UAE Civil Transactions Law — articles 101–200

1. Consumable things are those whose utility is realized only through their consumption or expenditure. 2. Non-consumable things are those whose utility is realized by their repeated use while their substance remains int…

Anything that is fixed in its place and cannot be moved without deterioration or alteration of its form shall be deemed immovable; anything else shall be deemed movable.

A movable placed by its owner on an immovable owned thereby for the purpose of serving or exploiting such immovable shall be deemed immovable by destination, even if it is not permanently affixed to the immovable.

1. All immovable and movable properties belonging to the State or public legal persons and allocated for public benefit, either in fact or by virtue of the law, shall be deemed public property, which may not be disposed …

Whoever lawfully exercises their right shall not be liable for any damage resulting therefrom to others.

1. Whoever unlawfully exercises their rights shall be held liable. 2. The exercise of a right shall be deemed unlawful if: a. The intent to cause harm is present. b. The interests sought to be achieved through such exerc…

A right may be personal, real, or incorporeal.

A personal right is a legal relationship between a creditor and a debtor, by virtue of which the creditor is entitled to demand that the debtor transfer a real right (jus in rem), perform an act, or refrain from an act.

1. A real right (jus in rem) is a direct legal power over a specific thing, conferred by law to a specific person. 2. A real right (jus in rem) may be principal or accessory.

1. Principal real rights are the right of ownership and the rights derived therefrom, namely the rights of disposition, usufruct, use, habitation, Musataha, easement, and any other right so provided for by law. 2. Access…

1. Incorporeal rights are those that attach to an intangible thing. 2. Incorporeal rights include neighbouring rights, trademarks, industrial property rights, and other incorporeal rights that shall be governed by specia…

Obligations, or personal rights, arise from legal acts, legal facts, and the law. The sources of obligation are: 1. The Contract. 2. The Unilateral Act. 3. The Harmful Act (Tort). 4. The Beneficial Act (Unjust Enrichment…

1. A contract is the binding concurrence of an offer made by one of the contracting parties with the acceptance of the other, and their agreement in a manner that produces its legal effect in respect of the subject matte…

A contract may pertain to the following: 1. Property, whether movable or immovable, tangible, or intangible. 2. Benefits derived from things. 3. A specific act or service. 4. Any other thing for which dealing or being ob…

1. The general provisions stipulated in this chapter shall apply to both named and unnamed contracts. 2. The special rules for certain contracts set out within the provisions related to each of them in this Law or other …

1. A contract is bilateral (synallagmatic) when each contracting party undertakes obligations toward the other. 2. A contract is unilateral when a person or several persons obligate themselves towards another person or s…

1. The contract shall be consensual when it is concluded merely by the exchange of consent between the parties by any means whatsoever. 2. A contract shall be formal when its conclusion requires compliance with the form …

1. A negotiated contract is one whose terms are freely negotiated between the parties. 2. A contract of adhesion is one whose general terms are predetermined by one party and are not subject to negotiation.

1. If the wording of a contract is clear, one may not be departed from it by way of interpretation to ascertain the common intention of the contracting parties. 2. If there is a room for interpreting a contract, the comm…

1. The governing principle of a contract is the consent of the contracting parties and what they have committed to in the contract. 2. Any doubt shall be interpreted in favour of the debtor. However, the interpretation o…

1. The initiation of pre-contractual negotiations, their conduct, and their termination shall be in accordance with the requirements of good faith. 2. If negotiations are conducted, they do not create an obligation on th…

1. A party to negotiations or a contract who has knowledge of information that is of decisive importance to the consent of the other party shall inform them of it whenever the other party's ignorance of the information i…

Any person who uses or discloses without permission confidential information obtained in connection with negotiations or a contract shall be liable in accordance with the general rules.

