Civil Transactions Law · Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025
Article 18
Preliminary Section: General Provisions > Chapter One: Provisions on the Application and Temporal and Spatial Scope of the Law > Part Three: Spatial Application of the Law
English translation
1. The possession and ownership of immovable property and other related real rights (jus in rem) shall be governed by the law of the location of the immovable property.
2. Movable property shall be governed by the law of the country where it is located at the time the cause giving rise to the acquisition or loss of its possession, ownership, or other related real rights (jus in rem) occurs.
3. The law of the country where property is located shall determine whether such property is immovable or movable.
Official translation, as published by the portal.
Official Arabic text
.1 يسري على حيازة وملكية العقار والحقوق العينية الأخرى المتصلة به قانون موقع العقار.
.2 يسري على المنقول قانون الدولة التي يوجد فيها وقت تحقق السبب الذي ترتب عليه كسب حيازته أو ملكيته أو الحقوق العينية الأخرى المتصلة به أو فقدها.
.3 يُحدد قانون الدولة التي يوجد بها المال، ما إذا كان هذا المال عقارًا أو منقولاً.
What it means when you sign
This article says which country's law governs property. Ownership and possession of immovable property, and the other real rights connected to it, are governed by the law of the place where the property is located. Movable property is governed by the law of the country where it is located at the time the event that causes its possession, ownership or other real rights to be gained or lost takes place. The law of the country where the property is located decides whether it counts as immovable or movable.
When you are about to sign, this article is relevant to contracts that involve property in more than one country, such as a sale, a lease or a pledge of assets. A clause that chooses the law of a different country to decide who owns land or goods may not change which law governs ownership itself, since this article ties it to the location of the property. The contract's governing-law clause is the place to check how the parties treated ownership questions.
Not yet cited in a Fahm report; shown because it sits in the same chapter as one that is.
Related articles
- Article 19Cited in Fahm reportsThis article says which country's law governs a contract's obligations, both its form and its substance.
- Article 20This article says which country's law governs obligations that do not come from a contract, such as those arising from an act that causes harm.
- Article 28This article deals with what happens once a foreign law has been found to apply.
- Article 29Cited in Fahm reportsThis article sets a limit on applying foreign law.
- Article 30This article says what happens when a foreign law applies but cannot be established.
- Article 105This article states a principle about using a right.