Governance bodies when ownership sits across several vehicles

Where a family's interests sit in more than one vehicle, each brings its own governing organ, and the number of bodies grows with the number of vehicles.

The federal layer sets the interaction rules. Article 3(3) of UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 37 of 2022 concerning Family Businesses applies it to family businesses established in the free zones only to the extent that it does not conflict with the free zone's own laws, regulations and legislation applicable to their organisation, incorporation or registration. Article 3(4) provides that where an emirate has local legislation regulating these companies, the Decree-Law applies only to areas the local law does not regulate or provide for, and allows the emirate to permit companies registered in its jurisdiction to be entered in the federal register.

In Dubai, family property held in common is regulated by Law No. 9 of 2020 Regulating Family Property, as amended by Law No. 21 of 2024, issued on 4 September 2024 and in force on the day of its issue. The amending law replaced four articles. The amended Article 2 defines Family as the spouse and blood relatives and in-laws up to the fourth degree, defines Family Property to include movable and immovable property together with copyright, industrial property rights and trade marks, and defines the Manager as a natural or legal person appointed by the partners to manage the family property. The amended Article 6 sets seven conditions for a family property contract, among them that the parties are members of a single family, that they are engaged together in business or have a common interest, that each partner's share is determined, attestation by a Notary Public under Law No. 4 of 2013, registration with the Department of Economy and Tourism, and that the contract does not conflict with public order. The amended Article 17 sets out the Manager's functions, which include proposing investments, managing the property, distributing dividends, representing the family property, and requesting the Tribunal to remove a partner who does not comply. The amended Article 23 assigns family property contract disputes to the Tribunal in Resolution No. 14 of 2023.

In the Dubai International Financial Centre, a foundation is governed by the Foundations Law, DIFC Law No. 3 of 2018. Article 19(1) requires a foundation to have a charter in the English language, and Article 19(2) requires that charter to contain its name, its objects, a description of the initial capital, the duration where the foundation is to subsist for a limited period only, and a declaration by each founder requesting the council to comply with the terms of the charter. Article 20(1) requires the by-laws to prescribe the functions of the council, to detail the procedures for appointing, resigning and removing council members and any guardian, to give remuneration details where they are to be remunerated, to set out how council decisions are made and specify any decision requiring another person's approval together with that person, to state the extent to which council functions may be delegated or shared, and to specify what is to happen to remaining property should the foundation be wound up. The division between the two documents is a division between object and mechanism. The DIFC also maintains a separate regime for family arrangements, the DIFC Family Arrangement Regulations 2023.

The practical effect is that the same small group of people may constitute the family council, the board of a holding company, the boards of operating subsidiaries and the council of a foundation. Where membership overlaps, what distinguishes one body from another is the record each keeps of what it considered and decided in that capacity.

Each vehicle also retains its own route to a decision whether or not its organ meets. Under Article 26(1), everything the Decree-Law does not specifically provide for is governed by the Commercial Companies Law and other applicable legislation, and under Article 22(2) the articles of association or the charter remain valid while any condition or provision inconsistent with the Decree-Law, with legislation in force or with public order is invalid.

Sources, all retrieved 11 August 2026:

• Federal Decree by Law No. 37 of 2022 Concerning the Family Businesses, full text, UAE Legislation portal: https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1608
• Dubai Law No. 21 of 2024 amending Law No. 9 of 2020 Regulating Family Property, Dubai Legislation Portal: https://dlp.dubai.gov.ae/Legislation%20Reference/2024/Law%20No.%20(21)%20of%202024%20Amending%20Law%20No.%20(9)%20of%202020%20Regulating%20Family%20of%20Dubai.html
• Foundations Law, DIFC Law No. 3 of 2018, consolidated version: https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/dubaiintern0078-difcexperie96c5-production-3253/media/project/difcexperiences/difc/difcwebsite/documents/laws--regulations/foundations_law_difc_law_no_3_of_2018_consolidated.pdf
• DFSA Rulebook glossary entry for the DIFC Family Arrangement Regulations 2023, DFSA reference RMI354/2023, 12 February 2023: https://dfsaen.thomsonreuters.com/rulebook/family-arrangement-regulations

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