The necessary elements required for the conclusion of a contract are: 1. The mutual consent of the parties with respect to the contract's essential elements. 2. The subject matter of the contract exists or is capable of …

1. Offer and acceptance are any manifestation of will expressing the exercise of the right to conclude a contract; that which is issued first constitutes the offer, and that which is expressed subsequently constitutes th…

1. The manifestation of will shall be: a. By words or in writing, and it may be in the past tense, as well as in the present or imperative tense, where either is intended to express the present. b. By a gesture customari…

1. The offer of goods and services accompanied by a statement of the consideration shall be deemed an offer, unless indications exist to the contrary. 2. Publication, advertisement, and statements of current prices, and …

1. The silence of the person to whom the offer is directed shall not be deemed an acceptance, unless an agreement or an indicium exists indicating that it is. 2. Silence is considered an acceptance if there was a prior d…

The contracting parties shall have the option to revoke the offer until the end of the contractual session (majlis). The offer shall lapse in the following cases: 1. If the offeror expressly or implicitly retracts it bef…

1. If a time limit is specified for acceptance, the offeror is bound to keep the offer open until the expiry of that time limit. 2. If no time for acceptance is specified, the time shall be deduced from the circumstances…

1. The contract shall not be concluded unless the parties agree on the essential elements of the obligation and on the other legitimate conditions that the parties consider essential. 2. If the parties agree on the essen…

1. If the contracting parties were present in one place or in two different places but are connected via direct means of communication, the contract shall be considered to have been concluded at the time and place where …

Without prejudice to the provisions contained in other laws, a contract by auction shall not be concluded except by the fall of the hammer. A bid shall lapse upon the submission of a higher bid, even if it is void, or by…

Acceptance in contracts of adhesion shall be limited to mere acceptance to uniform conditions set by the offeror for all their other contracting parties and which are not open to negotiation.

1. An agreement under which both or one of the contracting parties undertakes to conclude a specific contract in the future shall not be valid unless all the essential elements of the contract intended to be concluded an…

If a person undertakes to conclude a contract, then reneges thereon, and the other party brings a claim seeking enforcement of the undertaking, and the requirements for the conclusion of the contract are met, particularl…

1. Payment of earnest money upon concluding the contract indicates that the contract has become final and may not be withdrawn from, unless the agreement or custom provides otherwise. 2. If the contracting parties agree …

A framework agreement is a contract pursuant to which the contracting parties determine the principal terms that govern the contracts they conclude between them in accordance with the provisions of this agreement. This a…

1. Contracting by representation is permissible, unless the law provides otherwise. 2. Representation in contracting may be contractual, legal, or judicial. 3. Where the representation is contractual, the instrument of a…

Whoever personally concludes a contract for their own account is solely bound by the effects resulting therefrom.

1. If a contract is concluded by way of representation, the person of the representative, not that of the principal, shall be taken into consideration in determining defects of consent, or the effect of knowledge of cert…

If a representative concludes a contract in the name of the principal within the limits of their agency, the effects of this contract and the rights and obligations arising from it shall accrue to the principal.

If the contracting party, at the time of concluding the contract, does not declare that they are contracting in the capacity of a representative, the effects of the contract shall not be attributed to the principal, whet…

Where both the representative and the person with whom they contract are unaware, at the time of concluding the contract, of the termination of the representation, the effects of the contract concluded by the representat…

A person may not be permitted to contract with themself in the name of the person they represent, whether the contract is for their own account or for the account of another person, without the authorization of the princ…

Every person is competent to contract, unless their capacity is removed or restricted by law.

A non-discerning minor has no right to dispose of their property, and all their acts shall be void.

1. Financial acts made by a discerning minor shall be valid if they are exclusively beneficial, and void if they are exclusively detrimental. 2. Financial dispositions made by a discerning minor that fall between benefit…

1. The court, upon the request of the guardian or the tutor, or of the discerning minor who has completed fifteen (15) Gregorian years of age, and after conducting the necessary investigation, may authorize the discernin…

The guardian of a minor's property shall be their father, then their father's testamentary guardian, then the paternal grandfather, and thereafter the court or the custodian appointed thereby.

