The party who published the review is the posting party, and becomes the respondent once arbitration is commenced. Both are told the same things at the same time, and every document served on one is placed on the case page of both.
A period in gold binds a party. The four steps without one are events, not deadlines.
| Step | What happens, and what is served | Period | Runs from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Claim form and Stage 1 fee Request to Open a Cure Notice File, and the Cure Notice itself | PeriodDay 0 | Runs from The Cure Notice is issued and served as soon as the fee clears. Nothing waits and no one reviews the file first: under Section 5.2 of the Rules in force the notice is generated and served automatically on payment. The check that your contract incorporates the Rules therefore rests on the declarations you make on the claim form. |
| 02 | Cure Notice served Cure Notice, Certificate of Service, Service Log | Period 48 hours | Runs from From effective service. The 48 hours run from the first transmission. |
| 03 | The claimant elects: arbitrate, or assign Confirmation of Non-Cure with a dated screenshot, a receipt, and either a Request for Arbitration or a Deed of Assignment | Period 30 calendar days | Runs from When the 48 hours expire. The election stays open for 30 days and nothing commences automatically. The claimant confirms the review is still published as they choose, and nothing is served on the respondent at that point. Either the claimant pays the arbitration fee and runs the case itself, or it pays the assignment fee and the assignee runs it. One or the other, never both. |
| 04 | Request for Arbitration served The Request and every enclosure, in one service | PeriodSame day | Runs from On payment. From this point the posting party is the respondent. |
| 05 | Arbitrator appointed and accepts Acceptance of Appointment and Statement of Independence | Period 3 calendar days | Runs from To object, from service of the acceptance. |
| 06 | Procedural Order No. 1 The order, a Certificate of Service, then the defence and the reply | Period 3 days to defend, then 2 days to reply | Runs from From effective service of the order, then from service of the defence. |
| 07 | The award A reasoned award in English and Arabic, with its SHA-256 and verification address | Period 10 calendar days | Runs from From the close of submissions: the filing of the last permitted submission or the expiry of its period, whichever is earlier. |
| 08 | Compliance An instruction stating precisely what must be done and by when | Period 48 hours | Runs from From effective service of the award. |
| 09 | Court bundle and ratification The filing bundle and the petition to the Dubai Court of Appeal | PeriodNo fixed period | Runs from The claimant files when it chooses. |
Stage 1 covers the Cure Notice stage. After it, the claimant pays ONE of two fees and never both: the arbitration fee, to run the arbitration themselves from the Request for Arbitration to the award and then pursue recovery; or the assignment fee, to hand the claim to the assignee, who runs it at their own cost and shares what is recovered. Fees are non-refundable. The arbitrator receives no remuneration from PLM and charges the parties nothing, unless their own contract provides otherwise (Rule 13.2). The schedule is on the home page.
Track A and Track B
Every case is brought on one track or both. The track decides what the arbitrator has to determine, and what counts as a cure.
The Rules do not prohibit negative reviews. They set a minimum standard of specificity and factual integrity, and that standard binds the provider exactly as it binds the customer. Either party can be the claimant.
| Track | What the arbitrator determines | What counts as a cure |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Particulars Specificity, not truth | Under the clause, a party who publishes a public review must include at least one objective factual anchor: a brief factual description of the specific incident, and an approximate date or time reference. A review consisting only of general characterisations — "very bad", "terrible", "unsafe", "scam" — with none of that is Non-Compliant Review Content. The arbitrator determines whether the content is Non-Compliant Review Content, whether the Cure Notice was served and cure provided inside the cure period, and what proportionate remedy follows, which may include permission to repost a review that does comply. | What counts as a cure Add the missing particulars, or remove the review. |
| Factual accuracy Truth | Track B is the route where a review makes specific factual allegations that the claimant says are materially false or materially misleading, or that are unlawful or unlawfully infringe privacy. The arbitrator identifies the challenged allegations, separates fact from opinion, determines whether the factual ones are materially false, materially misleading, unlawful or an unlawful infringement of privacy, and orders a proportionate remedy. Opinion, however unwelcome, is not decided against. | What counts as a cure Correct the challenged allegation, or remove it. |
A claim may plead both tracks at once.
The party asserting a fact bears the burden of showing it on the balance of probabilities.
Track B is also the route where the posting party did cure but the claimant says the cure was inadequate. Arbitration must then be requested within 7 calendar days.
What an award can order
An award binds only the two contracting parties. It does not bind any platform: no arbitrator can order Google, Airbnb or Tripadvisor to do anything. What a party can be ordered to do is what is within that party's own control.
