In the UAE mainland, a duty of confidentiality exists and applies uniformly across civil, criminal, regulatory or investigatory contexts, without distinction in its operation.
Cabinet Decision No. 9 of 2025, which approves the Code of Ethics for the Legal Profession and Legal Consultation Profession, reinforces the duty of confidentiality by stating that any information obtained from a client or third party must not be disclosed except with the client’s express written consent, where such disclosure is necessary for the proceedings and directly related to one’s professional responsibilities, or where mandated by applicable laws. This includes circumstances involving criminal, regulatory, or investigatory proceedings, aligning with the broader legal framework under Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2018 and its amendments.
In the context of anti-money laundering, article 15 of Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism was recently replaced by virtue of article 1 of Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2021. This provides that if institutions, businesses and service providers suspect that certain funds or transactions are related to crime they are required to inform the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and provide all necessary documents and reports that support their suspicions directly. In circumstances where the FIU request additional information regarding the matter said institutions will not be able to use provisions regarding confidentiality to deny turning in any documents. However, legal professionals will be exempt if the information was acquired under professional confidentiality.
Article 17 of Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism was recently replaced by virtue of article 1 of Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2021. This provides that any information that has come into the possession of authorities regarding suspicious funds and transactions shall be deemed confidential by law and will only be used for necessary investigations and cases in relation to the violation of the provision.
In the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the courts are likely to refer to the legal principles of privilege under the law of England and Wales when addressing such distinctions, although they may adapt these principles to align with the DIFC’s statutory framework.
In the UAE mainland, the notes taken by in-house counsel during an employee's interview or any other documents produced during investigations are unlikely to be considered subject to the legal advice confidentiality requirement. However, article 380 (bis) of the Penal Code provides that it is a crime to unlawfully copy, distribute or provide a third party with the content of a telephone call, message, information, data or anything else viewed/examined while performing their job. This may potentially apply to all types of communication. There are no precedents on the application of this new legislative text.