UAE Mainland.
The federal civil law system on which the substantial majority of commercial activity in the country rests.
Proceedings are conducted in Arabic before the emirate-level courts, with cassation review at the Federal Supreme Court.
— The jurisdiction · its institutions
The UAE Civil Code and Commercial Transactions Law form the foundation; commercial-companies legislation is administered through the Ministry of Economy.
First instance, appeal, and cassation tiers. Abu Dhabi Courts, Dubai Courts, and the Federal Supreme Court. Arabic is the language of proceedings.
Federal MoE and emirate-level Departments of Economic Development administer commercial registration, licensing, and ongoing corporate compliance.
The 2020 Commercial Companies Law amendments liberalised ownership; strategic activities remain reserved.
The federal civil law system is the substrate of commercial activity in the country. Onshore companies operating under federal law account for the substantial majority of business in manufacturing, trade, services, real estate, healthcare, and family enterprise. The 2020 amendments to the Commercial Companies Law liberalised foreign ownership across most economic activities, while the Civil Code (Federal Law No. 5 of 1985) and the Commercial Transactions Law (Federal Law No. 50 of 2022) continue to govern the commercial relationships from which most disputes arise. Litigation proceeds before the emirate-level courts, most prominently those of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with cassation review at the Federal Supreme Court.
The Mainland practice is the substantive core of the firm. It comprises corporate and commercial work for onshore entities; mergers and acquisitions involving Mainland targets; employment counsel and the enforcement of restrictive covenants; judicial dissolution proceedings before the Abu Dhabi Courts; and an established tax-litigation portfolio active across first instance, appeal, and cassation tiers. The proceedings are conducted in Arabic, the procedural discipline is that of the federal courts, and the enforcement is onshore. This is the work the firm was built to do.
— Our work · in this jurisdiction
Regulatory & Compliance.
- Restrictive-covenant enforcement.
- FTA cassation portfolio across multiple tax periods.
Disputes & Arbitration.
- Federal Supreme Court labour cassation appeal.
- Judicial dissolution before the Abu Dhabi Courts.
The choice of forum is rarely incidental.
The Mainland is where the country's commercial life is conducted. We are practitioners of UAE law first; the financial-centre work proceeds from that foundation, rather than the reverse.