Federal Law No. (10) of 2019 on Regulating Judicial Relations Among the Judicial, Federal and Local Authorities (justice and juiciary law)

Article (1) Definitions  
In app lication of the provisions of this Law, the following words and expressions shall have 
the meanings ascribed thereto unless the context requires otherwise:  
 State : United Arab Emirates.  
Ministry : The Ministry of Justice  
Minister : Minister of Justice.  
Authority : Authority for Unification of the Conflicting Judicial Principles established by one 
or more of the State's Supreme Courts, and the areas of its competence thereof are 
determined in accordance with the provisions of this Law.  
Federal or Local  Judicial Authority  : The federal or local judicial entities, including courts 
and public prosecutions.  
Chairmen of Local : The Chairmen of the local judicial entities in accordance with the legislation regulating the works thereof. Judicial Authority  
Bonds of Execution : The bonds specified in the legislation and regulations in force in the 
State.

Article (2) Exchange of information  
The Federal or Local Judicial Authorities shall exchange the information and data related to 
all adjudicated lawsuits ther eof and any other information and data obtained from the 
official records and documents thereof in all the considered disputes, upon request. The 
information and data mentioned in this Article shall be considered as official documents. In 
addition, the exc hange of information and data, in writing or via any other electronic 
means, is admissible.  
  
  
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Article (3) Publication  
The judicial papers and documents shall be published among the Federal or Local Judicial 
Authorities, in accordance with the legislation in  force in the State.

Article (4) Publication Fees and Expenses related to the Witnesses and Experts  
The Federal or Local Judicial Authority shall collect -  in accordance with the federal and 
local legislation, as the case may be - the publication fees, whe rever they are published in 
the State.  
The judicial authority that requested the publication shall be responsible for the expenses 
of the attendance of the witnesses or experts, as well as the costs of accommodation and 
return thereof.

Article (5) Letters Rogatory  
Each Federal or Local Judicial Authority shall have the right to request other authorities to 
initiate, on its behalf, any judicial proceeding related to a lawsuit under consideration or a 
judicial investigation, in accordance with the following p rocedures:  
 
1. The Federal or Local Judicial Authority shall send the letter rogatory to the authority 
requested to implement such procedures, as the case may be.  
2. The judicial authority requested to implement shall execute the letter rogatory in 
accordance with the legal procedures followed thereby, provided that if the requesting 
judicial authority wishes the letter rogatory to be executed by a different method, th e 
other authority shall comply with its wish, unless that would contravene the laws of the judicial authority requested to implement.  
3. The requesting judicial authority shall be given a notice of the place and time  of 
execution of the letter rogatory, in order to allow the interested party to appear in 
person or by proxy.  
4. If the letter rogatory pertains to a subject or procedure precluded by the local law or 
cannot be executed, the judicial authority requested to implement shall notify the 
requesting authority thereof, stating the reasons.  
5. The judicial authority requested to implement shall pay the costs of letters rogatory, 
except for the fees of experts, which shall be paid by the requesting authority and  shall 
send a statement of such fees attached to the letter rogatory file, provided that the judicial authority requested to implement shall be paid for the charges of the 
documents submitted during the execution of the letter rogatory, in accordance with 
the laws thereof.  
6. The letter rogatory, specified in this Article, may be executed by using remote 
communication technology, in accordance with the legislation in force in the State.

Article (6) Legal Effect of a Letter Rogatory  
Any judicial procedure carried out pursuant to a letter rogatory, in accordance with Article  
       Page 4 (5) hereof, shall have the same legal effect as it would have had, if it had been carried out 
before the requesting judicial authority.

Article (7) Assignment of M embers of the Federal or Local Judicial Authority and 
Persons of Equivalent Status  
1. The Minister of Justice may, after consulting the Supreme Council of Federal Judiciary, 
ask the Chairmen of Local Judiciary Authorities to assign any of the members of th e judicial 
authority and persons of equivalent status working therein to take the same federal judicial positions. An approval of such assignment shall be issued by the competent local judicial 
authority in which the assigned member of the judicial authori ty or anyone of equivalent 
status works, and the term of assignment shall be determined therein in accordance with 
the legislation in force in the State.  
2. The Chairman of Local Judicial Authority may ask the Minister of Justice to assign any of 
the membe rs of the federal judicial authority or persons of equivalent status to take the 
same local judicial positions. An approval of such assignment shall be issued by the Minister of Justice, after consulting the Supreme Council of Federal Judiciary, provided t hat 
the term of assignment shall be determined therein, in accordance with the legislation in force in the State.  
3. The Chairman of Local Judicial Authority may ask the chairman of another local judicial authority to assign any members of the judicial authority or persons of equivalent status to 
take the same local judicial positions. An approval of such shall be issued by the Chairman 
of Local Judicial Authority, provided that the term of assignment shall be determined 
therein in accordance with the legis lation in force in the State.

Article (8) Binding Force of the Resolutions Issued by the Assigned Member of the 
Judicial Authority  
The resolutions or judgments issued by the assigned member of the judicial authority shall be deemed as equal as those issued  by the judicial authority to which the member is 
assigned to work in, and they shall have the same legal effect.

