A short list this week but two reasoned First Instance judgments worth reading and one regulatory framework that took effect in the window. Patricia Jaecklein v SDI Sports LLC [2026] QIC (F) 12 is Allsop AC's substantive trial judgment on wrongful dismissal in the QFC, with quantum and the enforceability of the restrictive covenants held over to a separate hearing on 6 May 2026. Rathmore Consulting LLC v Horton Interiors LLC [2026] QIC (F) 13 is a short Brand J debt-recovery and jurisdiction decision. A28 v B28 [2026] ADGMCFI 0012 is a sealed and anonymised CFI judgment newly added to the ADGM Courts listing — full reasons remain to be read. The DIFC Court of First Instance also published three Orders with Reasons on 28 April 2026 (Hallam v Natixis, Alizz Islamic Bank v Alef Capital and MAG Development v The Collection Club). On the regulatory side, the FSRA's enhancements to the ADGM insurance regulatory framework — implementing CP 13 of 2025 — and its new proportionate climate-related financial risk requirements took effect on 27 April 2026, and the FSRA opened a fresh consultation on its AML framework on 30 April 2026. Friday 1 May 2026 is the commencement date for two QFCRA Rulebook amendment instruments already on the watch-list. No new DIFC Laws, Regulations, Amendment Laws, Enactment Notices, Practice Directions or Registrar's Directions, no new QFC Laws, no new QICDRC Practice Directions and no new ADGM Court Procedure Rules amendments came into force in the period.

New judgments

[2026] QIC (F) 12 — Patricia Jaecklein v SDI Sports LLC Court: Qatar Financial Centre Civil and Commercial Court (First Instance Circuit), Doha Date: 22 April 2026 Judge: The Honourable James Allsop AC Case number: CTFIC0030/2025 Provisions: QFC Employment Regulations; QFC Immigration Regulations; QFC Companies Regulations.

Allsop AC's substantive trial judgment on a wrongful-dismissal claim brought by an employee against a QFC-registered sports management company. The trial was held remotely, with witness statements and live cross-examination of the principal witnesses. The Court held that the employer had repudiated the contract of employment and that the claimant had been wrongfully dismissed without warning, finding her on the evidence to have been a valuable employee. The respondent's counterclaim was dismissed in its entirety. The judgment is, on its face, the more substantive of the two new First Instance items this week and a useful Allsop AC restatement of the QFC Court's approach to repudiatory breach in employment and to the way employment terminations interact with the sponsorship arrangements under the QFC Immigration Regulations and the corporate governance framework under the Companies Regulations. Quantum, restrictive covenants and costs have been held over to a separate hearing, with further submissions ordered by 6 May 2026. The consequentials judgment will be the more frequently cited of the pair and is the diary item for any practitioner with QFC employment work — particularly those advising on enforceability of post-termination restrictions following a repudiatory breach.

[2026] QIC (F) 13 — Rathmore Consulting LLC v Horton Interiors LLC Court: Qatar Financial Centre Civil and Commercial Court (First Instance Circuit), Doha Date: 27 April 2026 Judge: Justice Fritz Brand Case number: CTFIC0008/2026 Issues: breach of contract; debt recovery; jurisdiction.

A short, business-as-usual debt-recovery decision from Brand J. The QFC Court ordered the defendant to pay AED 80,000 plus 5% simple interest from 9 October 2024 together with the claimant's reasonable costs. The defendant's counterclaim was dismissed. The interest of the case for practitioners lies in two things: the Court's continued willingness to award interest from the date of breach rather than from the date of the claim form, and its treatment of jurisdiction — one of the keyword tags on the listing — which on its face suggests a jurisdictional challenge by the defendant that did not survive scrutiny. The dispute arose from a contractual arrangement; full pleading detail is in the linked sealed PDF, which is short. Worth reading as a template for cross-border contract claims with a QFC-incorporated counterparty where the underlying invoicing is in dirhams.

[2026] ADGMCFI 0012 — A28 v B28 (anonymised) Court: ADGM Court of First Instance, Al Maryah Island Date: 17 April 2026 Case number: ADGMCFI-2025-301.

