Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of information provided to us and information about visitors to this website.

This Privacy Policy explains how we may collect and use information that we obtain about you, and your rights in relation to that information. Your use of our online services or your provision of information to us constitutes your acknowledgment of the terms of this Privacy Policy. Please do not send us any of your information if you do not want it to be used in the ways described in this Privacy Policy.

Our contact details are set out at section 16 below.

 

2. Scope of privacy policy

This Privacy Policy applies when we receive any personal information from you, our business contacts, suppliers, job applicants or other third parties, including in the following circumstances:

• when you request information from us or provide information to us;
• when you or the organisation you work for engages our services;
• when you or the organisation you work for is a counterparty, or provide services to a counterparty, of one or more of our clients;
• when you or the organisation you work for is a supplier to us;
• as a result of your relationship with one or more of our clients, including when you or the organisation you work for is a regulator, government agency, court, tribunal or other law enforcement agency;
• if you are in any way connected to, or involved in, a case in which we have been asked to administer, including if you are a witness, expert or counsel for a counterparty;
• when you apply for a role or work placement opportunity, open day or recruitment event with us;
• when you complete application forms on this website;
• when you attend our events and courses;
• when we conduct open-source searches on you in connection with our business acceptance or business development processes;
• when you visit this website and online services (including our mobile apps);
• if you are an alumni of the Centre; and
• when you are entered onto our mailing lists to receive publications and other marketing emails.

 

3. Information collection

General

We will collect personal information directly from you, from our clients or their counterparties and authorised representatives.

We may also collect personal information from third parties such as regulatory authorities, your employer, arbitral institutions, other organisations with whom you have dealings, government agencies, credit reporting agencies, recruitment agencies, information or service providers, publicly available records and the third parties described in section 7: ‘Disclosure of your information’ below.

We may also collect personal information from social media where you have made this information publicly available.

We may collect personal information automatically using business intelligence and tracking technologies. This information is used for marketing purposes, including analysing engagement to understand the strength of various business relationships and to update and add contact details on our Customer Relationship Management system. The types of data collected may include email interactions, such as opens and clicks, and other relevant metrics.

We may collect current and historical personal information including your name (including name prefix or title), contact details (such as your postal address, email address and phone number(s)), nationality, identification, gender, organisation, business interests, employment, positions held, specific roles you have played in matters involving our client (e.g. as arbitrator or as an expert), special categories of data or sensitive personal information (such as race and ethnicity, trade union membership, information about health or information, political opinions or religious beliefs), dietary requirements, billing and financial information (such as billing address, bank account and payment information) and enquiry/complaint details. We may also collect personal information about your other dealings with us and our clients, including any contact we have with you in person, by telephone, email or online.

Online Services

When you use our online services, we may collect the following:

• information you provide by completing subscription, registration and application forms (including when you submit material or request further services);
• information you provide to us if you contact us, for example to report a problem with our online services or raise a query or comment; and
• details of visits made to our online services such as the volume of traffic received, logs (including, the internet protocol (IP) address and location of the device connecting to the online services and other identifiers about the device and the nature of the visit) and the resources accessed.

Careers and recruitment

If you apply for a job or work placement you may need to provide information about your education, employment, racial background and state of health. Your application will constitute your express consent to our use of this information to assess your application and to allow us to carry out both recruitment analytics and any monitoring activities which may be required of us under applicable law as an employer. We may also carry out screening checks (including reference, background, directorship, financial probity, identity, eligibility to work, vocational suitability and criminal record checks) and consider you for other positions. We may disclose your personal information (including diversity and equal opportunities data) to academic institutions, recruiters, screening check providers, health service providers, professional and trade associations, law enforcement agencies, recruitment analytics and diversity research providers, referees and your current and previous employers. We may also collect your personal information from these parties in some circumstances. Without your personal information we may not be able to progress considering you for positions with us.

If you apply for a job or work placement using our on-line application system, you will access a separate privacy policy which explains how your information will be used, how long we will retain it and to whom it may be disclosed.

Pre-employment screening

As part of the Centre’s pre-employment screening, a third party will conduct social media checks on the firm’s behalf. These checks involve searches of publicly accessible social media profiles.

CCTV

Our offices are protected by CCTV, and you may be recorded when you visit. We use CCTV to help provide a safe and secure environment for our visitors. For further information on our use of CCTV, please contact privacy@diac.com.

 

4. Use of your information

We may use your personal information if:

• it is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or the organisation you work for; or
• necessary in connection with a legal or regulatory obligation; or
• you have provided your consent (where necessary) to such use or the organisation that you work for has obtained your consent (where necessary); or
• we (or a third-party) have a legitimate interest which is not overridden by your interests or your rights and freedoms; or
• we are otherwise required or authorised by law.

