UAE Court and Litigation Terms: Arabic–English
Why Court Terminology Needs Care
This glossary of UAE court and litigation terms in Arabic and English follows a case from filing to execution, with the Arabic used in UAE onshore courts and a short note on each term. It is written for parties, in-house teams and foreign lawyers who receive Arabic court papers, and for anyone checking a translation of them.
Literal translation goes wrong in court papers for two reasons. First, UAE procedure is civil-law procedure, governed by the Civil Procedure Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022), so English common-law labels such as "pleadings", "discovery" or "summary judgment" do not map one-to-one. Second, the courts are not identical across the country: federal courts sit alongside the local judicial systems of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, and the top court has a different name in each. A good translation names the right court, not a generic "Supreme Court".
Onshore UAE courts work in Arabic. The free-zone courts of the DIFC and ADGM are different again; see onshore vs DIFC and ADGM court translation.
Courts and the People in Them
| English term | Arabic (UAE usage) | Usage note |
|---|---|---|
| Court of First Instance | المحكمة الابتدائية | Where most cases start. |
| Court of Appeal | محكمة الاستئناف | Hears appeals against first-instance judgments. |
| Court of Cassation (Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah) | محكمة التمييز | Top court of the Dubai and RAK judicial systems. |
| Court of Cassation (Abu Dhabi) | محكمة النقض | Top court of the Abu Dhabi judicial system. Same English name, different Arabic. |
| Federal Supreme Court | المحكمة الاتحادية العليا | Top of the federal judiciary; do not call it "the Court of Cassation". |
| Circuit / chamber | الدائرة | E.g. الدائرة التجارية (commercial circuit). "Department" is a mistranslation. |
| Case Management Office | مكتب إدارة الدعوى | Receives the claim and prepares the case before the hearing. u.ae’s Arabic page uses مكتب إدارة القضايا. |
| Claimant / Plaintiff | المدعي | Use one English word consistently through the file. |
| Defendant | المدعى عليه | One letter apart from المدعي in unvowelled text; translators check context every time. |
| Appellant / Respondent (on appeal) | المستأنف / المستأنف ضده | In cassation: الطاعن / المطعون ضده. |
| Lawyer / Advocate | المحامي | The lawyer acts under a power of attorney (وكالة). |
| Public Prosecution | النيابة العامة | In federal matters النيابة العامة الاتحادية. |
Filing and Written Submissions
| English term | Arabic (UAE usage) | Usage note |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of claim | صحيفة الدعوى | The document that opens a civil case. Not "lawsuit newspaper": صحيفة here means a written statement. |
| Case number | رقم الدعوى | Keep the format exactly, e.g. 123/2026 تجاري; the case type is part of the number. |
| Court fees | الرسوم القضائية | Translate amounts as shown on the receipt. |
| Service of process / notification | الإعلان / التبليغ | Formal notice of the claim or a hearing to the other party. |
| Defence memorandum | مذكرة دفاع / مذكرة جوابية | The defendant’s written reply. "Memorandum" is the usual English rendering of مذكرة. |
| Rejoinder / reply memorandum | مذكرة تعقيب / مذكرة رد | Further written comments after the defence. |
| Counterclaim | الدعوى المتقابلة / الطلب العارض المقابل | A claim brought by the defendant in the same proceedings. |
| Bundle / file of documents | حافظة مستندات | The exhibits filed with a memorandum; keep the numbering of each item. |
| Requests (relief sought) | الطلبات | The closing list of what the party asks the court to order. Translate each request separately and literally. |
| Mediation / conciliation before filing | التسوية الودية / الصلح | Many disputes go to a conciliation or mediation centre or committee first. |
Hearings and Evidence
| English term | Arabic (UAE usage) | Usage note |
|---|---|---|
| Hearing / session | الجلسة | Hearing dates are listed as جلسة يوم … الموافق … |
| Adjournment | التأجيل | E.g. "adjourned for the defendant to reply": أُجلت الدعوى لرد المدعى عليه. |
| Minutes of the hearing | محضر الجلسة | The court’s record of what happened at a hearing. |
| Expert | الخبير | Often appointed by the court in accounting, engineering and medical disputes. |
| Expert report | تقرير الخبير | Usually the most technical document in the file; tables and figures need checking line by line. |
| Evidence / proof | الإثبات / البيّنة | Burden of proof: عبء الإثبات. |
| Witness / testimony | الشاهد / الشهادة | Witness hearing: سماع الشهود. |
| Decisive oath | اليمين الحاسمة | A civil-law device with no direct common-law equivalent; keep the Arabic term in brackets. |
| Reserved for judgment | حجز الدعوى للحكم | The court has closed submissions and set a date to pronounce judgment. |
| Interpreter | المترجم | Parties who do not speak Arabic follow the hearing through a court interpreter. |
Judgments and Challenges
| English term | Arabic (UAE usage) | Usage note |
|---|---|---|
| Judgment | الحكم | Pronouncing the judgment: النطق بالحكم. |
| Operative part | منطوق الحكم | The orders themselves. Translate this part with extreme care. |
| Grounds / reasoning | أسباب الحكم | The court’s reasons, which come before the operative part. |
