UAE Legal Knowledge Hub
Side-by-side answers across UAE federal law, DIFC, ADGM and international standards on the questions practitioners actually ask. Drafted exclusively from primary sources — federal laws, cabinet decisions, ministerial decisions, court judgments, and the regulators' own published rulebooks. Free to read, cite and share under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial.
Each topic answers 15-25 questions across all four jurisdictions, with primary-source citations under every answer.
Not legal advice — reference resources for the UAE community, free under CC BY-NC 4.0.
Client Charter · Federal Decree-Law 34/2022
The rights you have, and the duties we owe you, under Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2022 regulating the legal profession. Twelve flip cards covering written retainer, conflicts, confidentiality, fee transparency, file return, and our withdrawal obligations.
Abu Dhabi only · Law 3/2015 (as amended 2025)
A practitioner briefing on the Abu Dhabi statute that governs every real estate activity in the Emirate. Walks through the Real Estate Development Register, Article 17(3) off‑plan termination, the 20% guarantee‑account threshold, mortgage enforcement under Article 54, and the post‑2025 Owners Committee regime that replaced the old Owners Union framework.
Disputes · Litigation
The English-language commercial court inside the DIFC. Opt-in jurisdiction clauses, the conduit-enforcement route to onshore Dubai, the Small Claims Tribunal, and how DIFC differs from ADGM and onshore.
Real Estate
Law 6 of 2019 (Joint Ownership) for Dubai, Law 3 of 2015 for Abu Dhabi, the off-plan SPA / Oqood / escrow architecture under Law 8 of 2007, and the foreign-ownership designated-area framework.
Tax
The 9% / 0% / 15% rate matrix, Qualifying Free Zone Person status, transfer pricing thresholds, the Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax for in-scope MNEs, and the FTA audit and reconsideration process.
Real Estate · Regulator
The 17-section primary-source reference on the DLD: mandate, all 8 main registers, every form (A, B, F, U), fee architecture, escrow regime under Law 8/2007, JOPOA licensing under Law 6/2019, brokers, valuers, project cancellation under Decree 6/2010, RDC, enforcement, appeals.
Real Estate · Regulator
The companion reference to DLD for Abu Dhabi: ADREC mandate under Law 22/2016, Investment Areas under Law 13/2022 (foreign-ownership extension), OA regime under Law 3/2015, escrow, brokers, the Rental Disputes Settlement Committee, ADJD appeal route. Side-by-side comparison with DLD/Dubai included.
Disputes · Litigation
The English common-law jurisdiction inside Abu Dhabi Global Market. Direct application of English law under the Application of English Law Regulations 2015, Companies Regulations 2020, Foundations Regulations 2017, Employment Regulations 2019, Insolvency Regulations 2022, and the FSRA enforcement appeal route via the Regulatory Committee.
Arbitration
The Federal Arbitration Law, the 2022 DIAC Rules, the 2024 arbitrateAD Rules, DIFC Law 1/2008 and the ADGM Arbitration Regulations 2015 — three modern UNCITRAL Model Law seats. Foreign-award recognition under the New York Convention 1958 (UAE Federal Decree 43/2006), set-aside grounds and the conduit-enforcement routes.
Arbitration — DIAC
20 practitioner Q&As on the DIAC 2022 Rules: commencement, expedited procedure (AED 1M threshold), emergency arbitrator (Appendix V), tribunal appointment, costs, document production, interim measures, multi-party proceedings, and award enforcement across onshore UAE, DIFC conduit, and abroad via NYC.
Arbitration — SIAC
20 practitioner Q&As on SIAC Rules 2024 (7th edition, effective 1 Jan 2025) for UAE-connected disputes: commencement, expedited procedure (SGD 10M threshold), emergency arbitrator (1 business day), Singapore seat advantages, costs, third-party funding, Arb-Med-Arb Protocol, and enforcement in UAE via NYC Convention and DIFC conduit.
Arbitration — arbitrateAD
20 practitioner Q&As on arbitrateAD 2024 Rules: expedited procedure (AED 3M threshold), emergency arbitrator (2 business days), cybersecurity protocol (Art 29), government and quasi-government disputes, Abu Dhabi seat vs ADGM seat, costs, award enforcement via onshore Abu Dhabi courts and international NYC routes.
Employment
The post-2022 limited-term-only contract regime under FDL 33/2021 (as amended by FDL 9/2024), end-of-service gratuity calculation, MOHRE complaint and Labour Court process, the Article 10 non-compete framework, the Wages Protection System, and the DIFC DEWS / ADGM WSP funded-savings alternatives.
Financial Services
VARA's 7 licensing categories under Dubai Law 4/2022, the ADGM FSRA Crypto Asset Framework, the DFSA Crypto Token Regime, the federal CBUAE Payment Token Services Regulation 2024, the FATF Travel Rule and AML/CFT obligations, NFT and security-token classification, and cross-border solicitation rules.
Family · Personal
The federal Personal Status Law for non-Muslims (FDL 41/2022), the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court under Law 14/2021, civil divorce process, joint-custody best-interests standard, alimony, premarital agreements, recognition of foreign divorces, the Hague Child Abduction Convention (UAE accession 2022), DIFC Wills Service Centre and ADJD wills.
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