UAE Civil Transactions Law — articles 1–100

1. The legislative provisions shall apply to all matters they address expressly or implicitly. No room shall be left for Ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) where the text is definitive in its indication. 2. Should the…

Reference shall be made to the rules and principles of Islamic jurisprudence (Usul Al-Fiqh) for the understanding, interpretation, and construction of legislative texts.

The following shall be deemed matters of the public order: 1. The definitive rulings of the Islamic Shari'a. 2. The provisions related to the systems of governance. 3. The provisions related to the personal status of Mus…

1. The law shall be effective from its date of entry into force and shall not apply retroactively to preceding facts and acts, unless the law provides otherwise. 2. A legislative provision may not be repealed or suspende…

1. Provisions related to legal capacity shall apply to all persons who meet the conditions stipulated in those provisions. 2. If a person has full legal capacity under former provisions and then becomes of limited legal …

1. New provisions related to the barring of a claim by the lapse of time shall apply from the date of their entry into force to every period that has not yet been completed. 2. Former provisions shall apply to matters co…

1. If a new provision prescribes a period for barring a claim by the lapse of time that is shorter than that prescribed by the former provision, the new period shall run from the time the new provision enters into force,…

The provisions in force at the time of preparing the means of evidence, or at the time it ought to have been prepared, shall apply thereto.

Time limits shall be calculated according to the Gregorian calendar, unless the law provides otherwise.

The law of the United Arab Emirates shall be the reference for the characterization of relationships when it is required to determine the type of these relationships in a case involving a conflict of laws, to ascertain t…

1. The civil status and legal capacity of natural persons shall be governed by the law of the country whose nationality they hold. However, in financial transactions concluded in the United Arab Emirates that produce the…

The substantive conditions for the validity of a marriage shall be governed by the law of the country in which the marriage was concluded. As for the form, a marriage between two foreigners or between a foreigner and a n…

The law of the country in which the marriage was concluded shall apply to the following: 1. The personal effects and property-related effects arising from the contract of marriage. 2. Divorce, judicial divorce, and separ…

In the cases stipulated in Articles (12) and (13) of this Law, if one of the spouses is a national of the United Arab Emirates at the time of the conclusion of the marriage contract, or subsequently becomes a national an…

The maintenance obligation among relatives shall be governed by the law of the person liable therefor.

The substantive matters related to guardianship, tutorship, curatorship, and other systems established for the protection of persons lacking or of limited legal capacity and absentees, shall be governed by the law of the…

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Paragraphs (3) and (4) of this Article, succession shall be governed by the law of the country to which the decedent belonged at the time of their death. 2. The financial rights …

1. The possession and ownership of immovable property and other related real rights (jus in rem) shall be governed by the law of the location of the immovable property. 2. Movable property shall be governed by the law of…

1. Contractual obligations, as to both form and substance, shall be governed by the law of the country expressly agreed upon by the parties. If they do not agree, the law of the country in which the contracting parties h…

1. Non-contractual obligations shall be governed by the law of the country in which the event giving rise to the obligation occurred. 2. The provision of Paragraph (1) of this Article shall not apply to obligations arisi…

The rules of judicial jurisdiction, and all procedural matters, shall be governed by the law of the country in which the action is instituted or in which the procedures are undertaken.

The provisions of the preceding Articles shall not apply where there exists a provision to the contrary in a special law or in an international treaty in force in the State.

The principles of private international law shall be the reference for any matter concerning conflict of laws for which no provision is stipulated in the preceding Articles.

The law of the United Arab Emirates shall apply in the case of stateless persons.

A person who holds multiple nationalities simultaneously shall be governed by the law of the nationality by virtue of which they entered the State.

Where a person simultaneously holds the nationality of the United Arab Emirates and the nationality of another country, the law of the United Arab Emirates shall apply.

If it appears from the provisions of the preceding Articles that the applicable law is the law of a country in which multiple legal systems coexist, the internal law of that country shall determine which of such systems …

1. If it is determined that a foreign law is the applicable law, only its internal provisions shall be applied, excluding those related to private international law. 2. The law of the United Arab Emirates shall be applie…

The provisions of a foreign law designated by the preceding Articles may not be applied if such provisions are contrary to the public order or public morals in the United Arab Emirates.

The law of the United Arab Emirates shall be applied if it is impossible to prove the applicable foreign law or to determine its meaning.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

An exception shall not be extended by analogy, nor shall it be broadly interpreted.

A special provision shall restrict a general provision.

Any matter established by a mandatory provision shall prevail over any condition.

Whatever is indispensable for the fulfilment of an obligation is itself obligatory.

A ruling shall exist or cease to exist with the existence or absence of its legal cause.

Fungibles shall not cease to exist.

Certainty shall not be removed by doubt.

The presumption is the continuance of the status quo.

The presumption is freedom from liability.

The presumption is the non-existence of incidental attributes.

What is proven to exist at a certain time is presumed to continue, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

The presumption is that an occurrence is attributed to the nearest possible time.

What is established contrary to analogy shall not be used as a basis for analogy in other cases.

1. No harm shall be inflicted nor reciprocated. 2. Harm shall be removed. 3. Harm shall not be removed by an equivalent harm.

Shari‘ah permissibility negates liability.

1. Private harm shall be borne to avert public harm. 2. A greater harm shall be removed by a lesser harm.

Necessities permit prohibitions, and necessity shall be measured by its extent.

Compulsion shall not invalidate the right of another.

Averting harm takes precedence over securing benefits.

1. Usage is authoritative, whether general or specific. 2. Usage shall be recognized when it is constant or predominant. 3. Literal meaning shall be disregarded where usage indicates otherwise.

