Terms & Conditions (T&C)

Faisal Salem Advocates & Legal Consultants
Legal Review of ILS Swiss Terms and Conditions
Compliance with UAE legislation and recommendations for revision

Faisal Salem Advocates & Legal Consultants

Document reviewed: ILS Swiss Terms and Conditions
Review date: 11 September 2026
Purpose: Assessment of compliance with applicable UAE legislation and contractual risks

General Assessment

The document provided to us constitutes a comprehensive and workable starting point. However, before it is put into use in its current form, we recommend updating certain provisions and resolving the internal inconsistencies within the document. The priority issues are outdated statutory references, the requirement for an Arabic-language version, cancellation and refund provisions, personal data and marketing consents, and the dispute resolution clause.

1. Applicable Legislation

The document refers to Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 concerning the Civil Transactions Law. This law was repealed by Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, which entered into force on 1 June 2026. The relevant references should therefore be updated in accordance with the new law.

Consumer protection legislation should likewise not be cited solely as Federal Decree-Law No. 5 of 2023. The principal legislation is Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection, which was amended by the 2023 Decree-Law.

2. Arabic-Language Requirement

Under the UAE Consumer Protection Law, contracts, terms and conditions, and information provided to consumers must also be made available in Arabic. An English version may be used alongside the Arabic version; however, proceeding with an English-only version may create legal risk.

We therefore recommend preparing the terms and conditions in a bilingual Arabic-English format.

3. Cancellation and Refund Provisions

Certain provisions of the document state that fees paid are non-refundable under any circumstances, while other provisions provide for a 100% refund where a course is cancelled by ILS Swiss, a pro rata refund where a course is terminated after commencement, and cash refunds under certain conditions.

These provisions are inconsistent with one another. In addition, where a service is not provided, or is provided defectively or incompletely, the consumer’s statutory rights to a refund and compensation cannot be entirely excluded. The rules governing cancellations, refunds, credit notes and vouchers should be redrafted clearly and consistently under a single section.

4. Group Courses

One provision requires a minimum of three participants for a group course to commence, while another requires a minimum of two. The minimum number of participants should be clarified.

It should also be clearly specified how long a student may be required to wait if there are insufficient participants and, at the end of that period, whether a refund or a credit note will apply.

5. Visa Refusal

The document states that an administrative fee of AED 750 will be deducted in the event of a visa refusal, while the same section also states that amounts already paid are non-refundable under any circumstances. These provisions are inconsistent.

The terms should clearly provide that, where an official visa refusal document is submitted within the prescribed period, the remaining amount will be refunded after deduction of the AED 750 administrative fee, and should specify the timeframe within which the refund will be completed.

6. Use of Photographs and Videos

The current wording treats the use of students’ photographs and videos for marketing purposes as automatically accepted and requires individuals who do not consent to notify ILS Swiss afterwards.

It would be more appropriate to obtain separate, explicit and optional consent for use on social media and for advertising purposes. In relation to images of children, consent from a parent or legal guardian should also be obtained. Third-party platforms and any potential cross-border transfers of personal data should also be properly addressed in the Privacy Policy.

7. Newsletter and Marketing Communications

Enrolment in a course should not constitute automatic consent to receive marketing or newsletter communications. A separate and optional consent checkbox should be used for marketing communications, independently of course enrolment, and refusal to provide such consent should not prevent enrolment in the course.

8. Jurisdiction and Arbitration Clause

The current clause first designates Dubai as the competent jurisdiction and then provides that all disputes are subject to DIAC arbitration. As presently drafted, the clause is unclear.

DIAC arbitration may be costly for individual student disputes, which are generally of relatively low value. It would be more practical to provide for the jurisdiction of the Dubai Courts in respect of individual students and, optionally, DIAC arbitration for separate corporate training agreements. If arbitration is selected, the seat of arbitration, language, number of arbitrators and governing law should be expressly specified.

9. Limitation of Liability

The provision seeking to exclude ILS Swiss from all liability for damages is overly broad. Liability arising from wilful misconduct, gross negligence, defective services, personal data breaches, student safety, and mandatory obligations under consumer protection legislation cannot be entirely excluded.

The provision should be redrafted so that liability is limited only to the extent permitted under UAE law.

10. Force Majeure

The terms may provide for in-person classes to be converted to online instruction in the event of force majeure. However, where online instruction cannot be provided or the service is terminated entirely, requiring the student to accept only a credit note for unused lessons may create legal risk.

Temporary postponement, conversion to online instruction, and complete impossibility of performance should be addressed separately.

11. Trial Lessons

The trial lesson provision states, on the one hand, that the lesson is free if no enrolment is made and, on the other hand, that a private trial lesson is chargeable. The pricing of group and private trial lessons should be set out separately and clearly.

12. Restriction on Direct Engagement with Teachers

The provision restricting students from entering into a direct working arrangement with teachers may be retained; however, the scope of the AED 7,500 charge and the specific breaches to which it applies should be clarified.

Any corresponding restriction imposed on teachers should be addressed separately in the teacher’s employment or freelance agreement rather than in the student terms and conditions.

13. Junior Courses

For courses offered to children, the terms should more clearly regulate authorised persons for collection of the child, late collection procedures, medical emergencies, disclosure of allergies and health information, permissions for excursions, and parental consent for photographs or videos.

14. Corporate Information

The document should include ILS Swiss’s full legal name, trade licence number, licensing authority, registered address, contact details, and whether prices are inclusive or exclusive of VAT. The duration of each lesson or unit, the course start and end dates, the total number of lessons, and the complaints procedure should also be clearly specified.

Conclusion and Recommendation

We do not recommend using the document in its current form without revision. In particular, the outdated statutory references, the use of an English-only version, inconsistencies in the refund provisions, personal data and marketing consents, and the dispute resolution clause should be revised.

Upon request, we can revise the existing document in full so as to protect ILS Swiss’s commercial interests to the fullest extent possible while ensuring compliance with applicable UAE legislation, and prepare both an English version and a bilingual Arabic-English version.

Principal Legal References

Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 Promulgating the Civil Transactions Law

Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection, as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 5 of 2023

Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data

Dubai International Arbitration Centre Arbitration Rules 2022