The principles of the UAE's laws are drawn basically from Islamic Sharia (the system of law).
However, most codified legislations in the UAE are a mixture between Islamic laws and other civil laws such as the Egyptian and French civil laws..
Article 129 of the Civil Code provides for three key components of a legal contract under UAE law including: agreement upon the essential elements of the contract (offer, acceptance, intention to create legal relations and consideration); certainty of the subject matter of the contract and the contract having a lawful .
Under the UAE Labour Law No. 8 of 1980, there are two types of employment contracts: limited-term (or fixed-term) contracts and unlimited term contracts.
The difference lies in the provisions for the end-of-service gratuity and termination..
Although UAE law requires the identification of the subjective intention, it is the intention of both parties together that matters, not each one separately.
If the parties did not have a common intention regarding their obligations, there would usually be no agreement, and no contract to interpret..
UAE Federal Law Number 5 of 1985 on Civil Transactions Law (Civil Code) allows all individuals to enter into agreements unless they are minors, who do not have the right to deal with property and are prohibited from entering into a contract
The Civil Code governs contracts entered into by two contracting parties in the UAE
Article 125 of the Civil Code defines "contract" as an offer made by one of the contracting party that is accepted by the other, along with an agreement from both parties on the subject matter of the contract, from which results obligations for both parties
Under UAE law, parties are generally free to agree and contract on the parameters of their contractual relationships, although contractual freedom is subject to a number of legal restrictions
