DIFC Court of Appeal upholds USD 1.6 billion ICC award and confirms existence of foreign act of state doctrine in DIFC law

On 26 June 2025, the DIFC Court of Appeal published its judgment in Korek Telecom Company LLC & ors v Iraq Telcom Ltd & anor [2024] DIFC CA 016, rejecting a challenge to a USD 1.6 billion ICC award.  In doing so, the DIFC Court of Appeal confirmed, for the first time, that the foreign act of state doctrine forms part of DIFC law, while also setting clear limits on its application.

Tom Montagu Smith KC and Miriam Schmelzer, who acted for the successful award creditor, have prepared a note on judgment. They were instructed by Graham Lovett, Michael Stewart Emily Kemp and Hannah Braiding Watson of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and Bader El-Jeaan, John Reynolds, Tarek Badawy, Oliver Green and Ismail Lamie of Meysan, together with John Willems and Noor Davies of White & Case.