Power of attorney

# Special power of attorney for a court case at Dubai Courts

A special power of attorney for a court case is the document that lets your lawyer, or a relative you trust, act in your name in a claim at Dubai Courts. It names the case, lists each act the agent may perform, is written in Arabic, and is attested by a notary before the agent can use it. If a power is not written in it, the agent does not have it.

At a glance

* Pleading before a court, settlement, arbitration and administering or accepting an oath all need a special agency that names the act (Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, Article 870).
* A POA written only in general terms gives acts of management, not the power to plead (Article 871).
* Attestation happens before a notary in Dubai: the government notary at Dubai Courts, or a private notary listed in the Dubai Courts register of private notaries. You can attend in person, or virtually where that channel is offered.
* The court works from the Arabic text. If you also want English, a certified translator produces the Arabic and the parties sign both language versions (Dubai Law No. 4 of 2013, Article 27).
* Federal fee to execute or notarise a general or special POA: AED 100 per party (Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024, item 9).

NotaryPublicInDubai.com drafts litigation POAs from the lawyer's instructions, prepares the Arabic text, books the notary and hands the attested document to the person who will use it. This page follows the litigant: you, the person with the case. It covers which powers to list, how the wording changes for a personal status or labour matter, what the notary checks, and what the whole thing costs.

On this page

* Who needs a court case POA
* Special or general power of attorney for court cases
* The powers a litigation POA usually lists
* Wording for a personal status case
* Wording for a labour case
* Who can plead with your POA
* Getting it attested, step by step
* Before the lawyer relies on it
* Cost
* How we help

Your options

## Who needs a court case POA

You need one whenever someone other than you will do something in your case. The usual situations:

A

### You have hired a lawyer.

The lawyer needs your authority to file the claim or defence, attend hearings and plead for you.

B

### You live outside the UAE.

A relative or colleague in Dubai collects documents, pays court fees and attends the case file office while the lawyer pleads.

C

### You are the defendant.

You received a notice of a claim and your lawyer must enter a defence before the hearing date.

D

### The case is about to move up.

An appeal or an execution file may need powers your first POA did not include.

If your matter is still a dispute and nothing has been filed, the POA can describe the dispute and the court it is expected to go to. Your lawyer will tell you whether that is enough, or whether a new POA is better once the case number exists.

## Special or general power of attorney for court cases

People often ask for a general power of attorney for court cases, hoping one document will cover everything. The law does not work that way. Article 871 limits a POA in general terms to acts of management. Article 870 lists pleading before the court, settlement, acknowledgment, arbitration and oaths among the acts that need a special agency naming them. So even a POA that is wide in scope must still name each of these acts to be useful in court.

| What the agent must do | Does it need to be named? |
| --- | --- |
| File a claim or a defence | Yes, name it |
| Attend hearings and plead | Yes, pleading is on the Article 870 list |
| Settle, or accept a settlement offer | Yes, settlement is on the list |
| Acknowledge a debt or a fact on your behalf | Yes, acknowledgment is on the list |
| Refer the dispute to arbitration | Yes, arbitration is on the list |
| Take or refuse an oath | Yes, oaths are on the list |
| Receive money the court awards | Name it, and name the account if you can |
| Appoint another lawyer (sub-agency) | Name it, or the agent cannot delegate |

Power of attorney

## Also in Power of attorney

* [POA price](https://notarypublicindubai.com/2025/07/17/power-of-attorney-dubai-cost/)
* [Car POA](https://notarypublicindubai.com/power-of-attorney/car/)

[Back to Power of attorney](https://notarypublicindubai.com/power-of-attorney/)

Step by step

## The powers a litigation POA usually lists

Your lawyer gives the final list. As a starting point, a litigation power of attorney in the UAE commonly covers:

![Woman on a mobile phone call outdoors](https://notarypublicindubai.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/contact-inline1.webp)

Filing claims, counterclaims and defences, and signing the papers that go with them.

Attending every hearing, pleading, and submitting memoranda and evidence.

