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LawLegianceWorld Legal Atlas
New editioncountry guide

The United Arab Emirates Legal System

A complete plain-language guide to United Arab Emirates

4.5(1536 reviews)From $29
Edition
2026 Edition
Extent
2592 pages
Language
English
ISBN
978-1-0000-236-1

About this book

A structured tour of how law actually works in United Arab Emirates — where it comes from, who makes it, which court hears what, and how an ordinary person or business interacts with the system. Written for readers with no legal training, with every institution named and every primary source cited so you can verify the position yourself. A federal civil-law system on the Egyptian model, with Sharia governing personal status and a large body of federal codes covering civil transactions, commerce, companies, labour and crime. What makes the UAE distinctive is that two financial free zones — the Dubai International Financial Centre and Abu Dhabi Global Market — are constitutionally carved out of the federal civil and commercial law and operate their own common-law systems, their own courts staffed largely by judges from England, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, and their own English-language legislation. ADGM applies English common law directly by statutory incorporation. A commercial question about the UAE cannot be answered without first establishing whether onshore federal law, DIFC law or ADGM law applies.

What is inside

  • Full United Arab Emirates court hierarchy explained tier by tier
  • Named regulators with contact routes and response times
  • Step-by-step procedures for the most common legal tasks
  • Every claim footnoted to an official primary source
  • Glossary of local legal terminology in plain English

Table of contents

5 parts · 18 chapters

Part I — Foundations

  1. 01The legal tradition
  2. 02Constitutional framework
  3. 03Sources of law

Part II — Institutions

  1. 01The court hierarchy
  2. 02Government and regulators
  3. 03Enforcement bodies
  4. 04The legal profession

Part III — Everyday Law

  1. 01Work and employment
  2. 02Housing and property
  3. 03Family and personal status
  4. 04Criminal process

Part IV — Doing Things

  1. 01Starting a business
  2. 02Immigration and residence
  3. 03Tax obligations
  4. 04Making a complaint

Part V — Reference

  1. 01Procedure checklists
  2. 02Glossary
  3. 03Official sources index

Who this is for

  • Residents and newcomers who need to understand their rights
  • Businesses entering or operating in the jurisdiction
  • Lawyers taking a first look at an unfamiliar system
  • Students of comparative law

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