We may use your information to:

• provide and improve our services and products to you or the organisation you work for (including auditing and monitoring use of those services and products and in client reviews or feedback);
• maintain and develop our relationship with you and our clients;
• monitor and analyse our business;
• facilitate our internal business operations;
• fulfil our legal, regulatory (including in relation to anti-money laundering or sanction requirements), accounting, reporting, risk management or professional obligations;
• follow industry guidelines and best practice (including ERA Pledge);
• identify services you may be interested in;
• send you updates, publications, marketing and details of events (please see section 12 for more information);
• accommodate you at marketing events;
• manage relationships with our suppliers;
• protect, establish, exercise or defend legal rights; and
• process and respond to requests, enquiries or complaints received from you.

We may not be able to do these things without your personal information.

We will only retain your personal information for as long as is reasonably necessary in the circumstances. Personal information provided in connection with the provision of our services will be retained in accordance with the Centre’s retention policies unless we agree otherwise with you, in writing. Our online services may have different retention periods which you will be notified of separately when you access those services. If you wish to know more about our retention policies, please contact privacy@diac.com.

 

5. Artificial Intelligence

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance our services and improve your experience with us. AI may be used to analyse data, automate processes, assist with document review, and analyse contracts. When processing your personal information, we ensure that all AI applications comply with relevant data protection laws and regulations.

 

6. Sharing information

We may share your information with our branches and subsidiaries. Dubai International Arbitration Centre will safeguard these personal information transfers.

 

7. Disclosure of your information

We may share your information with third parties including:

• our clients, your professional advisers and your employers or place of business;
• third parties involved in the provisions of services to clients including barristers, local counsel and other professional advisers;
• our professional advisers, auditors and insurers;
• third party service providers to whom we outsource services, for example archival, auditing, reference checking, professional advisory (including legal, accounting, financial and business consulting), IT support, mailing house, delivery, website, social media, research, banking, payment, client contact, data processing, insurance, forensic, litigation support, data room, marketing and security services;
• legal directories and survey organisations;
• third party technology organisations, including cloud service providers, such as data storage platforms;
• third parties with whom we have co-promotional arrangements (such as jointly sponsored events) or third parties assisting us with events;
• new entities or third parties we may be merging with or acquiring;
• third parties who carry out research and analyses of our services and products on our behalf; or
• regulatory authorities, courts, tribunals, government agencies, law enforcement agencies and other third parties.

If you have any questions in relation to the transfer of your personal information, please contact us at privacy@diac.com.

 

8. Security

We take reasonable steps to hold information securely in electronic or physical form and to prevent unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Our information security policy is
supported by a number of security standards, processes and procedures and we store information in access-controlled premises or in electronic databases requiring logins and passwords. We require our third-party data storage providers to comply with appropriate information security industry standards. All partners and staff and third-party providers with access to confidential information are subject to confidentiality obligations.

The transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our online services; any transmission is at your own risk.

 

9. Cookies

We use cookies on our online services.

 

10. Third party sites

This website contain links to other sites which are controlled by third parties

You should consult these other sites’ privacy policies and be aware that we do not accept responsibility for their use of information about you.

 

11. Your rights

The privacy laws of some jurisdictions may give you the right to access, amend or erase your We personal information or, in some circumstances, to restrict or object to the processing of your personal information.

If you would like to request a copy of your data or would like to take steps to exercise any of your rights, please contact us in writing as set out below. We may refuse to provide access and may charge a fee for access if the relevant legislation allows us to do so, in which case we will provide reasons for our decision as required by law.

In the limited circumstances where you have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal information for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time.

Information we hold about you should be up-to-date and accurate. Please advise us in writing of any changes to your information using the contact details set out in section 16 below.

 

12. If you do not want to receive marketing information from us

If you receive marketing materials relating to our services by email or post, you may withdraw your consent for us to send these to you at any time, by using the “unsubscribe” option included in the email or other material. Alternatively, you can let us know your preferences by sending an email to privacy@diac.com.

 

13. Children’s privacy

This website is not intended for use by children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 years of age through this website. If you are under 18, please do not submit any personal information to us.

 

14. Status of this Policy

We review this Privacy Policy regularly and reserve the right to revise it or any part of it from time to time to reflect changes in the law or technology practices. It is your responsibility to review the amended Privacy Policy.

 

15. Data controllers

The data controller is Dubai International Arbitration Centre.

 

16. Contact and further information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or want to submit a written complaint to us about how we handle your personal information, please contact us at:

Dubai International Arbitration Centre
Dubai Chambers Building Level 14
Baniyas Road
Deira
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
E privacy@diac.com

 

For the attention of the Data Controller

If you make a privacy complaint, we will respond to let you know how your complaint will be handled. We may ask you for further details, consult with other parties and keep records regarding your complaint.

