An agreement between two or more persons to transfer property from one party to another is known as a civil transaction, which can be made orally or in writing. A person who does any act with a fraudulent intention of deceiving others and thereby causing damage to them is said to commit a civil transaction.
A civil transaction arises through the registration of an agreement, and it is considered as a type of contract (under section 2: Contracts and Torts).
Contract- A contract is defined under section 3: Contract as “…an agreement enforceable by law between two or more persons signed by them in order to be legally binding, or partly signed and the rest concluded by implication of law.”
Civil Transaction– A civil transaction is an agreement resulting in either transferring property or giving money.
Agreement- An agreement is defined under section 4: Agreement as “…intention to create a legal relationship, solemnly declared by each party to be bound thereby towards other…” It further discusses the requirements of an agreement.
Enforceable by law- A transaction must be enforceable by law to create a legal relationship. If it is not, then civil transactions may take place but they are not legally binding. For example, a promise made in jest is not a contract and consequently does not give rise to a civil transaction.
Signed- The agreement must be signed by the parties. Subsequently, it must be certified either under an official seal or by a public notary. Section 5: The agreement discusses this in more detail.
Abu Dhabi-
The Abu Dhabi Civil Transactions Law was issued in 1968 and last updated in 2003. This law is considered a civil transactions code and it consists of 9 sections (and 5 schedules). The UAE published and updated an official draft for comments from May 2008 until February 2010; however, the Abu Dhabi law has not been updated and has remained in effect.
Ajman-
The Ajman Civil Transactions Law was issued in 1991 and last updated in 2006. These civil transactions code consists of 13 sections (and 5 schedules).
Dubai-
The Dubai Civil Transactions Law was issued in 1968 and last updated in 2003. This law is considered a civil transactions code and it consists of 9 sections (and 6 schedules). The UAE published an updated draft for comments from June 2010 until September 2011. The Dubai CTL has not been updated and still remains in effect.
Sharjah-
The Sharjah Civil Transactions Law was issued in 1994 and last updated in 2005. This law is considered a civil transactions code and it consists of 9 sections (and 6 schedules).
Umm Al Quwain-
The Umm Al Quwain Civil Transactions Law was issued in 2000. This law is considered a civil transactions code and it consists of 9 sections (and 6 schedules). The UAE published an updated draft of the Umm Al Quwain CTL for comments from June 2010 until February 2012.
Federal Laws-
The UAE has published draft federal laws on civil transactions. The first batch of Federal Civil Transactions Law was issued in 2009 and amended in 2014; however, it is not effective when compared to the emirate-specific codes of law. The second batch of Federal Civil Transactions Law was issued in February 2015, but it is also not effective when compared to the emirate-specific codes of law. Nonetheless, both drafts are considered by the UAE as the first step towards federal enactment on civil transactions and regulation of cross-emirate activities on these matters.
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