UAE lowers age of maturity to 18 years in new decree law

The UAE has lowered the age of majority from 21 years to 18 years under a new law regarding civil transactions.

It also amends the age at which a minor may seek authorisation to manage their financial assets from 18 years, while allowing those aged 15 to seek legal assistance to manage their assets.

The move is aimed at empowering the youth, strengthening the role of the judiciary while focusing on modernising the legal framework.

The new Civil Transactions Law adopts a practical approach that simplifies the understanding of legal provisions, unifies legal references, and eliminates duplication with recently enacted special laws.

What the law states

1. It is the largest federal law in the UAE and the primary reference for most federal legislation, establishing the general framework and foundational principles governing legal acts and contracts among members of society.

2. The new law is a comprehensive legislative update aligned with contemporary legislative developments. It enhances the efficiency of application through by adopting more precise and clearer legal concepts that reflect the reality of transactions. It also repeals provisions regulated under recent special laws, in line with legislative updates and to avoid duplication.

3. The age of majority has been reduced from 21 lunar years to 18 Gregorian years, unifying the legislative time reference and reducing practical challenges. This also amends the age at which a minor may seek authorisation to manage their assets from 18 Hijri years to 15 Gregorian years, in support of entrepreneurship and youth empowerment.

4. It introduces new provisions to enhance legal capacity and protect free will, alongside updated rules governing legal acts and contracts, reinforcing legal certainty and limiting disputes.

5. The new law grants judges broader discretion in jurisprudential reasoning when applying the principles of Sharia, to achieve justice without restriction to a single Sharia doctrine.

6. It introduces provisions governing pre contractual negotiations, obliging parties to disclose fundamental information to ensure informed contractual decisions, enhance trust, and reduce judicial disputes.

7. Permitting the combination of blood money or assessed compensation with additional damages to ensure full reparation where death or injury results in material or moral harm not covered by blood money or assessed compensation.

8. Establishment of a legal framework for nonprofit companies and a new regulation for professional companies, in line with recent legislative updates, to consolidate their structure and activate their role in sustainable development.

9. Updating the rules governing sale contracts in a manner that balances the interests of the parties, providing protection for persons lacking full legal capacity against unfairness in real estate sales, and regulating latent defects with greater clarity.

10. Establishing clear rules governing the sale of disputed rights to enhance clarity and legal certainty in transactions and reduce the risk of disputes.

11. Developing and regulating insurance provisions through clearer drafting, alongside an integrated legal framework for takaful insurance.

12. Updating the rules governing works contracts to clarify responsibilities, achieve better balance between the parties, regulate contract termination, and take into account practical developments in contracting activities to ensure contractual equilibrium.