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🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates · supreme court

Federal Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates

المحكمة العليا الاتحادية / Federal Supreme Court

Reviewed· 2026-08-03Abu Dhabi

Both the constitutional court and the apex of the federal hierarchy. Crucially, it is not the apex for the whole country: Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah maintain their own local judicial departments with their own courts of cassation, so a case in Dubai does not reach this court at all. UAE civil law follows the Egyptian-French model in the Civil Transactions Law of 1985, with Sharia applied to Muslim personal status and, in principle, as a source where legislation is silent.

How the court is constituted

Tier
supreme
Court type
Apex and constitutional court
Jurisdiction
Constitutional review of federal and emirate legislation, disputes between emirates or between an emirate and the federation, final review on points of law from the federal courts of appeal, and trial of offences against the security of the state.
Seat
Abu Dhabi
Established
1973

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