Civil Transactions Law · Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025
Article 443
Section Two: Effects of the Obligation > Chapter Six: Extinction of the Obligation > Part Three: Barring of a Claim by the Lapse of Time
English translation
1. A waiver of the defense of the barring of a claim by the lapse of time shall not be valid before the right to invoke such defense is established, nor may it be agreed that a claim shall not be admissible after a period other than that specified by law.
2. Any person who has the capacity to dispose of their rights may expressly or impliedly waive the defense after the right to invoke it has been established, provided that such waiver shall not be enforceable against creditors if it is made to their detriment.
Official translation, as published by the portal.
Official Arabic text
.1 لا يجوز التنازل عن الدفع بعدم سماع الدعوى لمرور الزمن قبل ثبوت الحق في هذا الدفع، كما لا يجوز الاتفاق على عدم جواز سماع الدعوى بعد مدة تختلف عن المدة التي حَددها القانون.
.2 يجوز لكل شخص يملك التصرف في حقوقه، أن يتنازل صراحةً أو ضمنًا عن الدفع بعد ثبوت الحق فيه، على أن هذا التنازل لا ينفذ في حق الدائنين إذا صدر إضرارًا بهم.
What it means when you sign
This article limits what the parties can agree about time bars on claims. A person cannot waive the defence that a claim is time-barred before the right to raise that defence has arisen. The parties also cannot agree that a claim will be barred after a period different from the one set by law. Once the right to raise the defence has arisen, anyone with capacity to dispose of their rights may waive it, expressly or by implication, but a waiver made to the detriment of creditors cannot be enforced against them.
For a contract about to be signed, this article is relevant to clauses that shorten or extend the period for claims, or that give up in advance any argument about the passage of time. It means such clauses may run into this article, since it rules out both an advance waiver and an agreed period different from the legal one. A waiver after the right has arisen is treated differently.
Not yet cited in a Fahm report; shown because it sits in the same chapter as one that is.
Related articles
- Article 429This article is about time limits on bringing a claim.
- 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.
- Article 29Cited in Fahm reportsThis article sets a limit on applying foreign law.