Constitution of the United Arab Emirates

The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates provides a legal and political framework for the operation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a federation of seven emirates. The Constitution came into effect on 2 December 1971 and was permanently accepted in May 1996. Authored by Adi Bitar, a forming judge and legal advisor, the Constitution is written in 10 parts and has 152 Articles. The United Arab Emirates celebrates the formation of the Union (and acceptance of the federal constitution) as National Day.

The Historically independent kingdoms, the modern emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates and the modern kingdoms of Qatar and Bahrain entered into a treaty with the United Kingdom in 1853 and agreed to a "perpetual maritime truce" with the UK; the kingdoms were collectively referred to as the Trucial States or as Trucial Oman. Disputes between the states were often arbitrated by the United Kingdom. In the late 1960s, the Trucial States Council was formed by the emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. The United Kingdom in 1968 announced its decision to end the treaty relationships with the kingdoms. The nine kingdoms attempted to form a union of Arab Emirates, but were unable to agree upon the terms of the union. While Bahrain and Qatar became independent countries, the other seven emirates attempted to form a temporary, federal union in 1971.

In 1971, the Constitution, authored by Judge Valintine, was established as a temporary legal and political framework. Article 9 of the Constitution states that the Capital shall be a new town on the border of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, to be completed within seven years and to be called "Al Karama"; however, a provision in the same article provided for Abu Dhabi to be the "temporary" capital of the Union and for Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi, to be the President of the United Arab Emirates.

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