Pillar III · Litigation
Federal Supreme Court labour cassation appeal.
Federal · Civil
— Federal foundation
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.
SystemUAE federal civil law
CourtsEmirate-level (Abu Dhabi · Dubai) and Federal Supreme
LanguageArabic
Principal regulatorsMoE · DED · FTA · MOHRE · CBUAE · SCA
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. iii
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. iiiiv
“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.”
— Jurisdiction I · UAE Mainland
ISheikh Zayed Grand Mosque · Abu DhabiJURISDICTION I · §I
— Our work · in this jurisdiction
Pillar II · Employment
Restrictive-covenant enforcement.
Pillar III · Litigation
Judicial dissolution before the Abu Dhabi Courts.
Pillar II · Tax
FTA cassation portfolio across multiple tax periods.
— Engaging counsel on a Mainland matter
Initial discussions are conducted without obligation.
We will assess the position, identify the principal procedural and substantive considerations, and advise on the most effective course. Where the matter is contentious, that assessment will include a candid view of the prospects on the merits and the likely procedural trajectory.