United Arab Emirates 1971 Constitution (reviewed 2009)

PART VII. DISTRIBUTION OF LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE AND INTERNATIONAL JURISDICTIONS BETWEEN THE UAE AND THE EMIRATES

Article 120

The UAE has exclusive legislative and executive jurisdiction in the following matters:

1. Foreign affairs.
2. Defense and the federal armed forces.
3. Protection of the UAE’s security against internal or external threats.
4. The matters pertaining to security, order, and government in the permanent capital city of the UAE.
5. The matters relating to federal officers and the federal judiciary.
6. The federal finance, taxes, duties and dues.
7. The federal public loans.
8. Post, telegram, telephone, and wireless services.
9. Paving, maintaining, and improving such roads as the Supreme Council may deem main roads, and regulating the traffic movement on those roads.
10. Air control and issuing licenses to aircrafts and pilots.
11. Education.
12. Public health and medical services.
13. Cash and currency.
14. Measures, standards and weights.
15. Electricity services.
16. The federal nationality, passports, residence and immigration.
17. The federal properties and all matters relating thereto.
18. The matters relating to census and statistics for federal purposes.
19. Federal mass communication.

Article 121

Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding Article, the UAE has exclusive legislative jurisdiction in the following matters:

• Labor relations and social security;
  
  Ownership of real properties and expropriation for the public interest;

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  Extradition of criminals;

  Banks;

  All types of insurance;

  Protection of agricultural and animal wealth;

  Major legislation relating to the penal, civil, and commercial codes; company law, civil and criminal procedure codes;

  Protection of intellectual, technical and industrial property rights; copyright; and printing and publishing rights;

  Importation of arms and ammunitions except for use by the security forces of any Emirate;

  Other aviation matters that do not lie within the federal executive jurisdiction;

  Delimitation of the territorial waters and regulation of navigation in the high seas; and

  Regulation of the free financial zones, the manner in which they are established, and how far they are excluded from scope of application of the federal legislative provisions.

Article 122

The Emirates shall have jurisdiction in all the matters not conferred exclusively upon the federal authorities as provided in the two preceding articles.

Article 123

By way of exception from Article 120, paragraph (1), which provides that the UAE has exclusive jurisdiction in the matters of foreign policy and international relations, a member Emirate of the UAE may conclude limited conventions of a local and administrative nature with the neighboring countries provided that such conventions must not be in conflict with the interests of the UAE or the federal laws and that the Federal Supreme Council be so notified in advance. If the Supreme Council objects to the conclusion of these conventions, the matter must be put on hold until the Federal Court decides as quickly as possible on that objection.

An Emirate may retain its membership in, or join, the OPEC organization and the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Article 124

Before the conclusion of any international treaty or convention, which may affect the status of an Emirate, the competent federal authorities shall consult with that Emirate in advance. In case of disagreement, the matter is submitted to the Federal Supreme Court to rule on such dispute.

Article 125

The Governments of the Emirates shall take the appropriate measures to implement the federal laws and the international treaties and conventions concluded by the UAE including the enactment of the local laws, regulations, decisions and orders necessary for such implementation.

The federal authorities may supervise the implementation by the Emirates’ governments of the federal laws and decisions, the international treaties and conventions, and the federal court judgments. The competent administrative and judicial authorities in the Emirates shall provide to the federal authorities all possible assistance in this connection.