Legal Counsel for Government Entities, Sovereign Institutions, and Public Sector Organisations in the UAE
JUR advises federal and emirate-level government entities, sovereign wealth funds, government-related enterprises, and public sector organisations on the complex legal matters that arise at the intersection of public law, commercial law, and international legal frameworks in the UAE.
Practice Overview
The UAE’s government and public sector landscape is architecturally unique among sovereign systems globally. The federal structure of seven emirates, each with significant legislative and regulatory autonomy, overlaid with a federal legal framework and complemented by the DIFC and ADGM common law jurisdictions, creates a public law environment of genuine complexity for government entities operating across sovereign, commercial, and regulatory activities simultaneously. Government-related enterprises, sovereign wealth funds, and public sector organisations in the UAE increasingly engage in commercial activities, international investments, and public-private partnerships of considerable scale and legal sophistication.
JUR’s Government and Public Sector practice advises federal ministries, emirate-level government departments, sovereign wealth funds, government-related enterprises, and public sector authorities on the full spectrum of legal matters arising in the course of government and sovereign activity. We advise on public procurement and concession frameworks, PPP structuring and documentation, government entity restructuring and privatisation, regulatory advisory and legislative drafting support, sovereign immunity analysis, international arbitration involving state parties, and commercial transactions undertaken by government and semi-government entities.
Public Procurement
UAE Federal Law No. 12 of 2020 on Regulation of Federal Tenders and Auctions compliance advisory, emirate-level procurement regulatory compliance, concession agreement structuring, and public sector contract dispute resolution.
PPP Advisory
Public-private partnership transaction legal advisory, PPP law compliance under applicable UAE and emirate-level frameworks, project agreement negotiation between government authorities and private sector partners.
SOE Transactions
Legal advisory on commercial transactions by government-related enterprises, state aid and subsidy compliance, related party transaction governance, and commercial agreement structuring for entities subject to government ownership requirements.
Regulatory and Legislative
Regulatory framework design and legislative drafting support, regulatory impact assessment, sector regulatory advisory for government authorities, and compliance framework development for newly established regulatory bodies.
Sovereign Investment
Legal advisory for sovereign wealth funds on domestic and international investment transactions, fund structure governance, co-investment framework documentation, and regulatory compliance for sovereign investment activities.
Privatisation
Government entity restructuring and merger advisory, privatisation transaction legal structuring, SOE listing and capital markets preparation, and post-privatisation regulatory compliance advisory.
International Arbitration
Investment treaty arbitration defence and claims under ICSID, UNCITRAL, and other frameworks, state-to-state arbitration advisory, and sovereign immunity analysis for disputes involving UAE government entities.
Public International Law
Bilateral investment treaty analysis, double taxation agreement advisory for government entities, international trade law compliance, and public international law advisory for UAE government authorities.
Government Employment
UAE federal government employment law advisory, civil service regulatory compliance, senior executive appointment and termination frameworks, and government entity workforce restructuring advisory.
Why Global Institutions Choose JUR
Government and public sector legal engagements in the UAE require practitioners who combine command of UAE public law and constitutional structure with the commercial law expertise that government entities increasingly require for their investment, commercial, and regulatory activities. JUR’s government and public sector practice advises at the level of institutional complexity and strategic consequence that sovereign and government mandates demand, with the discretion and authority that engagement at this level requires.
