United Arab Emirates

AT A GLANCE

The UAE has pledged to become the first 'AI-native government' by 2027, embedding AI across the public sector. Across the UAE, AI is used in law enforcement for surveillance and facial recognition (“Oyoon,” “Falcon Eye”), and 24/7 Smart Police Stations with a suite of 45 digital services. The UAE has announced plans to introduce predictive policing. Prosecutors in the UAE use AI to support case triage, analyse evidence, provide blockchain security, and plan to produce virtual reality crime-scene reconstructions. Courts are primarily using AI for case management (to indicate urgent measures that need to be taken), as well as prepare judgment drafts, which remains part of ongoing digitisation efforts. Defence teams benefit from tools such as an Interactive Case Registration system and “Aisha”, which provide legal advice and assist in case filings. Certain regions are introducing training on AI use.

Despite this growing use, there are no laws or regulations governing the use of AI in criminal proceedings as at September 2025. The Dubai International Financial Centre Courts issued specific guidance for legal practitioners on the use of AI in civil proceedings. In addition, some general, non-binding guidelines address the development and use of AI, highlighting “the irreplaceable value of human judgment and human oversight” and that “[h]umanity should . . . make the final decision, with AI in an assisting role”. General rules of criminal procedure also apply.

USE

Law enforcement 

The UAE Ministry of Interior has said that AI, surveillance, and modern laws are key to fighting crime. Current measures include AI monitoring and intelligent surveillance. Economic crimes such as fraud and tax evasion are addressed through analytics and banking cooperation, while traditional crimes (such as theft and assault) are addressed through cameras, patrols, and awareness drives. 

Operational support 

Dubai has fully automated 24/7 Smart Police Stations that provide many police services without an officer present. These smart services rely on AI to automate requests, verify identities, and deliver services around the clock. Each Smart Police Station enables users to complete essential police services digitally, via a secure process that begins with ID verification using either an Emirates ID (for residents) or a passport (for visitors), followed by a mobile number authentication via SMS. For services requiring interactions, users are connected through a video interface to an on-duty officer, with on-site access to facilities like scanners and printers to complete paperwork. Once a transaction is completed, users receive a reference number via SMS and receipt, allowing for easy tracking as requests are routed to the appropriate police departments for further action. Services are accessible in seven languages: Arabic, English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Chinese. The Smart Police Station network now includes 27 fully operational SPS locations, ranging from central commercial areas to suburban and residential districts.

Dubai’s Smart Police Stations offer a broad suite of 45 fully digital services, organised under four main categories: 

Predictive analytics 

The UAE has announced plans to use AI to detect patterns that indicate potential criminal activity, allowing authorities to intervene before crimes occur. Prosecutors will be involved in designing the algorithms. 

Data review and analysis 

The ‘Oyoon’ Project, used by Dubai Police, is an AI-enabled surveillance system that uses facial recognition and behaviour analysis to identify suspects, track vehicles and license plates, and detect criminal activity in real time, reducing human intervention in monitoring and analysis. For minor traffic violations, for example, the system is used to improve the response times to incidents. In 2018, the AI-powered CCTV cameras helped Dubai Police arrest 319 wanted suspects, with over 5,000 cameras covering a number of tourist sites, public transportation and traffic. 

In Abu Dhabi, ‘Falcon Eye’ is a centralised AI system monitoring the city through thousands of cameras, used to analyse patterns and alert law enforcement to potential threats or violations, mostly on traffic or national security threats. The system, officially launched around 2016, is run by the Abu Dhabi Monitoring & Control Centre (ADMCC), in coordination with Abu Dhabi Police. The system covers Abu Dhabi city, Abu Dhabi International Airport, the main islands, and the areas of Bani Yas and Musaffah.  

Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with AI firm Presight  to develop and deploy advanced AI technologies for policing and public safety. The partnership aims to integrate Presight’s AI-Policing Suit, a modular system featuring generative AI, AI agents and data analytics, with the operational systems of Abu Dhabi Police. 

Prosecutors 

In May 2025, the UAE’s Federal Public Prosecution unveiled a strategy to digitise its operations using AI, blockchain, and advanced technologies such as the metaverse. Under this new roadmap, AI will be embedded at every stage of the legal process, from the initial classification of complaints to the final resolution of cases. 

Case management 

In October 2024, the UAE Federal Public Prosecution launched an AI-supported digital system designed to streamline investigations and legal research. The system can analyse and reorganise case facts and annotate and transcribe multimedia evidence. 

Evidence review and analysis

The UAE’s Federal Public Prosecution’s AI-supported digital system (mentioned above) can analyse facts, annotate multimedia evidence, transcribe information, and retrieve relevant legal principles. The announcement of this system followed an agreement between the Federal Public Prosecution and AI71, a company specialising in AI solutions for government and private sectors. 

