Rights
A federation of seven emirates with substantial reserved powers
The 1971 Constitution creates a federation in which the seven emirates retain everything not expressly given to the federal government, including significant control over land and natural resources.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi. Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah retain their own local judiciaries outside the federal court structure.
Governing law
- Constitution of the United Arab Emirates 1971, made permanent 1996
- Federal Law on the Federal Supreme Court
In practice
The reserved-powers structure is the reason a question about UAE law so often has an emirate-level answer: real property, and much of the regulation of economic activity within an emirate, sit with the emirate rather than the federation. Dubai's decision to keep its own courts means there is no single first-instance system across the country. The Federal Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of federal and local legislation and on inter-emirate disputes, but there is no elected legislature: the Federal National Council is half appointed and half indirectly elected, and its role is consultative.