United Arab Emirates

• The federal Constitution of 1971
• Federal laws, such as the Civil Transactions Law, and local laws of each emirate
• Islamic law (Sharia), especially for family and inheritance
• The rules of the financial free zones (DIFC and ADGM), which are based on English common law

• The Federal Supreme Court for federal matters
• Federal courts, and separate local court systems in some emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah, among others)
• Common-law courts of the DIFC and ADGM free zones for commercial disputes

A law degree and a licence from the relevant ministry or local authority. Rules for foreign lawyers are limited and depend on the emirate or the free zone.

• Two kinds of court live side by side: civil-law courts and English-language common-law courts in the free zones.
• Courts do not formally follow precedent, though higher-court decisions are often cited.
• Each emirate can have its own local courts.
• Family law is based on Islamic law, with some changes for non-Muslims in recent years.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Singapore, India

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists United Arab Emirates as: Muslim, Customary. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Egypt, Gambia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman.

• DIFC Courts

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.