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ARTICLE · 14 APRIL 2026

The New UAE Civil Code

Fenwick Elliott LLP
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The UAE continues to develop its legal framework with the recent enactment of Federal Decree Law No. 25 of 2025 (the "New Civil Code"), which replaces and significantly reforms major...

United Arab EmiratesReal Estate and Construction
Shahed Ahmed
Shahed Ahmed
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The UAE continues to develop its legal framework with the recent enactment of Federal Decree Law No. 25 of 2025 (the “New Civil Code”), which replaces and significantly reforms major components of the well-known and long-serving Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 (the “Old Civil Code”). The New Civil Code, which is expected to come into effect on 1 June 2026, is designed to modernise the UAE’s civil legal framework, streamline statutory overlap, strengthen contractual certainty and enhance protections across commercial activities. This article analyses how the latest amendments affect construction stakeholders.

Key Reforms

Judicial interpretation and hierarchy

Article 1 of the New Civil Code reconfirms that the courts are to apply the New Civil Code to all matters with no scope for interpretation where provisions are clear and unambiguous.1 

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