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Civil Procedure Law · Federal Decree-Law 42 of 2022

Article 20

Part One: Jurisdiction of Courts > Chapter One: Universal Jurisdiction of Courts

Not yet lawyer-reviewedText from the official portal, corpus snapshot of 26 October 2026.

English translation

The Courts shall have the jurisdiction over the foreigner who has no place of residence or domicile in the State in the following cases:

1. If the foreigner has an elected domicile in the State;

2. If the legal proceeding is relating to property in the State, inheritance share of a national citizen or an estate opened in the State;

3. If the legal proceeding is relating to an obligation that is executed or performed, or required to be performed, in the State, a contract required to be attested in the State, an incident taking place in the State, or a bankruptcy process established by any Court of the State;

4. If the legal proceeding is instituted by a wife who has a place of residence in the State against her husband who had a place of residence therein;

5. If the legal proceeding is relating to the maintenance expenses of either parent, a wife, an interdicted person, a young child or his / her parentage, guardianship over the property or persons, in the event that the party claiming the maintenance expenses, the wife, the young child or the interdicted person has a place of residence in the State;

6. If the legal proceeding is relating to personal status matters, and the Plaintiff is a UAE national or foreigner having a place of residence in the State, if the Defendant has no known address abroad, or where the national law is applicable to the legal proceeding; or ;

7. If any of the Defendants has a place of residence or domicile in the State.

Official translation, as published by the portal.

Official Arabic text

تختص المحاكم بنظر الدعوى على الأجنبي الذي لقس له موطن أو محل إقامة في الدولة في الحالات الآتية:

.1 إذا كان له في الدولة موطن مختار.

.2 إذا كانت الدعوى متعلقة بأموال في الدولة أو إرث لمواطن أو تركة فتحت فيها.

.3 إذا كانت الدعوى متعلقة بالتزام أبرم أو نفذ أو كان مشروطًا تنفيذه في الدولة أو بعقد يراد توثيقه فيها أو بواقعة حدثت فيها أو بإفلاس أشهر في أحد محاكمها.

.4 إذا كانت الدعوى مرفوعة من زوجة لها موطن في الدولة على زوجها الذي كان له موطن فيها.

.5 إذا كانت الدعوى متعلقة بنفقة أحد الوالدين أو زوجة أو بمحنور عليه أو بصغير أو بنسبه أو بالولاية على المال أو النفس إذا كان طالب النفقة أو الزوجة أو الصغير أو المحنور عليه له موطن في الدولة.

.6 إذا كانت متعلقة بالأحوال الشخصية وكان المدعي مواطنًا أو أجنبيًّا له موطن في الدولة وذلك إذا لم يكن للمدعى عليه موطن معروف في الخارج أو كان القانون الوطني واجب التطبيق في الدعوى.

.7 إذا كان لأحد المدعى عليهم موطن أو محل إقامة في الدولة.

What it means when you sign

This article lists when the courts have jurisdiction over a foreigner who has no place of residence or domicile in the State. These cases include when the foreigner has an elected domicile in the State; when the case concerns property in the State, a national's inheritance share or an estate opened in the State; when it concerns an obligation executed, performed or required to be performed in the State, a contract to be attested there, an incident that happened there, or a bankruptcy declared by a court of the State; and when any of several defendants resides or is domiciled in the State. It also lists cases brought by a wife resident in the State against her husband who had resided there, maintenance and guardianship cases where the claimant resides in the State, and certain personal status cases.

When you are about to sign a contract, the third item matters most. A contract performed in the State, or required to be performed there, can lead to a case before the State's courts even when the other party lives abroad. A clause on place of performance, or on where the contract is attested, may therefore bring the contract within this article.

In Fahm reports this article usually sits under: Jurisdiction and enforceability

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