Status of a UAE sustainable finance taxonomy
درجة الثقة: عاليةنافذ من Principles 2023; taxonomy still in design as of December 2025
There is no binding UAE green taxonomy in force. The UAE Sustainable Finance Working Group issued a "Summary of General Principles for the UAE Sustainable Finance Taxonomy" in 2023 and, in its Fourth Public Statement of 18 December 2025, said it "continues to evaluate the strategic design of a taxonomy tailored to UAE market needs", using a colour-coded (traffic light) system and minimum social safeguards, with emphasis on international interoperability.
المصدر: UAE Sustainable Finance Working Group (coordinated by ADGM FSRA) · adgm.com · 18 ديسمبر 2025
Composition of the UAE Sustainable Finance Working Group
درجة الثقة: عاليةنافذ من 5 ديسمبر 2023
The taxonomy work is not a Ministry of Finance or Central Bank instrument. The Working Group comprises the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, MOCCAE, the Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, the Central Bank of the UAE, the SCA, ADGM FSRA, the DFSA, ADX, DFM and Nasdaq Dubai.
المصدر: UAE Sustainable Finance Working Group · dfsa.ae · 5 ديسمبر 2023
Whether hydrogen is covered by a UAE taxonomy
درجة الثقة: عاليةNo published activity list exists, so hydrogen is neither included in nor excluded from a UAE taxonomy. Neither the Third nor the Fourth Public Statement names sectors or activities.
المصدر: UAE Sustainable Finance Working Group (coordinated by ADGM FSRA) · adgm.com · 18 ديسمبر 2025
External corroboration on the absence of a UAE taxonomy
درجة الثقة: عاليةThe Climate Bonds Initiative's "World of Taxonomies" tracker, which covers more than 50 jurisdictions, has no UAE entry.
المصدر: Climate Bonds Initiative · climatebonds.net
100% foreign ownership of mainland commercial companies
درجة الثقة: متوسطة100% foreign ownership (subject to conditions)
نافذ من Amendments effective 31 March 2021; positive lists issued by each emirate
Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020, amending Federal Law No. 2 of 2015 on Commercial Companies, "annuls the requirement for commercial companies to have a major Emirati shareholder or agent". The rule is not universal: activities of strategic impact are excluded and require conditions set by the Cabinet, with a Cabinet committee proposing the strategic-impact list. Abu Dhabi identified 1,105 qualifying activities and Dubai permits more than 1,000, excluding seven strategic-impact sectors.
تحفّظ: Content is well supported, but the cited page still attributes the reform to Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020; the Commercial Companies Law was later reissued as Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021.
المصدر: UAE Federal Government · u.ae
Current Commercial Companies Law
درجة الثقة: متوسطةنافذ من 2021
The Commercial Companies Law was reissued as Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies. Citing only Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020 cites a superseded amending instrument.
تحفّظ: Verified through third-party legal databases (UNEP LEAP and FAO FAOLEX) rather than an official UAE portal.
المصدر: UAE Federal Government · leap.unep.org
Bilateral investment treaties - official UAE figure
درجة الثقة: عاليةover 100signed BITs
نافذ من Current
The Ministry of Finance states that "the UAE has signed over 100 Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) with key trade and investment partners worldwide". No in-force figure is given.
تحفّظ: This is a count of treaties signed, not treaties in force.
المصدر: UAE Ministry of Finance · mof.gov.ae
Bilateral investment treaties - UNCTAD count
درجة الثقة: متوسطة126BITs listed
نافذ من Data current to early 2026
UNCTAD's Country Navigator lists 126 BITs and 44 TIPs for the UAE. In the IIA Navigator table of the 74 most recent UAE BITs, 25 are marked "Signed (not in force)", reflecting a large 2024-2026 signing wave including Canada, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago, Türkiye, Barbados, Tonga, Guyana and Mozambique.
تحفّظ: The UNCTAD table is paginated and its header totals are global rather than UAE-specific, so an exact in-force count cannot be derived from it.
المصدر: UNCTAD · investmentpolicy.unctad.org
Bilateral investment treaties - practitioner figure
درجة الثقة: متوسطة111signed BITs (approximately 71 in force)
A practitioner guide states that "the UAE has signed approximately 111 Bilateral Investment Treaties (38 of which are not currently in force, and 2 which have been terminated) most of which are subject to Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) arbitration", implying roughly 71 in force.
تحفّظ: No publication date is shown on the source page, and in-force counts change frequently.
المصدر: Legal 500 Country Comparative Guide, UAE International Arbitration · legal500.com
New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards
درجة الثقة: عالية172States parties
نافذ من 19 نوفمبر 2006
The Convention has 172 States parties. The UAE acceded on 21 August 2006, and it entered into force for the UAE on 19 November 2006, with no reservations.
تحفّظ: Enforcement runs through each state's own courts on Convention grounds; it is not automatic.
المصدر: UNCITRAL · uncitral.un.org
DIFC Courts
درجة الثقة: عاليةنافذ من 2004 / 2011
The DIFC Courts were established by Dubai Law No. 12 of 2004 (as amended by Dubai Law No. 16 of 2011) and DIFC Law No. 10 of 2004. They are described as "a unique common law, English language jurisdiction, which governs commercial and civil disputes, national, regionally, and worldwide". Law No. 16 of 2011 extends jurisdiction to "disputes which have no relation to the DIFC, but where the parties agree in writing to opt for the Courts jurisdiction". Jurisdiction covers civil and commercial matters only, with no criminal jurisdiction.
المصدر: DIFC Courts · difccourts.ae
DIFC Courts judicial memoranda
درجة الثقة: متوسطةنافذ من Ongoing
The DIFC Courts publish judicial Memoranda of Understanding and Memoranda of Guidance. The listing page shows arrangements with, among others, the High Court of Hong Kong SAR, the Federal Court of Malaysia, the High Court of Zambia, the National Court Administration of the Supreme Court of Korea, the Shanghai High People's Court, the Hangzhou Arbitration Commission and the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department. These are guidance or understanding instruments, of the order of a dozen, and are not treaties and do not create direct enforceability.
تحفّظ: The listing page is paginated, so the count is a floor rather than a total.
المصدر: DIFC Courts · difccourts.ae
Direct application of English common law in ADGM
درجة الثقة: عاليةنافذ من 2015
The Application of English Law Regulations 2015 "make English Common Law (including the rules and principles of equity) directly applicable in ADGM", supported by the ADGM Courts, Civil Evidence, Judgments, Enforcement and Judicial Appointments Regulations 2015. ADGM describes itself as the first jurisdiction in the Middle East to adopt an approach similar to Singapore and Hong Kong, with judges drawn from senior judiciary of leading common law jurisdictions.
المصدر: Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) · adgm.com
WJP Rule of Law Index 2024 - UAE
درجة الثقة: عالية39of 142 countries
نافذ من 2024
The 2024 country factsheet states that the UAE "ranks 39th out of 142 countries worldwide" and "ranks 1st out of 9 countries in the Middle East and North Africa".
تحفّظ: Superseded by the 2025 edition; cite the edition year explicitly if used.
المصدر: World Justice Project · worldjusticeproject.org
WJP Rule of Law Index 2025 - UAE
درجة الثقة: عالية37of 143 countries
نافذ من 2025
The 2025 country factsheet states that the UAE "ranks 37th out of 143 countries worldwide" and that "regionally, the United Arab Emirates ranks 1st out of 10 countries in the Middle East and North Africa".
المصدر: World Justice Project · worldjusticeproject.org