As part of its May 2025 strategy, the Federal Public Prosecution said that, in the future, AI will be used to identify contradictions between pieces of evidence, break down technical reports, and summarise cases. AI will also assist in evaluating police reports based on urgency and severity. AI and blockchain will be used to secure evidence. The prosecution also plans to use virtual reality and metaverse platforms to recreate crime scenes. These 3D simulations will provide investigators and courts with enhanced insight and accuracy, helping them better understand the sequence of events.

Courts

Case management 

In 2022, Abu Dhabi introduced a new machine learning programme to follow up on criminal cases. This AI system encourages efficiency in the judicial system by providing accurate statistics of completed cases, underway of cases, the follow-up of those in custody in pending cases, accomplishment rates, and adjourned cases—providing clear indications to ensure that urgent steps are taken to expedite cases where required. 

AI is also used for procedural functions including translation and transcription. 

Legal research, analysis and drafting support 

The machine learning programme used in criminal cases in Abu Dhabi, mentioned above, allows the transfer of substantial data to the draft judgment, such as the names of the accused, and a description of the charges against the accused in the cases before the criminal court. 

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department is also working on updating the programme to include the drafting of electronic judgments in crimes that end either by conciliation or waiver (as soon as the waiver or conciliation is proven in the case), including assault, verbal abuse, and destruction, as well as crimes that have passed the statute of limitations. 

Defence

Administrative support 

The Interactive Case Registration service, in use in the Abu Dhabi and Sharjah judiciaries, assists users in filing cases by using AI to determine the type of lawsuit, the appropriate court, and the applicable fees. This service aims to simplify the legal process and make it more accessible to the public.

‘Aisha’ is a generative AI assistant developed by the Ministry of Justice, which provides real-time legal advice, drafts court applications, and generates multimedia explanations based on a deep knowledge base. 

TRAINING 

Each court in the UAE has its own judicial training institute, such as the Dubai Judicial institute and Abu Dhabi Judicial Academy. These academies are responsible for giving judicial members training in new technologies and best practices updates. 

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Academy has introduced training programmes for lawyers who wish to be approved to appear before Abu Dhabi Judicial Department courts and prosecution offices. Among the new topics are those on the use of AI in the legal profession and virtual court/remote litigation procedures. 

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Academy has also run three training courses in 2023 for members of the Public Prosecution, including on artificial intelligence.

The Dubai Judicial Institute (DJI) offers a range of training programmes aimed at enhancing the skills and knowledge of judicial professionals. Judicial professionals in Dubai are required to complete Continuing Legal Professional Development programmes, which include a mandatory course on ‘Ethical AI and Algorithm Governance’ (in Arabic language). 

REGULATION 

As at September 2025, there is no express legislation governing the use of AI in criminal or court proceedings nor is there comprehensive regulation of AI more generally. However, some general, non-binding guidelines address the development and use of AI, and specific guidance has been issued for legal practitioners on the use of AI in civil proceedings before the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts. 

The UAE was founded in the 1970s  as an independent state with a federal constitution. While Sharia is the principle source of legislation, most legislation comprises a mix of Islamic and European concepts based on the Egyptian legal code and French law. The UAE is a federal nation consisting of seven emirates (each with their own laws in addition to federal law), four ‘onshore’ court systems (the courts of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, and the federal court system used by the emirates of Sharjah, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain, and Ajman), and two financial free zones with their own legal systems and common law courts (the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). Unlike the civil law based system of Mainland UAE, both DIFC and ADGM are founded on common law principles, with their own courts and legislative frameworks for civil and commercial matters. Criminal law, however, remains under the jurisdiction of the federal and emirate-level courts.

In July 2024, UAE issued a new Charter for the Development and Use of AI. The charter serves as a non-binding ‘guiding framework to protect the rights of the UAE community in the development or use of AI solutions and technologies’. It sets out 12 general principles to ensure AI technologies are implemented ethically and inclusively, and comply with ‘international treaties’ and local laws. The Charter highlights ‘the irreplaceable value of human judgment and human oversight … to correct any errors or biases that may arise’, and requires transparency in how AI systems reach their decisions, and measures to address the challenge posed by algorithmic bias’.

