Civil Transactions Law · Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025
Article 235
Section One: Sources of Obligation > Chapter One: The Contract > Part Six: Dissolution of the Contract
English translation
It may be agreed that the contract shall be considered automatically rescinded without the need for a judicial judgment upon failure to perform the obligations arising therefrom. This agreement does not exempt the parties from giving notice, unless the contracting parties have expressly agreed to waive such notice.
Official translation, as published by the portal.
Official Arabic text
يجوز الاتفاق على أن يُعتبر العقد مفسوخًا من تلقاء نفسه دون حاجة إلى حكم قضائي عند عدم الوفاء بالالتزامات الناشئة عنه، وهذا الاتفاق لا يعفي من الإعذار إلا إذا اتفق المتعاقدان صراحةً على الإعفاء منه.
What it means when you sign
The parties may agree that the contract will be treated as cancelled automatically, without a court judgment, if the obligations arising from it are not performed. The article adds that such an agreement does not remove the need to give notice, unless both parties have expressly agreed to waive notice.
For a contract about to be signed, this article is relevant to termination clauses that say the contract ends by itself on non-performance. It means that clause is allowed, but that a notice step still applies unless the contract expressly waives it. When reading such a clause, the points to look for are what failure triggers the automatic cancellation, whether the clause mentions notice at all, and whether any waiver of notice is written in clear words and applies to both parties. A clause that is silent about notice does not, on the wording of this article, remove the notice requirement by itself.
Not yet cited in a Fahm report; shown because it sits in the same chapter as one that is.
Related articles
- Article 232Cited in Fahm reportsWhen a contract is valid and binding, neither party can take back their commitment, change the terms, or cancel the contract on their own.
- Article 233After a contract has been made, the parties can agree to cancel it by mutual consent, known as iqala.
- Article 234Cited in Fahm reportsIn contracts where both sides owe duties, if one party does not perform on the due date, the other party may, after formally notifying the debtor, ask the court to order performance of the contract or to cancel it.
- Article 18This article says which country's law governs property.
- 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.