A matter recognized by custom is equivalent to a stipulated condition.

Designation by custom is equivalent to designation by text.

The practice of people constitutes a binding proof and shall be applied.

What is impossible by usage is deemed to be actually impossible.

Consideration is given to what is prevalent and common, not to what is rare.

Where a preventive cause and a permissive cause conflict, the preventive cause shall prevail.

That which is ancillary follows that which is principal and shall not be subject to a separate ruling.

If the principal is invalidated, the accessory is invalidated accordingly.

That which has lapsed shall not be reinstated, just as that which is non-existent shall not be restored.

If a thing is void, that which is contained therein is void.

If the principal is void, recourse shall be made to the substitute.

No consideration shall be given to conjecture.

No weight shall be given to a presumption that is clearly erroneous.

What is established by proof is equivalent to what is established by direct observation.

A person is bound by their admission.

The accessory may be established despite the non-establishment of the principal.

Appearance serves as proof for defence, but not for the establishment of a right.

Entitlement to return shall arise from the assumption of liability, and entitlement to profit shall arise from bearing risk of loss.

Whoever hastens to obtain something before its time shall be punished by deprivation thereof.

Whoever seeks to invalidate what has been concluded on their part, their endeavour shall be rejected.

The legal personality of a human shall commence upon complete live birth and shall terminate upon death. The law shall determine the rights of a conceived fetus.

1. The event of birth and death shall be established by its registration in the records designated for that purpose. 2. If the event of birth or death is not registered in the records, or where the registration is proven…

The provisions regarding persons of unknown lineage, the missing persons, and the absentees shall be regulated by special laws. In the absence thereof, the provisions of Islamic Shari'ah shall apply to them.

1. The nationality of the United Arab Emirates shall be regulated by law. 2. A national is any person whose nationality of the United Arab Emirates is established in accordance with the provisions of the law, and a forei…

The family of a person shall consist of their spouse and their relatives by consanguinity. Relatives by consanguinity shall be deemed to include all persons who share a common ancestor.

1. Direct kinship is the relationship between ascendants and descendants. 2. Indirect kinship is the relationship between persons who share a common ancestor without either being an ascendant or descendant of the other.

In calculating the degree of direct kinship, each ascending generation to the common ancestor shall be counted as one degree, excluding that ancestor. In calculating the degree of indirect kinship, the degrees shall be c…

The relatives of one spouse shall be deemed to be in the same degree of kinship with respect to the other spouse.

1. The domicile is the place where a person habitually resides. 2. A person may have more than one domicile at the same time. 3. If a person has no place of habitual residence, they shall be deemed to have no domicile.

The place where a person conducts a trade, profession, or craft shall be deemed a domicile with respect to the management of affairs related to that trade, profession, or craft.

1. The domicile of a person lacking legal capacity, a minor, an interdicted person, a missing person, and an absentee shall be the domicile of their legal representative. 2. A minor authorized to trade shall have a speci…

1. An elected domicile may be designated for the performance of a specific legal act, and shall apply for all matters relating to such act, including compulsory enforcement procedures, unless it is expressly stipulated t…

1. Every person who has reached the age of majority, enjoying full mental capacity, and has not been interdicted shall have full legal capacity to exercise their civil rights. 2. A person reaches the age of majority upon…

1. A person lacking discernment due to their minority of age, mental incapacity, or insanity shall not be competent to exercise civil rights. 2. Any person who has not attained seven (7) Gregorian years of age shall be d…

A person shall be deemed to have limited legal capacity, as determined by law, in the following cases: 1. Any person who has attained the age of discernment but has not attained the age of majority. 2. Any person who has…

A person lacking legal capacity, a person of limited legal capacity, a missing person, and an absentee shall, as the case may be, be subject to the provisions governing guardianship, tutorship, curatorship, or representa…

No person may waive their personal freedom or their legal capacity, nor alter the rules governing them, nor make either the subject of any form of transaction.

The material elements of a human being may not be the subject of dispositions contrary to the law, public order, or public morals.

Any person whose personality rights have been unlawfully infringed upon may request the cessation of such infringement, along with compensation for any damage sustained.

1. Every person shall have a name and a surname, and their surname shall be borne by their children. 2. A special law shall regulate the manner of acquiring and changing names and surnames. 3. Any person whose right to u…

Legal persons are: 1. The State, the Emirates, and other administrative units to which the law grants legal personality. 2. Federal or local public authorities, establishments, institutions, and other entities to which t…

A legal person shall enjoy all rights, except those which are inherent in the natural attributes of a human being, within the limits prescribed by law.

A legal person shall have: 1. An independent financial patrimony. 2. Legal capacity within the limits designated by its instrument of establishment or as prescribed by law. 3. The right to litigate. 4. An independent dom…

Legal persons shall be subject to the provisions of the special laws governing them.

Property (Mal) is any tangible thing or right that has a material value in transactions.

Property may be lawful (Mutaqawwim) or unlawful (non-Mutaqawwim). Lawful (Mutaqawwim) property is that which may be lawfully enjoyed, while unlawful (non-Mutaqawwim) property is that which may not be lawfully enjoyed.

Anything that can be corporeally or incorporeally possessed and lawfully enjoyed, and that is not excluded from transactions by its nature or by virtue of the law, may constitute the subject of financial rights.

1. Things that are excluded from transactions by their nature are those that no one can exclusively possess. 2. Things that are excluded from transactions by virtue of the law are those that the law does not permit to be…

1. Fungible things are those whose individual units or parts are identical or substantially similar, so that by custom one may substitute another without any appreciable distinction, and which are valued in transactions …