The law shall determine the capacity required to be met by a guardian to exercise the rights of guardianship over the property.

1. Acts of administration issued by a tutor concerning a minor's property shall be valid and effective in accordance with the conditions and circumstances prescribed by law. 2. The following are considered acts of manage…

The acts carried out by a tutor concerning a minor's property that do not constitute acts of administration, including sale, mortgage, loan, settlement, and partition of undivided property and investment of funds, shall …

A person suffering from insanity or mental incapacity shall be interdicted by operation of law. Any acts concluded by either of them shall be void if it is concluded after the issuance of the interdiction decision. If th…

1. The interdiction of the prodigal and the person of impaired judgement, and the lifting thereof, shall be by a judgment of the court, and the court may publish the judgment. 2. The acts of the prodigal and the person o…

1. The court, after conducting the necessary investigation, may authorize the prodigal or the person of diminished judgement to administer all or part of their property, with an unrestricted or restricted authorization a…

The laws shall specify the procedures to be followed for the interdiction of persons suffering from insanity, the management and investment of their property, and the acts relating thereto, and other matters related to g…

1. If a person is deaf and mute, blind and deaf, or blind and mute, or suffers from illness requiring assistance, and is unable, as a result thereof, to express their will as a result thereof, the court may appoint a jud…

The acts carried out by a guardian, tutor, curator, and representative of an absentee are valid within the limits prescribed by law.

If a person of limited capacity resorts to fraudulent means to hide their lack of capacity, they shall be bound to compensate the other party for the damage suffered as a result of the annulment of the contract.

If a mistake occurs in the nature of the contract, or in a condition of its formation, or in its subject matter, the contract shall be voidable.

1. If a contracting party falls into an essential mistake, they may request the annulment of the contract if the other contracting party has fallen into the same mistake, or was aware thereof, or could easily have detect…

A mistake is material if it is of such gravity that the contracting party would have refrained from concluding the contract had they not fallen into it. A mistake is considered material in particular: 1. If it occurs in …

A contracting party may request the annulment of the contract if they have made a mistake as to the law and the conditions for a mistake of fact in accordance with the provisions of Article (163) of this Law are met, unl…

A mere error in calculation or writing shall not affect the validity of the contract, but shall be corrected.

A person who has made a mistake may not invoke it in a manner that conflicts with the dictates of good faith, and shall be bound by the contract which they intended to conclude if the other contracting party has expresse…

1. Coercion is the compulsion of a person, without right, to perform an act without their consent. Coercion may be irresistible or non-irresistible, and may also be material or moral. 2. Coercion shall be compelling if i…

1. A contracting party may request the annulment of the contract on grounds of coercion if they contracted under the influence of fear unlawfully instilled by the other contracting party. Fear shall be deemed to exist if…

If coercion is exerted by a third party, the coerced party may not request the annulment of the contract unless it is proven that the other contracting party knew, or ought necessarily to have known, of such coercion.

Deception is when one of the contracting parties deceives the other by fraudulent means, whether verbal or physical, which induces them to consent to that to which they would not have otherwise consented.

Deliberate silence regarding a fact or circumstance constitutes deception if it is proven that the person so deceived would not have concluded the contract had they been aware of that fact or circumstance.

If one of the contracting parties deceives the other and it is established that the contract was concluded with gross unfairness, the person so deceived may request the annulment of the contract.

1. Unfairness is the lack of equivalence between the rights acquired by a contracting party under the contract and the obligations they bear thereunder. 2. Unfairness may be either minor or gross. Minor unfairness is tha…

1. If a contract results in gross unfairness to any person lacking or of limited legal capacity, or to an endowment authority, the aggrieved party may request the modification of their obligation or the obligation of the…

A contract shall be voidable if unfairness affects the property of a person interdicted for debt or a person suffering from a terminal illness, even where the unfairness is slight, provided that their debts exhaust their…

If the deception is committed by a third party, and the person so deceived proves that the other contracting party was aware of the deception, they may request the annulment of the contract.

