The Federal Law in the United Arab Emirates Essay

The Federal Law in the United Arab Emirates - Essay Example These federal rules are made to ensure that all people of the federation abide by the standards set and deemed appropriate for public good and national betterment in all terms by the officiating bodies of the seven Emirates through their officials. This paper will discuss within its context the creation of the UAE federation, the constitution, the federal laws and the creation of federal business laws that already exist within UAE. Key words: federal state, federal law, constitution, business law Federal Law in the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates: Starting Point The UAE is a federation of seven Emirates comprising Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. It was formed on the 2nd of December 1971 (Latham & Watkins LLP, 2011, p. 1). The UAE federal constitution was adopted and accepted in 1996. It ensures the allocation of powers between the federal government and the government of each Emirate. It is one of the largerst countries in t he Gulf with a land area that extends to 83,000 square kilometers and a population of 2.6 million (Gulf Law, 2011). Ethnicities that comprise the total population of the United Arab Emirates are: Indians with a total census of 1.75 million, Pakistani with 1.25 million counts, Bangladeshi at a rate of 500,000, other inhabitants of Asian origin amount to one million according to the census, European and African comprising 500,000, while the population of Emirati amounts to 890,000. Majority of the people in UAE are Muslims at the rate of 96% compared to the Hindu and Christian sects present in the country. The official language is Arabic though English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali are also used widely (U. S. Department of State, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, 2011). The Government There is still an independent type of governance in each Emirate since the UAE is a loose federation of seven Emirates with its own ruler in each of them. Under the provisional constitution of 1971, each Emirate c ontrols its own activities and reserves considerable powers including control over mineral rights, such as oil and gas, as well as revenues. But over time the federal powers have developed slowly and the constitution has established set of rules under the creation of President as the chief of state and Vice President as second of rule, each having a fixed term of 5 year service. Other members of the government includes: a Council of Ministers, led by a Prime Minister as the head of the government; a supreme council of rulers; and a Federal National Council of 40 members wherein 20 members are appointed by the Emirate rulers and other half of 20 members are elected through an electorate by the rulers of each emirate (U.S. Department of State, Bureau on Near Eastern Affairs, 2011). Within a remarkably short span of time since the creation of the federation, the United Arab Emirates managed to create a stable country with a booming economy based on free trade. Today the economic status of UAE has earned it a reputation as one of the leading economic icons in the Middle East. This is one of the main reasons why lots of people and business builders and investors thrive to work or build businesses within boundaries of the Federation. The reputation of the Emirates as a free trade area was enhanced with rapidly developing free zones and the oil