Civil Transactions Law · Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025
Article 390
Section Two: Effects of the Obligation > Chapter Five: Multiplicity of Parties to the Obligation > Part One: Solidarity
English translation
1. If one of the joint and several debtors acknowledges the debt, this acknowledgment shall not take effect against the other joint and several debtors.
2. If one of the joint and several debtors refuses to take an oath directed to them by the creditor, or directs the oath to the creditor and the creditor takes it, the other joint and several debtors shall not be prejudiced thereby.
3. If the creditor directs an oath to one of the joint and several debtors and they take it, the other joint and several debtors shall benefit therefrom.
Official translation, as published by the portal.
Official Arabic text
.1 إذا أقرّ أحد المدينين المتضامنين بالدين، فلا يسري هذا الإقرار في حق باقي المدينين المتضامنين.
.2 إذا نكل أحد المدينين المتضامنين عن حلف اليمين الموجّه له من الدائن أو وجّه المدين إلى الدائن اليمين فحلفها، فلا يُضار باقي المدينين المتضامنين.
.3 إذا وجّه الدائن إلى أحد المدينين المتضامنين يمينًا فحلفها، فإن باقي المدينين المتضامنين يستفيدون من ذلك.
What it means when you sign
This article covers how certain acts by one of several jointly and severally liable debtors affect the others. If one of them acknowledges the debt, the acknowledgment does not take effect against the other debtors. If one of them refuses to take an oath the creditor directs to them, or directs the oath to the creditor and the creditor takes it, the other debtors are not prejudiced. If the creditor directs an oath to one of the debtors and that debtor takes it, the other debtors benefit.
For a contract about to be signed, this article is relevant when several parties are jointly liable for the same debt. It means that one debtor's admission does not, by itself, bind the others. A clause saying that an acknowledgment, statement or account given by one party binds all the joint debtors, or that any of them may admit the debt for the group, may sit awkwardly with the first paragraph of this article. Wording on who can confirm the amount owed is worth noting.
In Fahm reports this article usually sits under: Hidden wording
Related articles
- Article 389This article deals with what happens when a creditor settles with one of several debtors who are jointly and severally liable for the same debt.
- Article 391This article covers the effect of a court judgment on jointly and severally liable debtors.
- 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.
- Article 28This article deals with what happens once a foreign law has been found to apply.