Website notices

The materials contained on the Dubai Arbitration Week website are of a general, informational nature. We have used reasonable endeavours to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the contents of the pages on this website, but the information does not constitute legal or professional advice and must not be relied on as such.

To the extent permitted by law, we do not accept responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on information contained in this website. Furthermore, Dubai International Arbitration Centre does not endorse, nor accept responsibility for any website referred to or accessed through this website.

Access permitted

You may only access and download the contents of the pages on this website on a temporary basis and for the sole purpose of viewing such information. You may not permanently copy or reproduce any part of the contents of the pages on this website without our prior written permission.

Limitation of liability

Subject to any applicable law to the contrary which cannot be excluded, any liability incurred in relation to the information on this website is limited to the resupply of the information or the reasonable cost of having the information resupplied.

Under no circumstances will Dubai International Arbitration Centre be liable for any incidental, special or consequential damages, including damages for loss of business or other profits arising in relation to the information on this website.

Anti-spam

Publication of electronic addresses on this website is for the purpose of professional communication only and must not be used to infer consent to the receipt of unsolicited commercial electronic messages.

Adobe

Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat and ‘Get Acrobat Reader’ logo are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Scams

Please be aware that criminals may pose as someone from Dubai International Arbitration Centre in order to carry out scams or frauds.

What to look out for

Scams will often originate by email and may take a number of forms (such as WhatsApp messages, video or voice notes etc.), including, but not limited to:

• telling you that bank account details have changed
• false invoices for legal services
• urgent requests for payment seemingly coming out of the blue
• offering money
• bequests under a will
• threatening legal action if the victim does not respond
• malicious attachments made to look innocuous such as an industry update
• requests for password or bank account details and links to helpful or relevant websites

A key element of scams of this type is the enticement of the victim to enter into some form of communication with the scammer, or making the victim take some action such as clicking a link.

These scams can take many forms. Recent fraudulent communications where the Centre’s name has been used contained the following red flag features:

• Change in bank account details. Dubai International Arbitration Centre will never advise of a change in our bank account details in the body of an email, text message or voice note. It would also be highly unusual for us to advise of our general bank account details in the body of an email (as opposed to a letter or invoice). If you receive an email of this nature, you should check on the telephone with a Dubai International Arbitration Centre person known to you before making payment.
• An unusual originating email address. All authentic Dubai International Arbitration Centre email addresses use a standard form – firstname.lastname@diac.com. Any communication purporting to be from Dubai International Arbitration Centre but not using this email format is more than likely fraudulent. Please also be aware that email addresses can be spoofed, so you should check that the reply-to address is not unusual.
• Email missing invoice attachment. In some cases, a perpetrator may send an email without attaching an invoice, in order to prompt the recipient to respond to request the attachment, building a degree of rapport or trust.
• A communication containing any of these features is highly unlikely to have originated from Dubai International Arbitration Centre, and should be treated with caution. If you receive an email or invoice with any of these features, do not correspond with the sender. Please report the incident to secuirty@diac.com immediately.

Please note that the above is not an exhaustive list, and we encourage you to take action with respect to any emails that seem suspicious, whether or not they contain any of the aforementioned features.

Reporting incidents

If you receive a communication purporting to be from Dubai International Arbitration Centre that you believe may be fraudulent, or you wish to clarify the authenticity of any invoices or emails that appear to have been sent to you by the firm, please contact us at secuirty@diac.com. 

We routinely report scams constituting crimes to law enforcement agencies, but it is impossible for us to completely put a stop to the fraudulent use of our name and the names of our lawyers for this purpose. We appreciate you providing us with any information which may assist us in identifying those responsible for scams, and encourage you to report any confirmed incidents of fraud involving the use of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre name and the names of our people to the authorities.

Anti-money Laundering

It is a requirement of AML law or regulation in the jurisdiction in which we operate that we identify and verify the identity of our clients before establishing a business relationship and obtain assurances about the transactions which we are asked to carry out.

The type of client, its business and geographical location, amongst other things, will dictate the due diligence standard and the sort of documentary evidence we are required to obtain to verify a client’s identity.

Where possible, we will seek the necessary documentation from publicly available sources and databases to which we have subscribed. However, in circumstances where the information is not available to us, we may need to obtain the information directly from you.

Where you have provided your personal information to us for the purpose of AML compliance, we will only process the information for that purpose.

If we cannot obtain all the necessary documentation within a reasonable timeframe, we may not be able to provide services to you.

Anti-bribery and Anti-corruption Laws

We have an Anti-Bribery and Gifts and Hospitality policy which applies to all our people. The policy prohibits the making, offering or promising to make a payment for any improper purpose or business advantage. All our people are prohibited from being a party to, or causing the Centre to be party to, any irregular or illegal payments or benefits where a third party could reasonably think the purpose is to win or retain business or to influence a business decision. The policy applies to all dealings by our people with all third parties on our behalf.