Defamation is a criminal offence pursuant to UAE laws. In
addition, an aggrieved person may also institute a civil case for
claiming damages on account of defamation.
Article 372 Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 and its amendments (The
UAE Penal Code) states that “Whoever
attributes to another person, by any means of publicity, an
incident which makes him liable to punishment or contempt, shall be
punished by detention for a period not exceeding two years or by a
fine not exceeding Dh20,000”. In addition pursuant
to Article 20 of the Federal Decree by Law No. 5 of 2012 on
Combating Cyber Crimes and its amendments (“Cyber Crimes
Law”) states that, “Without prejudice to the
provisions of slander crime prescribed in Islamic Sharia, any
person who insults a third party or has attributed to him an
incident that may make him subject to punishment or contempt by a
third party, by using an Information Network or an Information
Technology Tool shall be punished by imprisonment and