Nakheel Claims Judge Asleep At Tribunal

Dubai World Tribunal said it was “most regrettable” after one of its judges allegedly fell asleep for six minutes during a court hearing in May, but rejected calls for a retrial in the case, it was revealed yesterday.

Debt-plagued master developer Nakheel, the defendant in the case, claimed Michael Hwang, a member of the tribunal, had been yawning during the delivery of evidence at the earlier hearing in May and fell asleep, or was “inattentive”, for six minutes.

Following a review of CCTV footage of the hearing, Sir Anthony Evans, chairman of Dubai World Tribunal (DWT) said there had been a “breach of duty” and the incident was “most regrettable”. However, he rejected Nakheel’s application for a retrial and described their move as “mischievous” and with “no merit whatsoever”.

After heated exchanges between the tribunal and Nakheel’s legal representatives, it was agreed that no significant evidence had been presented during the six minutes in which Hwang is alleged to have been asleep.

Arabianbusiness