| Judgment in absentia | الحكم الغيابي | Given without the defendant appearing; procedural consequences depend on the law in force. |
| Final (no ordinary appeal) / final and unappealable | حكم نهائي / حكم بات | Not synonyms. نهائي usually means no further ordinary appeal; بات means no challenge remains at all. |
| Appeal | الاستئناف | Challenge before the Court of Appeal. |
| Cassation challenge | الطعن بالتمييز / الطعن بالنقض | Use the term of the court concerned: تمييز in Dubai and RAK, نقض in Abu Dhabi and federal practice. |
| Petition for review | التماس إعادة النظر | An exceptional route on grounds such as fraud or forged papers. |
| Stay of execution | وقف التنفيذ | A request to suspend enforcement pending a challenge. |
Execution, Orders and Criminal Matters
| English term | Arabic (UAE usage) | Usage note |
|---|---|---|
| Execution (enforcement) | التنفيذ | Not "execution" in the criminal sense. Enforcement is clearer for foreign readers. |
| Execution judge | قاضي التنفيذ | Supervises enforcement at the Court of First Instance. |
| Execution file | ملف التنفيذ | Has its own number, separate from the case number. |
| Payment order | أمر الأداء | A fast procedure for a fixed, due debt, usually backed by documents such as cheques or invoices. |
| Order on petition | الأمر على عريضة | An order made on a written application without a full hearing. |
| Precautionary attachment | الحجز التحفظي | Freezes assets before or during a case. |
| Travel ban | منع السفر | An order preventing a person from leaving the UAE. |
| Summary / urgent matters | القضاء المستعجل | Interim measures; not the English "summary judgment". |
| Criminal complaint / report | البلاغ / الشكوى | Filed with the police or the Public Prosecution. |
| Police report / record of inquiry | محضر الشرطة / محضر جمع الاستدلالات | Statements are recorded in this محضر. |
| Accused / victim | المتهم / المجني عليه | Suspect before charge is often المشتبه به. |
| Bail / guarantee | الكفالة | Release on bail: الإفراج بكفالة. |
Common Mistakes With Court Terms
- One English name for three top courts. محكمة التمييز, محكمة النقض and المحكمة الاتحادية العليا belong to different systems; say which.
- Mixing up المدعي and المدعى عليه. In unvowelled text they differ by one letter, and the whole judgment flips.
- Translating التنفيذ as "execution" with no context. Foreign readers think of criminal punishment; "enforcement" is safer.
- Rewriting the operative part. Courts and foreign authorities compare the orders with the source line by line. Keep their order and numbering.
- Importing common-law labels. Discovery, summary judgment and pleadings are not UAE procedural terms.
- Dropping case types from numbers. 123/2026 تجاري كلي is not the same file as 123/2026 مدني.
What is صحيفة الدعوى in English?
Statement of claim: the written document that opens a civil case. It is filed with the case management office together with the supporting documents.
Is the Court of Cassation the same in Dubai and Abu Dhabi?
Both are called Court of Cassation in English, but Dubai’s is محكمة التمييز and Abu Dhabi’s is محكمة النقض. Federal cases go up to the Federal Supreme Court (المحكمة الاتحادية العليا).
What does مذكرة mean in UAE court papers?
A written submission, usually translated as memorandum: مذكرة دفاع is a defence memorandum and مذكرة تعقيب a rejoinder or reply.
What is the difference between حكم نهائي and حكم بات?
نهائي usually means the judgment can no longer be challenged by ordinary appeal; بات means no challenge at all remains. Translate them differently.
Do I need a certified translation of foreign documents for a UAE court?
Yes. Onshore courts work in Arabic, so documents in another language are filed with a legal translation. See our page on court document translation.
Can I bring an interpreter to a UAE court hearing?
Courts usually arrange interpretation in the hearing for parties who do not speak Arabic. For meetings with your lawyer and preparation outside the courtroom, see our court interpreter page.
How SWLT Helps
We translate claims, memoranda, expert reports and judgments between Arabic and English, prepare memoranda (with the legal content reviewed by our legal partner, a Dubai law firm) through our court memo drafting service, and translate court judgments for use abroad.
Disclaimer
This glossary is a language reference, not legal advice. The right Arabic or English term always depends on the context of the document, the governing law and the authority that will read it, and laws, forms and official terminology change. For advice on your rights or obligations, consult a lawyer licensed in the UAE; for a document you will submit, use a licensed legal translator.
Get Your Court Papers Translated
Send us the documents, the court and the next hearing date, and we will confirm the price and delivery time. Smart World Legal Translation – Sole Proprietorship L.L.C. (SWLT) is a UAE Ministry of Justice-licensed legal translation company in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, led by Dr. Hani Elimam. Our federal accreditation is accepted across the UAE, including by Dubai Courts, and we hold exclusive interpretation contracts with the UAE Federal Courts and the Federal Public Prosecution. Arabic⇄English legal translation is AED 60 per 200-word page (excl. VAT), with same-day delivery available for many documents. Send us the document on WhatsApp (+971 50 864 8439), email info@swlt.ae, or use our contact page.