| Relief | What may be ordered | On what condition |
|---|---|---|
| Amendment | Amendment of the review to add Minimum Particulars. | On what condition Available in any case where the review lacks them. |
| Correction | Correction of identified factual allegations. | On what condition Where the allegations are found materially false or materially misleading. |
| Removal | Removal of Non-Compliant Review Content. | On what condition So far as removal is within the posting party's control. |
| Takedown request | Submission of a takedown or correction request to the platform, with proof. | On what condition Where the posting party can make such a request but cannot itself remove the content. |
| Permission to repost | Permission to repost a review that complies. | On what condition Track A, where the arbitrator considers it proportionate. |
| Liquidated damages | Liquidated damages, payable by one party to the other. | On what condition Only in the amount the parties themselves fixed in their contract. |
| Costs | Arbitration costs. | On what condition Only in the amount the parties themselves agreed, and subject to apportionment. |
| Court fees | Reasonable court fees actually incurred for recognition or enforcement. | On what condition On proof of what was actually paid. |
| Interest | Interest on any sum awarded. | On what condition At the rate agreed in the contract, from the date the contract states or from the date of the award. |
Liquidated damages, costs and interest are amounts the two parties agreed with each other in their own contract, and an award orders one party to pay them to the other. UORA is not a party to them and receives none of them. What UORA charges is the Stage 1 fee and then one further fee — the Stage 2 fee to arbitrate, or the assignment fee to assign, never both — and nothing else. Where the contract fixes no monetary remedy, none can be awarded.
The amounts are set by the parties when they adopt the clause. The clause page shows what a given set of figures reads as, in English and Arabic, before anything is signed.
Service, certificates and silence
Service is the hinge of the whole procedure, because every period runs from it. The parties agree in the clause how it works, and the Rules state it precisely.
Transmission to any one contact effects service — Rule 5.4
Transmission of a notice or document to any one of the contact details the parties gave in their contract — the email address, the mobile number by SMS, or the WhatsApp number — is valid and effective service for the purposes of the Rules and Article 24 of the UAE Arbitration Law, whether or not a delivery confirmation comes back and whether or not the recipient opens the message. Service is effective at the time of the first such transmission, as recorded in the Service Log, and every period runs from that time.
Delivery, open and read confirmations are recorded on every channel and stated in the Certificate of Service as corroboration of receipt. They do not move the effective time of service, either forward or back.
Where every channel attempted returns a failure report, service is not effective. PLM notifies the claimant and the tribunal if one is constituted, the claimant may supply alternative contact details, service is attempted again and a fresh Certificate of Service is issued.
Every document served is certified and verifiable
Every document served produces a Certificate of Service, numbered in sequence for the case, naming the document, each channel used, the exact time of each transmission and the effective time of service. The Service Log holds every attempt and every provider response for the life of the case, and both are included in the court bundle. Each document also carries a unique identifier and a SHA-256 hash, and can be checked against the verification page.
Silence is not an admission — Rule 6.2
A party who does not answer is not treated as having admitted anything. Silence has procedural effect only: the process continues without that party's participation. If a party files no defence, produces no documents and does not appear, the arbitrator may decide on the evidence that is available, and must still ensure the absent party had a fair opportunity to be heard. Nothing is decided against a party merely because it said nothing; it is decided on what the other party proved.
Settlement by declaration
A respondent who takes the review down can end the arbitration without an award. Section 13A sets out how. It was added by Version 1.7 and reaches only contracts that incorporate Version 1.7 or later.
The offer opens when the arbitration does — Rule 13A.1
By incorporating the Rules the claimant makes, and the respondent may accept, a standing offer to settle the dispute. The offer opens on payment of the Stage 2 fee — that is, once the arbitration has been commenced — and stays open until the award is issued. It is not open while an objection to the appointment of the arbitrator is pending, or while the Case Page shows the case passing between procedural steps, and may be accepted once that step is complete. A payment made when the offer is not open does not accept it and is refunded in full. Where the claim has been assigned, the offer binds the assignee in the same way.
Acceptance is a declaration and a payment — Rules 13A.2 and 13A.3
The respondent accepts by doing both of these things through the Case Page: declaring that the review complained of has been removed and is no longer publicly visible, and paying the Settlement Sum. Neither alone accepts the offer, and the declaration takes effect when the payment is received.
Of that sum, the processing fee is UORA's own and is not refundable in any circumstance. The rest is not UORA's and is never kept by it: it is collected for the claimant — or, where the claim has been assigned, for the assignor and the assignee between them — and paid to the account recorded on the Case Page when it becomes payable.
The claimant has 48 hours to object — Rules 13A.5 and 13A.6
From receipt of the payment every period running against a party or the tribunal is suspended, and UORA serves a Notice of Settlement on the claimant. Within forty-eight (48) hours of effective service of that notice the claimant may confirm that the review has been removed, or object that it has not. A claimant who does neither within the period is treated as having confirmed. An objection must give the address at which the review can still be seen, a screenshot taken after the Notice of Settlement was served, and the claimant's declaration that the review has not been removed; it is served on the respondent and decided on the documents within three (3) calendar days.
Paid and removed — the arbitration closes as settled. Rules 13A.7 and 13A.8
The settlement is concluded when the claimant confirms, when the confirmation period expires without an objection, or when the arbitrator dismisses one. Where a tribunal has been constituted the proceedings are terminated by order; where none has, UORA closes the case and serves a Notice of Closure on both parties. The amount collected for the claimant side becomes payable at that point, and neither party owes the other anything further in respect of the claim.
If the arbitrator upholds the objection, the declaration is treated as untrue and the arbitration resumes where it stopped, each suspended period carrying the time that remained on it. The amount collected for the claimant side is forfeited to the persons it was collected for and is credited against any damages awarded to the claimant, up to the amount of those damages. The processing fee is not refunded, the arbitrator may take the untrue declaration into account when allocating costs, and the offer does not open again in that case.
Read the instruments this procedure runs under.