09/01/2023
Federal Law No. 11 of 1992 regarding Civil Procedures Law will be repealed and replaced by Federal Decree Law No. 42 of 2022 (the “New CPL”), effective from 2 January 2023.
Traditionally, Arabic has been the language of court procedures in the UAE. As such, all submissions, memoranda, and exhibits had to be submitted in Arabic, or in the original foreign language, with an official Arabic translation prepared by a sworn legal translator.
According to the New CPL, the English language will be used for adjudications, litigation procedures, and judgements issued in certain judicial circuits as an exemption from general rule. In certain circuits within certain remits, it shall be at the discretion of the President of the Federal Judicial Council or the President of the Local Judiciary to set English as the language of proceedings.
Among new initiatives on a federal level, the New Civil Procedures Law is the most recent initiative that will allow the UAE to move towards a more independent and transparent judiciary that ranks highly internationally.
