Sheikh Mansour issues decision establishing Notary Services Bureau in English in Abu Dhabi

His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court & Chairman of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, issued Decision No. 38 of 2023 establishing the Notary Services Bureau in English in Abu Dhabi.

Counselor Youssef Saeed Al-Abri, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, said that the launch of the first-ever English language judicial services bureau in the Middle East is a groundbreaking step towards making it easier for businesses to operate in Abu Dhabi.

The office will streamline legal documentation procedures and boost the emirate's competitiveness in the global marketplace, helping to attract and retain foreign investments.

The new office is part of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department's effort to provide innovative solutions that boost the emirate's competitiveness and support its economic development. It will make it easier for businesses to operate by providing notarization and authentication services for English-language contracts and documents without the need for translation. The office will also offer its services digitally, which will save time and effort for customers and reduce the processing time for transactions. This will improve the quality of services and ensure customer satisfaction.

The new judicial services bureau is designed to meet the needs of non-Arabic speakers. It will remove the language barrier that prevents foreign customers from accessing judicial services by streamlining the procedures for notarizing and authenticating company contracts, board of directors' decision, minutes, powers of attorney, and declarations in English. This will boost investor confidence in judicial services and make Abu Dhabi more attractive to foreign investors.

The new judicial services office will serve non-Arab residents and companies in Abu Dhabi. It will provide judicial services that are tailored to the emirate's economic and demographic needs, which will help to make it easier to do business in Abu Dhabi, and boost the emirate's competitiveness.

The office specialises in providing judicial services for notarization and authentication of transactions and documents in English without the need to provide an Arabic translation of the document. This is in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of Law No. 11 of 2017 on notary public services in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

This includes the following transactions and documents:

-Contracts of all kinds.

-Declarations and undertakings, including monthly income declarations, non-objection to travel, waiver, and others.

-Settlement agreements.

-Powers of attorney of all kinds.

-Signature authentication.

-Board of Directors’ decisions and meeting minutes.

Everything related to documents issued by companies and private and public legal persons during or in connection with the exercise of their business.

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department is committed to continuously improving judicial services and streamlining judicial procedures. It adopts innovation as a core principle in developing the work of the courts, to meet the aspirations of Abu Dhabi as a global economic hub that lure businesses, multinational companies, and best human talent in the world.