In the UAE legal system, the admissibility of evidence is governed by specific rules that dictate what evidence is admissible in court. These rules aim to ensure that only relevant, reliable and trustworthy evidence is considered in reaching a just and fair decision.

In the UAE, evidence in civil and commercial matters is governed and regulated under the Federal Decree Law No. 35/2022 on evidence in civil and commercial transactions, which replaced the previous evidence law which was the federal law no 10/1992, on 2nd January 2023. The evidence law recognizes both oral evidence and written evidence.

This article aims to discuss the types of evidence that may be presented before the UAE courts as provided by the law.

1.  What is evidence and why is it crucial?

Under the UAE law and procedure, evidence is any information or object that helps to establish the facts of a case before the court of law.

Evidence is crucial because it forms the basis of determining the facts, establishing the truth, it enables the judge to evaluate the arguments and claims made by both sides and to make informed decisions based on the available facts.

2. What are the types of evidence in the UAE?

In UAE there exists different types of evidence that are provided under Federal Decree Law No. 35/2022 on evidence in civil and commercial transactions, such as:

• Written Evidence.
• Electronic evidence.
• Evidence by testimony.
• Admission.
• Presumptions.
• Custom.
• Oath.
• Inspection. and
• Expertise.

3. What are the kinds of written evidence?

The kinds of written evidence as per the evidence law are as follows:

1. Official Documents:

   An official document is a document in which a public officer or a public servant records what he has done or what he has received from those concerned, in line with the legal conditions and within the limits of his authority and jurisdiction.

2. Informal Documents:

   An informal document shall be considered to originate from the person signing it and shall constitute evidence against him, unless he explicitly denies the handwriting, signature, seal or fingerprint ascribed to him. Informal documents are also known as customary documents.

4. What is electronic evidence?

Electronic evidence is any evidence that may be derived from any data or information that is created, stored, extracted, copied, sent, communicated or received by means of information technology, on any medium, and that is retrievable in a perceivable form.

Electronic evidence shall include the following:

1. electronic record,
2. electronic document,
3. electronic signature,
4. electronic seal,
5. electronic correspondence, including e-mail,
6. modern means of communication,
7. electronic media,
8. any other electronic evidence.

Electronic evidence is treated as evidence in writing, under article 55 of the evidence law.

5. What is testimony?

Testimony is either a written or oral statement made by a witness before the court of law, revealing specific facts that he knows. In the UAE, parties may present witnesses in order to further prove a fact. A witness is someone who knows relevant information regarding a case in a court of law and is called upon to share that information with the court.

The latest amendment provides provision for the court or supervising judge to receive witness testimony by way of remote communication technology. Now a witness outside the UAE is permitted to testify in court via video conference if they are not physically present in the UAE.

The testimony of a witness is a primary source of evidence in court cases, whether civil or criminal.

6. Explain evidence of admission?

The evidence law under article 14 states that an admission is a declaration made by a person of a duty that is owed by him to another person. Article 16 of the law provides that an admission can be explicit or implicit, oral or written.

In the UAE as per article 22, if the litigant is incapacitated, his legal representative may be questioned by the court or the supervising judge and if the litigant is a legal person, their legal representatives can be questioned.

7. What is presumption?

According to the evidence law a presumption is an assumption that the court, or the law makes from a known fact to a known unknown fact.

Presumptions are of two kinds:

• Judicial Presumption; and
• Legal Presumption.

Judicial presumption is when a judge presumes based on the facts of the case.

Legal presumption is when presumption is already provided for in the law itself. For example: An accused is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

8. Explain evidence by custom?

The evidence based on custom and usage that is created between the parties to the dispute is now deemed admissible in circumstances where the terms have not been specifically expressed or agreed upon by the parties, provided it does not harm the public order.

Article 90 of the evidence law places the burden to prove the existence of such a custom at the time of incident is on the party who invokes it, and the law further provides that any of the litigants have the right to contest the establishment of the customs and usage and may also raise objections by presenting other evidence that may be of greater value.

9. What is an oath?

Oath refers to the affirmation made by the person swearing, that what he states before the court, he deems it to be true.

The conclusive oath refers to the oath taken by the litigant to disprove his opponent’s claim, and it may be tendered back to his opponent. Further, suppletory oath refers to the oath taken by the litigant in order to complete the evidence, and it shall not be tendered back to the other litigant as provided under article 94 of the evidence law.

10. What is evidence by experts?

In the UAE, as per the evidence law, the court or the supervising judge, may either voluntarily or upon the request of one of the litigants assign one or more experts, to express their opinion on technical matters that may be required for adjudicating the case.

The court or the supervising judge while choosing an expert considers the suitability of his technical knowledge and expertise with the subject-matter of the dispute. The law further provides that if the litigants agree to select one or more experts, the court will approve their agreement.

Once the expert has been appointed, he may inspect the facilities, locations that may require inspection, hear the statements of the parties or anyone that he deems necessary provided he is authorized to do so, he may also request for access to any documents, records, books, papers etc. that he feels is necessary to complete his task.

Then the expert is required to prepare a report based on the findings. The expert report includes:

• A statement of his assigned task under the assignment decision.
• The work he has accomplished in detail, the statements of the litigants and others, the documents and evidence they have presented and the technical analysis thereof.
• The opinions of the experts to whom he has resorted.
• The outcome of his work and his technical opinion, and the grounds on which he has relied accurately and clearly.

In conclusion, the Federal Decree Law No. 35/2022 on evidence in civil and commercial transactions governs and regulates the standards, rules, procedures, and types of evidence that are admissible before the courts in the UAE for civil and commercial matters.

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