Decree No. 25 of 2023 established a dedicated court for estate matters and gave it exclusive jurisdiction over two categories at once: estate claims, and lawsuits for the subdivision of property co-owned in undivided shares. Carved out are criminal and labour claims arising in connection with an estate, matters belonging to Special Tribunals, and claims by partners in companies whose ownership devolves to heirs. There is no cassation against Appellate Division judgments — what remains is a petition for review.
Verified on 15 September 2026 against official sources: the text of Decree No. 25 of 2023 comes from the Dubai Legislation Portal (dlp.dubai.gov.ae). Source links sit next to every article and again at the end. This is not legal advice: jurisdiction over a particular claim is for the court to determine.
Two earlier pieces — on dividing co-owned property and on heirs who cannot agree on a sale — both ended at the same body. It is time to describe it on its own.
The document is Decree No. (25) of 2023 Establishing the Probate Court in the Emirate of Dubai, issued on 14 June 2023. Under Article 2 a court named the Probate Court is established at the Courts, and under Article 3 its principal seat is there as well.
Two categories of exclusive jurisdiction
Article 5(a):
«Estate Claims, Lawsuits for Subdivision of Property Co-owned in Undivided Shares, and all claims and applications arising out of them» — Decree No. (25) of 2023, Article 5(a)
The second category matters to the property market no less than the first: lawsuits for the subdivision of co-owned property are named expressly, and not only where an estate is involved.
⚠️ Here we deliberately stop. Administrative Resolution No. 51 of 2020 assigns disputes over the subdivision of property held in undivided shares to the Centre for Amicable Settlement, while this 2023 decree names subdivision lawsuits as the court's exclusive jurisdiction. The natural reading is "settlement first, then court", and the decree is the later instrument — but that is our reading, not the text. We do not undertake to reconcile the two instruments: which rule governs your claim is stated by the body you approach.
What is carved out
Article 5(b) names three exclusions:
«1. criminal lawsuits and labour claims arising in connection with Inheritance or Estate Applications; 2. Estate Claims deemed under the jurisdiction of the Special Tribunals formed in the Emirate pursuant to a resolution of the Ruler; 3. claims filed by partners in companies whose ownership devolves to Heirs»
The third exclusion deserves a second reading from anyone whose property is held through a company: a dispute between partners in such a company is not an estate matter for this court, even where the shareholding has passed to heirs. The right to the property itself is still proved by the entry: why only the register.
How a case ends
Article 18(a): judgments of the Appellate Division
«will not be subject to appeal by cassation»
Article 18(b) leaves another route: a petition for review may be pursued against final judgments of the Probate Court.
The practical import: fewer instances than people expect. That is an argument for investing in evidence early rather than counting on "we will take it to cassation".
Where this fits
| Situation | First address | covered in |
|---|---|---|
| heirs will not agree to sell the housing | the DLD procedure, then this court | Decree No. 31 of 2023 |
| non-heir co-owners cannot divide a property | Centre for Amicable Settlement | Resolution No. 51 of 2020 |
| a share has passed to a minor | the competent foundation, representation in court | Law No. 17 of 2022 |
| ownership is to be bound by rules in advance | a notarised contract | Law No. 9 of 2020 |
What we are NOT claiming here
- How this decree relates to Resolution No. 51 of 2020. We set out both texts and derive no combined rule from them.
- Filing procedure, fees or hearing times. They are not in the articles we covered.
- The composition and jurisdiction of the Special Tribunals. Article 5(b) refers to a resolution of the Ruler, which we do not quote.
- That the decree contains provisions on non-Muslims or foreigners. We found none in the text we checked and therefore say nothing about them.
Sources
- Decree No. (25) of 2023 Establishing the Probate Court in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: Article 2 (establishment of the court at the Courts), Article 3 (principal seat), Article 5(a) (exclusive jurisdiction: estate claims and subdivision lawsuits over property held in undivided shares), Article 5(b) (three exclusions), Article 18 (no cassation against Appellate Division judgments; petition for review). Issued 14 June 2023.
- Administrative Resolution No. (51) of 2020 Concerning the Jurisdiction of the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes — cited alongside as the second text dealing with the subdivision of co-owned property.