Earlier, in 2022, the UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Office, set out non-mandatory guidelines for both the public and private sectors with respect to the ethical design and deployment of AI systems. The AI Ethics Principles & Guidelines apply to ‘significant decisions’, defined as ‘decisions which have the potential for significant impact either on individuals or on society as a whole’, as well as to ‘critical decisions’, which are a subset of significant decisions and are of especially ‘critical nature’, including criminal convictions. The guidelines require that AI systems are ‘designed in a way that respects the rule of law, human rights, society values’ and that they ‘include appropriate safeguards to ensure a fair and just society’. The guidelines state that ‘[h]umanity should retain the power to govern itself and make the final decision, with AI in an assisting role’, adding that ‘decisions related to lethal force, life and death’ should not be delegated to AI systems. The guidelines emphasise the need for fair, accountable, transparent, robust, safe and secure AI systems that have ‘human values’ and are ‘beneficial to society’. They recommend ‘building in traceability (i.e. the ability to trace the key factors leading to any specific decision)’ for AI systems ‘which inform significant decisions, especially those with the potential to cause loss, harm or damage’. Any harm caused through AI systems must be ‘investigated and redressed, by enacting strong enforcement mechanisms and remedial actions’ to ensure that ‘human rights and the rule of law are respected in the digital world’. 

The AI Adoption Guideline in Government Services (2023), aims to raise awareness, accelerate AI impact and maintain a continuously updated repository of clear use cases for AI deployment. It recognises that ‘AI is no longer a futuristic technology’ but is increasingly integrated into government services ‘from offering advice to judging whether to grant bail conditions to criminal suspects to deciding whom to grant visas to predicting population health for early interventions’. One use case mentioned in the guidelines is policing, where AI may be deployed ‘to identify patterns of policing heatmaps to forecast where and when crimes occur’ to ‘identify optimal police patrol presence’. Similarly, AI may be deployed ‘to enable geosearches around locations of interest’ to strengthen law enforcement. The guidelines also emphasise the need for regulations ‘for safe AI adoption in line with cultural and ethical values’ and refer to the AI Ethics Principles and Guideline. They further stress the importance of transparency and explainability, requiring documentation of the data used, and the factors or features considered.

Additionally, the ‘Deepfake Guide’ (2021) sets out information on deepfakes, warns of the potential for misuse, including to create false evidence and, provides advice on measures to protect against deepfakes as well as guidance on how to report deepfakes to the appropriate authorities. 

Guidelines for practitioners 

As at September 2025, only the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts have issued specific guidelines for legal practitioners on the use of AI. These guidelines refer, however, to civil proceedings only as DIFC Courts do not handle criminal law matters. The Practical Guidance Note No. 2 of 2023 sets out principles and best practices for parties and practitioners using large language models (LLMs) and generative content generators (GCGs). It requires transparency in the use of AI and provides that ‘[Al]l parties involved in a legal proceeding, and the courts, should be made aware of any AI-generated content used during the process’, which ‘includes disclosing the use of AI systems, the source of the AI-generated content, and any potential limitations or biases associated with the AI system’. It further requires that ‘AI-generated content [is] verified for accuracy and reliability’ and specifies that practitioners ‘should evaluate its reliability, taking into account the AI’s training data, algorithms, and potential for bias or inaccuracies’. The guidance further requires safeguarding confidentiality, compliance with professional and legal obligations, and avoiding over-reliance on AI. The guidance also outlines best practice measures such as early disclosure of AI use, selecting appropriate tools, educating clients, and ensuring content remains in a witness’s own words.

Criminal procedure rules 

Chapter 5 of the Criminal Procedure Law addresses the use of information technology in criminal procedures. So far, this is limited to remote meetings and court attendance though it also states more generally that the use of technology shall be subject to the existing information security regulations and policies.  Even though the Criminal Procedure Law does not specifically target or mention AI, the provisions on, for example, the admissibility of evidence, provide a framework that would also apply to AI-generated or AI-assisted evidence.

Data protection legislation 

The Federal Decree Law No. 45 of 2021 Regarding the Protection of Personal Data (UAE PDPL) establishes a framework for the processing of personal data, which may apply to the use of AI insofar as the AI processes relevant data. Article 18 grants data subjects the right to object to any decision made solely through automated processing (including profiling), particularly where the decision has legal effects or otherwise adversely impacts them. In addition, article 13 provides data subjects with a right to receive information, which expressly includes disclosure of ‘decisions made based on automated processing, including profiling’. However, the UAE PDP only governs the processing of personal data by private entities, and expressly excludes ‘Government Data, Governmental entities which control or process personal data held by security or judicial authorities’.  

Outlook 

The UAE aims to position itself as a ‘leading nation’ for AI adoption, ‘especially across government services’, and recognises the need for regulation to ensure ‘safe AI adoption in line with cultural and ethical values’. The framework for such regulations has yet to be defined.

CASES

The UAE has not reported any cases in which AI systems used in courts or in criminal justice have been formally reviewed or sanctions have been imposed for violations.