The Ottoman Legacy in the UAE Legislations Regarding Land Classifications

10.2478/bjlp-2022-007075

Abstract

Allah, the Almighty, has subjugated the earth to be at the service of man, as He made it subservient, easy to walk on and build upon, easy to dig, cultivate and extract wealth from its interior. Hence, countries seek to enact legislations that regulate the mechanism of land ownership, define its classifications, set its restrictions, and regulate its uses, with the aim of limiting disputes that may arise in this concern. The United Arab Emirates was not immune from this, as the federal legislator and local legislators in each Emirate enacted relevant legislations. In the Civil Transactions Code No.5 of 1985, the federal legislator listed several classifications of land. This article discusses these classifications with the aim of reaching a conclusion that the UAE legislator, in its classification of lands, was influenced by the Ottoman Land Law and the laws of the countries influenced by it, especially the Jordanian Civil Law, and that the Ottoman legacy is visible in these classifications.