A contract shall not be annulled for gross unfairness without deception, except in relation to the property of an interdicted person, the property of an endowment, and public property.

The right to annul a contract for deception with gross unfairness shall lapse upon the death of the person entitled to request annulment, by the disposition of the subject matter of the contract in whole or in part in a …

1. If a person exploits another's pressing need, manifest recklessness, overpowering desire, lack of experience, apparent weakness, or exploits their moral authority over them, and thereby induces them to conclude, for t…

1. Every contract shall have a subject matter to which it is attached. 2. The subject matter may consist of a tangible thing, a benefit, any other financial right, an act, or an abstention from an act. 3. The subject mat…

1. The subject matter shall meet the following conditions: a. It shall exist or be capable of existence. b. It shall not be outside the scope of dealing by its nature or by law, or contrary to public order or public mora…

If the parties to the contract do not agree on the quality of the subject matter of the contract and it cannot be inferred from custom or the nature of the transaction, the debtor is obliged to deliver the subject matter…

If the subject matter of the disposition or its consideration is money, its amount and type shall be stated, and any increase or decrease in the value of such money at the time of performance shall have no effect.

1. A contract may include any condition agreed upon by the contracting parties, provided that such condition is not contrary to the law, public order, or public morals. 2. If a contract includes a condition that is contr…

1. The cause is the direct purpose intended from the contract. 2. Every contract for which no cause is stated shall be presumed to have an existing and lawful cause, unless there is evidence to the contrary. 3. The cause…

A valid contract is a contract that is lawful in its essence and attributes, issued by a person having capacity, related to a subject matter capable of being governed thereby, has an existing, valid, and lawful purpose, …

1. A void contract is a contract that is unlawful in its essence and attributes, due to the defect of any of its elements, its subject matter, its cause, or the form imposed by law for its conclusion. Such a contract sha…

1. A contract shall be voidable if it is concluded by an unauthorized person (Fuduli) in respect of the property of another, or by an owner in respect of property to which another has a right, or by a person of limited l…

1. The ratification of a voidable contract may be effected by the owner, or by the person who has a right in the subject matter of the contract, or by the guardian or curator, or by the person of limited legal capacity a…

Any person having an interest may serve a notice upon the person entitled to annul the contract, requiring them to declare their intention to assert the nullity within a period of not less than ninety (90) days, commenci…

1. The right to annul a contract shall lapse if it is not asserted by its holder within one year, unless the law provides otherwise. This period shall commence as follows: a. In the case of limited legal capacity, from t…

1. In cases of annulment or nullity of the contract, the contracting parties shall be restored to the position in which they were before the conclusion of the contract. If this is impossible, compensation may be awarded.…

1. If a contract is void or voidable in part, that part alone shall be void, unless it is established that the contract would not have been concluded without the part that is void or voidable, in which case the entire co…

A contract shall be non-binding with respect to one or both of its parties, notwithstanding its validity and effectiveness, where a right of rescission is stipulated in their favor without the need for mutual consent or …

In binding contracts that admit of rescission, the contracting parties or one of them may stipulate in the contract or thereafter an option of stipulation for themselves or for a third party for a period they agree upon.…

If an option is stipulated for both contracting parties in financial commutative contracts, neither of the two counter-performances shall pass out of the ownership. Where the option is stipulated for one of them, their p…

The holder of an option of stipulation shall have the right to rescind or ratify the contract. If they choose to ratify, the contract shall become binding, with retroactive effect to the time of its conclusion. If they c…

If the option is stipulated for both contracting parties, and one of them chooses to rescind, the contract shall be rescinded even if the other ratifies. If one chooses to ratify, the other shall retain their option for …

1. Rescission or ratification shall be by any act or statement indicating either of them, whether expressly or implicitly. 2. If the period expires without choosing rescission or ratification, the contract shall become b…

For a rescission to be valid, it shall be chosen within the option period, and the other party shall be informed thereof if the rescission is effected by statement. Neither mutual consent nor litigation shall be required…