Requesting experts, objecting to an expert report and asking for witnesses.

Appealing, objecting, and filing cassation where the law allows.

Opening an execution file, requesting a travel ban or an attachment, and following it to the end.

Settling, waiving a claim, acknowledging, and accepting or refusing an oath.

Receiving payments, cheques and documents from the court and the other side.

Appointing and dismissing other lawyers under the same POA.

Each line is a choice. If you do not want your agent to settle without asking you, leave settlement out, or write that settlement needs your written approval. We draft the limit as clearly as the power.

## Wording for a personal status case

Divorce, custody, maintenance and travel matters for children go before the Dubai Courts personal status court. The POA for these cases often needs the family details written in full: the names of the spouse and children as they appear in the passports, the marriage certificate details, and the exact relief sought, such as custody or a travel permission. Some personal status steps may need you in person even with a POA. If the dispute is about a child travelling, our guide to [travel consent for a minor](https://notarypublicindubai.com/2025/10/16/child-travel-poa-consent-letter-dubai-uae/) explains the documents on the consent side.

## Wording for a labour case

An employee or an employer can give a POA for a labour claim. The POA should name the employer or employee, the labour card or contract details, and the stage it covers, because a labour dispute may start outside the court before a claim is filed. For a POA focused only on labour matters, poaindubai.ae has a separate [labour case POA guide](https://poaindubai.ae/labour-case-power-of-attorney/).

## Who can plead with your POA

A lawyer registered to appear before Dubai Courts pleads your case. A relative or friend can hold a POA for the acts it names, such as submitting papers and collecting judgments, but whether a non-lawyer may plead depends on the court and the case type. Most litigants therefore give two powers: the lawyer's POA for the case itself, and where needed a narrower POA to a family member for the paperwork around it.

## Getting it attested, step by step

01

**Get the lawyer's list of powers**, and the case number or a short description of the dispute.

02

**We draft the POA** with the parties' names exactly as on their IDs, the court, the case details and the powers.

03

### We prepare the Arabic.

The Arabic text is the one the court reads, so we check that each power says the same thing in both languages. See our [legal translation guide](https://notarypublicindubai.com/dubai-courts/legal-translation/) for how this step works.

04

**You approve the bilingual draft** before anything is booked.

05

### We book the attestation.

You choose between the Dubai Courts notary public, a private notary listed by Dubai Courts, or a virtual attendance session.

06

### You attend with your original ID.

The notary checks your identity, capacity and consent, reads the content to you and attests the POA.

07

### The agent receives it.

Your lawyer files it with the claim or defence so the court records who acts for you.

If you are abroad, you can sign before an accredited UAE consul, through a remote session where the channel accepts your document, or before a local notary followed by attestation in your country, at the UAE embassy there and by MOFAIC. An apostille cannot replace any of those steps: the UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention.

## Before the lawyer relies on it

A lawyer or the court may check that the POA is genuine and still in force. Our guide to [verifying a Dubai Courts document](https://notarypublicindubai.com/dubai-courts/verify-document/) shows how. There is no fixed number of years in UAE law: the POA ends when the case work is done, when its stated term runs out, on the death or loss of capacity of either side, or when you revoke it (Articles 897 and 898). If you dismiss your lawyer, tell them in writing. Under Article 902, what a litigation agent does after learning of the dismissal is their own liability, but acts done before they knew still count.

Fees

## Cost

| Item | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Our service: drafting, Arabic, booking and hand over of a court case POA | From AED 1,500 |
| Federal fee, general or special POA | AED 100 per party |
| Private notary on the federal schedule | AED 130 per party |
| Dubai private notary route | AED 100 per party registration plus AED 100 per signature |
| Notarising a translation included in the instrument | AED 50 per page |

All service prices are starting prices and are negotiable. Government fees are paid on top, at cost, exactly as the authority charges them. We confirm your final price before you pay.

The court's own filing fees for your case are separate and are set by the court for the claim. Our [special POA price page](https://notarypublicindubai.com/2025/07/17/power-of-attorney-dubai-cost/) shows how the lines add up, and the [fees page](https://notarypublicindubai.com/pricing/) lists every other document.

