Mark Beer

Mark Beer in the DIFC Courtroom

Mark Beer, OBE is Chief Executive of the Dubai International Financial Centre's Dispute Resolution Authority; Chief Executive, Registrar and a Small Claims Tribunal judge of the DIFC Courts; and Registrar to the Dubai World Tribunal. He was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire in Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's 2013 Birthday Honours list

Acknowledged as the person leading the DIFC Courts plans to connect with commercial courts around the world, Beer was involved in negotiating the memoranda signed with other Courts including those signed with the courts in New York, England & Wales, Singapore, Kenya and Australia. He also led the DIFC Courts focus on customer service and business excellence, with the DIFC Courts becoming the first court in the world to receive accreditation to The International Standards for Service Excellence (TISSE 2012) and the first non-Federal entity to receive 5 Stars under the UAE's Government Service Rating Scheme. In addition the DIFC Courts has, under Beer's leadership, won the UAE Customer Service Award for four consecutive years, and a UK Law Society Award for Excellence in the International Legal Services.

Beer is also credited as the person responsible for the idea to create the DIFC's Dispute Resolution Authority, hosting the DIFC Courts, the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre, the DIFC Wills and Probate Registry and the DIFC Academy of Law. The Authority was established by Dubai Law 7 of 2014 and shortly after its creation Beer was appointed Chief Executive.

As Registrar to both the DIFC Courts and the Dubai World Tribunal, Beer has judicial powers as prescribed by Dubai Law. Those powers are further explained in section 3 of the Rules of the DIFC Courts as:

"Where these Rules provide for the Court to perform any act then, except where an enactment, Rule or Practice Direction provides otherwise, that act may be performed by any Judge or Registrar"

Beer's orders can be found in almost all of the DIFC Courts significant cases, with some of his more substantial judicial decisions being in the areas of costs determination and disputes under the DIFC Courts Code of Professional Conduct.

In his role as Registrar, responsible for the day-to-day operation of the DIFC Courts and the Dubai World Tribunal Beer has issued a number of Registrar's Directions, covering areas such as use of technology to enhance case efficiency, access to case related information, case management, legal cost determination and consolidation of cases.

As the Chief Executive of the DIFC Courts Beer's energy, drive and determination has been credited as one of the reasons for the DIFC Courts success. Recognised as one of the world's leading commercial courts, it is said to be one of the major reasons for businesses to relocate their headquarters to the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Education

Mark Beer studied at both King Edward's School, Birmingham and Manchester Grammar School before graduating from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford at the University of Oxford in 1993 after studying Jurisprudence, Law. At Oxford Mark captained the joint Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and Trinity College, Oxford Rugby union side.

Corporate life

Prior to joining the DIFC Courts in 2008, Mark Beer was at Mastercard serving as Vice President, Sales & Corporate Services for South Asia, Middle East and Africa (Vice President, Legal Counsel, South Asia, Middle East & Africa was an earlier role). Before that he was a Corporate Finance Lawyer for Man Investments in Switzerland, and at Clyde & Co in Dubai, having previously worked as a Company Commercial Lawyer for Edge & Ellison working under Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham..

He was appointed Registrar at DIFC Courts in 2008, and a Small Claims Tribunal Judge and the Chief Executive of the DIFC Courts in 2009. Mark Beer is also Registrar at The Dubai World Tribunal. and was appointed Chief Executive of the Dubai International Financial Centre's Dispute Resolution Authority in 2014.

Beer has twice been named in the 'Top 50 most influential Brits in the UAE' by ArabianBusiness.com.

Beer has twice been shortlisted by the Law Society of England and Wales as the UK's Solicitor of the Year - In-House

Public Speaking

Beer is a regular speaker at events around the world, usually about court excellence and ways in which Governments and Judiciaries can improve efficiency, accessibility and transparency. He has spoken in New Zealand about the Pursuit of Excellence and Innovation in Courts and Tribunals, in Australia about the use of the International Framework for Court Excellence to improve Trust and Confidence in the Judiciary, in China to the China Executive Leadership Academy in Pudong about Dubai's role in supporting the One Belt, One Road initiative, in Singapore about the Judiciary of the Future in Malaysia to the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration as well as the Multimedia University. Beer's speaking engagements in Dubai are prolific in the area of Courts, inward investment to Dubai and the future of education. He is also a regular speaker in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom about Court excellence

Volunteer and causes

During Beer's time as Chairman of the British Business Group, he oversaw fundraising for a number of charities in the UAE including Gulf for Good, Foresight and the British Community Assistance Fund. Since then Beer has remained Vice Chairman of the British Community Assistance Fund, established as a not for profit organisation run by volunteers from the resident British community in the UAE. BCAF provides help to British subjects and their families who find themselves in distress in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, often through no fault of their own.

His work in supporting education led to his appointment as a Governor of the Dubai English Speaking School and the Dubai English Speaking College in 2011, positions which we resigned shortly after his appointment as a Governor of Dubai College in 2015. Beer remains a consultant to the Board of Governors of Dubai English Speaking School and Dubai English Speaking College.

Beer has spoken at a number of events about education in Dubai including conferences in Dubai and London including the 2016 World Education Summit.

Beer was appointed by the KHDA in 2015 to Chair an advisory group of Dubai's not-for-profit UK Curriculum schools. He is also on the MENA Advisory Board of City University.

Beer also took on the role of Chairman of the UAE's Oxford & Cambridge Society in 2015. Since he took over the Society has held more events with better attendance than in previous years. In addition, offers of places for both Oxford University and Cambridge University have more than doubled in the UAE since the Society revamped its school engagement initiatives.

Institution	Position	Date
British Business Group Dubai & Northern Emirates	Chairman	June 2007 to June 2011
British Community Assistance Fund	Vice Chairman	July 2011 – Present
Dubai College	Governor	September 2015 – Present
Dubai English Speaking School	Governor	August 2011 – October 2015
Dubai English Speaking College	Governor	August 2011 – October 2015
The Hub	Member of the Advisory Board	June 2011 – Present
World Economic Forum	Member of the Global Agenda Council for the International Legal System (now Rule of Law)	August 2010 to August 2011
International Association for Court Administration	Vice President, Middle East	September 2010 – Present
International Association for Court Administration	President Elect	November 2014 – Present
Capital Club Dubai	Chairman, Events Committee	October 2011 – Present
Bakers Dozen	Honorary Secretary	2005–Present
Oxford and Cambridge Society, UAE	Chairman	2015–Present
Capital Club Dubai	Governor	2014 – Present