A sealed and anonymised CFI judgment freshly listed on the ADGM Courts page. The A/B numbered pseudonym convention is consistent with recent ADGM practice for matters touching family arrangements, employment or sensitive personal-data subject matter — A17 v B17 and A18 v B18 (the conjoined [2026] ADGMCFI 0008 judgment of 23 February 2026) and A22 & B22 v C22 [2026] ADGMCFI 0007 of 20 February 2026 are recent comparators. It is not yet possible from the public listing to say more than that, and practitioners should read the PDF before drawing any wider conclusions or citing the case as authority.

DIFC Court of First Instance — Orders with Reasons, 28 April 2026

Three short Orders with Reasons issued by the DIFC Court of First Instance on the same day: Omar Ben Hallam v Natixis CFI 016/2025 (Order with Reasons of H.E. Deputy Chief Justice Ali Al Madhani on the Claimant's Application; underlying claim filed 24 February 2025); Alizz Islamic Bank S.A.O.C v Alef Capital B.S.C.(C) (formerly Investrade Company B.S.C.(C)) CFI 048/2025 (Order with Reasons of H.E. Justice Rene Le Miere on Application No. CFI-048-2025/2); and MAG Development Services Limited v (1) The Collection Club Restaurant Ltd, (2) Laurent Buisine, (3) Hugo Valat CFI 092/2024 (Order with Reasons). These are interlocutory orders disposing of applications rather than substantive trial judgments; the reasoning is in the linked PDFs on the DIFC Courts website.

Regulations, Rulebooks and Practice Directions

ADGM — Insurance and Climate-Related Financial Risk Rules in force 27 April 2026. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the ADGM has implemented the proposals in Consultation Paper No. 13 of 2025. The insurance amendments comprise (i) enhancements to insurance risk management, market conduct and reinsurance practices intended to maintain alignment with the Insurance Core Principles issued by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, (ii) measures to operationalise IFRS 17 (Insurance Contracts) for ADGM insurers and reinsurers and (iii) miscellaneous amendments providing additional regulatory clarity and removing unnecessary requirements. Separately — and applying across the regulated population, not only insurers — the FSRA has introduced proportionate climate-related financial risk requirements obliging all Authorised Persons and Recognised Bodies to identify and manage such risk where it is material to their business. The final amendments took effect on 27 April 2026, the same day as the FSRA announcement.

ADGM — AML framework consultation opened 30 April 2026. The FSRA launched a consultation on enhancements to its AML framework on 30 April 2026. The consultation paper appears in the ADGM Document Repository (Arabic version live at the time of writing; English version expected on the same page).

QICDRC / QFC — imminent commencement on 1 May 2026. Two QFCRA Rulebook amendment instruments come into force on Friday 1 May 2026: the Representative Office and Miscellaneous Amendments Rules 2026, and the INMA (Wholesale Advisory Firms) Amendments Rules 2026. Both were already on the watch-list from earlier weekly monitors; their commencement falls just outside this week's coverage period but is the immediate diary item for QFC-regulated entities.

DIFC / DFSA — no rulebook or legislative changes in the period. No new DIFC Laws, Regulations, Amendment Laws or Enactment Notices were added to the DIFC Legal Database. The most recent DFSA legislative notice — "Notice of Amendments to Legislation March 2026" — and the most recent DFSA news item — "DFSA publishes Thematic Review report on Compliance Arrangements in fintech firms" (10 April 2026) — are both pre-window. CP 170 and CP 171 (both released 27 March 2026) remain open consultations; their status has not changed in the period.

QICDRC and DIFC Practice Directions — nothing new. No new Practice Directions, Practical Guidance Notes, Registrar's Directions or Court Administrative Orders were issued in either centre during the coverage period. The most recent QICDRC PD remains PD 1/2026 (Artificial Intelligence, 6 January 2026); the most recent DIFC PD remains PD 1/2025 (Access to Justice in Employment Disputes, 9 October 2025).