![Woman reading and marking a set of printed documents](https://notarypublicindubai.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/documents-hero.webp)

How we help

## How we help

We take the lawyer's list of powers and turn it into a POA the court can read without asking questions. We draft the English, check the names against passports and Emirates IDs, have the Arabic done by a legal translator registered with the UAE Ministry of Justice, and send you both versions side by side. Then we book the notary, tell you what to bring, and pass the attested POA to your lawyer or agent. You sign; the notary attests. For the wider picture of POAs in legal matters, see our [power of attorney services](https://notarypublicindubai.com/power-of-attorney/).

Questions

## Questions about a court case POA

### Can I give one POA for all my cases?

You can, if it names each act and describes each case or says it covers all cases between named parties. A narrow POA for one case is easier for the court to read and easier for you to control.

### My lawyer already sent me a POA text. Do I still need you?

Not always. If the lawyer's text is already in Arabic and ready, you may only need the notary booking. We can book it and check that the names match your ID.

### Does the other party have to sign my POA?

No. A POA is between you and your agent. The other side in the case plays no part in it.

### Can I limit how much my lawyer can settle for?

Yes. Write the settlement power with a limit, or make it subject to your written approval. The limit must appear in the Arabic text too.

### What happens to the POA when the case ends?

It ends when the work it covers is completed, unless it also covers appeal and execution. If you want the agent to follow the execution file, name execution in the POA.

### Is a court case POA the same as a POA to a law firm?

The POA names a person or persons as agents. If your law firm wants several lawyers named, list each one, and include the power to appoint others if the firm asks for it.

Contact

## Start your court case POA

Send the case number, or a short note about the dispute, with your lawyer's list of powers. Call or WhatsApp +971 52 947 5935, or email support@notarypublicindubai.com with those details. We reply with the draft wording, the documents to bring and your price. Our office is in Business Bay, Dubai. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (Dubai time). For the general steps at the notary, read our [Dubai Courts notary guide](https://notarypublicindubai.com/dubai-courts/). If you want wider background on court POAs from a POA-only site, see the [court case POA guide at poaindubai.ae](https://poaindubai.ae/court-case-power-of-attorney-dubai/).

### Sources for this page

* Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, Civil Transactions Law, Articles 870, 871, 897, 898 and 902: [https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/4011](https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/4011)
* Dubai Law No. 4 of 2013 concerning Notaries Public in the Emirate of Dubai, Article 27: [https://dlp.dubai.gov.ae/Legislation%20Reference/2013/Law%20No.%20(4)%20of%202013%20Concerning%20Notaries%20Public%20in%20the%20Emirate%20of%20Dubai.html](https://dlp.dubai.gov.ae/Legislation%20Reference/2013/Law%20No.%20(4%29%20of%202013%20Concerning%20Notaries%20Public%20in%20the%20Emirate%20of%20Dubai.html)
* Dubai Courts, Power of Attorneys Ratification service page (archived 16 March 2023): [https://web.archive.org/web/20230316055912/https://www.dc.gov.ae/PublicServices/GessServiceDetails.aspx?lang=en&ServiceCode=G4](https://web.archive.org/web/20230316055912/https://www.dc.gov.ae/PublicServices/GessServiceDetails.aspx?lang=en&ServiceCode=G4)
* Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022, Article 3 (accredited consuls): [https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1563](https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1563)
* Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024 on notary fees, items 9 and 11 and Article 2: [https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/2491](https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/2491)
* Dubai private notary fees, Dubai Courts decision: [https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2025/december/29-12/dubai-courts-is-preparing-to-implement-the-decision-regulating-the-fees-of-the-private-notary-public](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2025/december/29-12/dubai-courts-is-preparing-to-implement-the-decision-regulating-the-fees-of-the-private-notary-public)
* HCCH Apostille Convention status table: [https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41](https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41)

---

Source: https://notarypublicindubai.com/power-of-attorney/court-case/