Article (9) Authority Bearing the Assignment Costs  
The requesting judicial authority shall bear all financial entitlements and expenses incurr ed 
by the members of the judicial authority assigned to work therein, unless otherwise agreed 
between both judicial authorities.

Article (10) Execution of Judgments and Judicial Orders  
Any final or enforceable judgment or judicial order issued by a federal  or local judicial 
authority shall be enforceable throughout the State, in accordance with the legislation in 
force in the State.   
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Article (11) Execution of Judgments of Arbitral Tribunals and Committees  
The judgments of arbitral tribunals, conciliation decisions issued by reconciliation and 
settlement committees, judgments issued by committees of Rental Disputes and other 
committees with the same jurisdiction shall be enforceable in the State, in accordan ce with 
the procedures and controls regulated by the legislation in force in the State.

Article (12) Bonds of Execution  
Taking into consideration the provisions of Articles (10) and (11) hereof, all Bonds of 
Execution issued by a Federal or Local Judicial Authority, in accordance with the conditions 
and regulations legally prescribed, shall be enforceable throughout the State.

Article (13) Implementation Proceedings  
Implementation shall take place according to the laws and procedures followed in the Emirate requested to carry out such implementation, in a manner consistent with the Code 
of Federal Regulations in this regard.

Article (14) Unification of Local and Federal Judicial Principles  
A judicial body called the "Authority for Unification of Local and Fe deral Judicial Principles" 
shall be established and headed by the president of the Federal Supreme Court or a 
representative thereof, with the membership of two judges from the Federal Supreme 
Court, and the State's Supreme and Cassation Courts, nominated by the presidents of such 
courts.  
In the event that one of the members is unable to attend, the concerned court president 
shall nominate a substitute judge.

Article (15) Competence of the Authority  
The Authority shall be concerned with unifying the conflic ting judicial principles issued by 
two or more of the supreme courts in the State, and it shall also be concerned with considering the requests to renounce a principle previously established thereby, in 
accordance with the procedures specified in article ( 16) of this Law.

Article (16) Procedures of Submitting Requests to the Authority  
Requests of unifying the judicial principles shall be submitted to the Authority with a reasoned report from any of the presidents of the supreme courts in the State, federal 
Attorney -General or local public prosecutors, automatically or upon a request submitted to 
the same by federal or local governmental bodies. The president of any of the State's 
supreme courts may request the Authority, with a reasoned report and without th e request 
being related to a specific appeal, to renounce a principle or principles previously  
       Page 6 established by the Authority.

Article (17) Meetings and Procedures of the Authority  
1. The Authority shall convene, at the invitation of the president thereof, a  regular meeting 
per year and whenever the need arises, to consider the requests submitted thereto, where 
its decisions, shall be issued, in all cases, by a majority of six of its members, and the 
meetings thereof shall be held at the headquarters of the F ederal Supreme Court, or at the 
headquarters of any of the local judicial authorities, when necessary.  
2. Requests submitted to the Authority shall not impede the courts from adjudicating the 
cases considered before the same.

Article (18) Binding Force of the Principles Established by the Authority  
All Federal or Local Judicial Authorities of various degrees shall abide by the principles 
established by the Authority.  
Any subsequent judgment contravention of any of such principles shall be one of the grounds of appeal against such judgment by any of the legally prescribed methods.  
In case a contravention of such principles is committed by one of the State's supreme 
courts after the principle has been established by the Authority, the interested party may 
request, within sixty days from the issuance of the violating judgment, from the Supreme Court that issued such judgment, to repeal this judgment and reconsider its appe al, 
according to the principle established by the Authority.

Article (19) Organizing the Work of the Authority  
The Authority shall issue a resolution on the system of work thereof, the procedures 
followed before it, and the organization of the auxiliary bo dy thereof.

Article (20) Publication of the Principles Established by the Authority  
Taking into consideration the Federal Law No. (1) of 1971
 concerning the Official Gazette 
and the amendmen ts thereof, referred to herein, the principles issued by the Authority 
formed in accordance with article (14) hereof, shall be published in the official gazette, 
within 15 days from the day following the date of issuance thereof.

Article (21) Exceptions to  the Application  
This law shall not apply to the judgments issued against the authorities of the Emirates requested to implement or against one of employees thereof for actions taken thereby due 
to the position, and the same shall not apply to the provisio ns that are incompatible with 
the international treaties and agreements, by which the Emirate requested to implement is  
       Page 7 bounded, within the provisions of the Constitution.

Article (22) Repeals  
1. Federal Law No. (11) of 1973  Regulating Judicial Relationships Amongst Member 
Emirates of the Federation, referred to herein, shall be repealed.  
2. Any provision contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Law shall be 
repealed.

Article (23) Publication and Entry into Force  
This Law shall be published in the official Gazette and it shall come into force three months after the date of publication thereof.  
  
Signed  
Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan  
President of The United Arab Emirates  
Issued by us at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi:  
On: 22 Rabi' al -Thani 1441 H  
Corresponding to: December 19, 2019 AD