<p>The rules of litigation relating to maritime disputes are different, the  maritime claim is urgent by its nature and most of the legislators are keen to  adopt the laws accordingly.<br /><br />The UAE civil procedures law and the  commercial maritime law stipulate special procedures for maritime claims.  <br />Article 43 (paragraph 2) of the UAE civil procedures law states that, &ldquo;The  time for appearing in urgent matters shall be twenty four hours and it shall be  permissible in the case of necessity to curtail that period and to make it from  hour to hour provided that the summons is served on the opponent in person  unless the claim is a maritime claim&rdquo;.<br /><br />The UAE civil procedures law  establishes a sepcial rule for the date of the hearing if it relates to a  maritime claim, as it could be one hour following the time of notifiying the  defendant with the case.&nbsp; There is no need to prove the necessisty for such  short notice nor to notify the defendant in person one hour prior to the time of  the hearing as long as the subject of the case is a maritime dispute. For other  cases, the plaitiff should prove the urgency and the necessity for the short  notice as well as to notify the defendant in person with a case in order to  curtail the time for appearing before the court and to make it one hour  following the time of notifiying the defendant with the case.<br /><br />Attachment  against vessels is also different. There are several conditions for placing  attachment against any assets with the most familiar condition being when it is  feared that the debtors&rsquo; assets may be lost as security for the creditor&rsquo;s  right.<br />However, there is only one condition for attaching vessels, which is  the &ldquo;maritime debt&rdquo;, the attachment against vessels shall not be unless it is a  maritime debt.<br />According to the UAE commercial maritime law the maritime  debts are:</p>
<ul>
<li>damage caused by reason of a collision or otherwise;</li>
<li>loss of life or personal injuries;</li>
<li>salvage claims, contracts relating to the use or exploitation of the vessel  under a charterparty or otherwise;</li>
<li>contracts relating to the carriage of goods;</li>
<li>loss of or damage to goods or chattels being carried on board;</li>
<li>general average claim, towage or pilotage, supplies of products or equipment  necessary for the utilization or maintenance of the vessel;</li>
<li>construction, repair or fitting out of the vessel;</li>
<li>sums expended on account of the vessel wages of the crewmembers;</li>
<li>a dispute as to the ownership, the co-ownership, the possession or use of  the vessel and the maritime mortgage.</li>
</ul>
<p>The UAE law balanced two interests, the first is that the vessels should not  be stopped from operation in support of a non maritime debt which may hinder the  flow of the shipping trade, the second is to protect the interest of the  creditor who directly deals with the vessel given that vessel is always the sole  security for his/her debt.<br /><br />If the debt is not a maritime debt, it is not  allowed to place an attachment against a vessel even if it is feared that the  debtor&rsquo;s assets may be lost as security for the creditor&rsquo;s right, and in the  interim the law allows the creditor to attach the vessel without proving that it  is feared that the debtors&rsquo; assets may be lost in case the debt is a maritime  debt.<br /><br />On a second note, contrary to the general rules of the procedures  of the preservatory arrest and attachment of debtor&rsquo;s assets in the hands of  third parties under the civil procedures law, the commercial maritime law allows  the creditor to attach a vessel not owned by the debtor in case the charterer or  the operator of such vessel is solely responsible for a maritime debt connected  with such vessel. Article 117 of the commercial maritime law stipulates that:  &ldquo;<br /><br />If the vessel has been chartered to a charterer together with the right  of navigational management thereof, and he alone is responsible for a maritime  debt connected therewith, the creditor may arrest the said vessel or any other  vessel owned by the same charterer, and he may not, in respect of that debt,  arrest any other vessel of the disponent owner.&rsquo;<br />&lsquo;The provisions of tzhe  foregoing subsection shall apply in all cases in which a person other than the  owner of the vessel is liable for a maritime debt.&rsquo;<br /><br />There are special  procedures for selling vessels by a public auction, as the UAE commercial  maritime law states for particular procedures in this respect, starting from  placing the executory arrest against the vessel to the process of the auction.  For instance, it is noted that it should not be permissible for the hearing  scheduled to hear the order for selling the vessel to be fixed earlier than  fifteen days nor later than thirty days from the date of the arrest; also the  sale shall be affected after three sessions held at intervals of seven days, the  highest bid made at the first session shall be taken as the provisional basic  price for the auction at the second session and likewise for the third auction  session at which shall be finalized the sale to the bidder who has made the  highest offer.&nbsp;<br /><br />The legislator always considers any procedures that would  be taken in connection with the shipping industry to be finalized on urgent  basis and to be compatible with the characteristics of such industry.</p>