{"id":2897,"date":"2026-04-02T07:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com\/mena\/legal\/?post_type=insight_resource&#038;p=2897"},"modified":"2026-04-02T07:32:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:32:04","slug":"key-legal-updates-in-the-uae-q1-2026","status":"publish","type":"insight_resource","link":"https:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com\/mena\/legal\/resources\/resource\/key-legal-updates-in-the-uae-q1-2026","title":{"rendered":"Key Legal Updates in the UAE \u2013 Q1 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insights from the Practical Law Middle East Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This article is part of a series of quarterly updates examining the key legal developments in the UAE across all practice areas, written by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mena.thomsonreuters.com\/en\/products-services\/legal\/practical-law-middle-east.html\">Practical Law Middle East team<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" controls src=\"https:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com\/mena\/legal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Fred-video-Q1-26-1200-x-600-px.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">This easy-to-access resource includes:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>New Civil Transactions Law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Commercial Companies Law Amendments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ADGM: New Commercial Permits For Temporary Commercial Activity, Sales and Promotions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New AML Law Executive Regulations Published.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Commercial<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dubai: Lost and Abandoned Property Law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>RAK: New Law Regulating Autonomous Vehicles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tax<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Amendments to Federal Tax Authority&#8217;s Service Fees.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Amendments to Tax Procedures Law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>VAT Law amendments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Excise tax on sweetened drinks: tiered volumetric model goes live. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Employment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>UAE Ratifies International Forced Labour Protocol.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>DIFC Courts: New Practice Direction on Access to Justice in Employment Disputes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Minimum Wage Increase for Emiratis In Private Sector.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ADGM Courts: Wasted Costs Order for Unverified AI-Generated Legal Research.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Abu Dhabi: Dedicated Labour Prosecution Established.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Banking and Finance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>UAE Capital Markets Reform.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New DIFC Crypto Token Regulations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>DIFC: AED 100 billion &#8220;Zabeel District&#8221; announced.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>IP and IT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>UAE Child Digital Safety Law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>UAE Implements 13th Edition of the Nice Classification.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Creation of a National Media Authority.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Litigation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Amendments to the UAE Civil Procedures Law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ajman: New Law Establishing Rental Dispute Resolution Centre.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sharjah: Integrated Judicial Platform Launched<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sharjah: New Organisational Structure For Judicial Department.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>UAE Federal Judicial Council Issues Five Implementing Regulations For The New Federal Personal Status Law.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To stay informed about the latest key legal developments in the UAE, we invite you to download\u00a0<strong>your complimentary copy of \u201cLegal Developments in the UAE.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legal writers for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mena.thomsonreuters.com\/en\/products-services\/legal\/practical-law-middle-east.html\">Practical Law Middle East<\/a>\u00a0bring extensive experience from leading law firms and in-house legal departments. They are fully committed to developing and maintaining practical how-to guides and resources that enable you and your team in the Middle East to find fast and efficient solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Insights from the Practical Law Middle East Team This article is part of a series of quarterly updates examining the key legal developments in the UAE across all practice areas,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":2910,"template":"","categories":[625],"tags":[1009,272,356,425],"resource_type":[624],"insight_job_role":[],"insight_practice_area":[],"class_list":["entry","author-legal-insight-au","post-2897","insight_resource","type-insight_resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","category-research-and-know-how","tag-generative-ai","tag-in-house-legal-departments","tag-legal-technology","tag-practical-law","resource_type-report","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Key Legal Updates in the UAE \u2013 Q1 2026 - 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