New AI-Led Legislation: The UAE Will Use AI to Draft Laws for the First Time

The United Arab Emirates is breaking new ground by planning to employ artificial intelligence to write its federal laws—a world first that promises faster, more consistent legislation but raises fresh questions about oversight, ethics, and legal quality.

Why the UAE Is Turning to AI

Under its National AI Strategy 2031, the UAE aims to cement its role as a global tech leader. By training advanced language models on existing codes—ranging from civil and commercial law to Sharia principles—the Ministry of Justice expects to:

• Speed Up Drafting: Cut months off the usual legislative cycle by auto‑generating first drafts of new regulations.
• Ensure Consistency: Harmonize terminology and structure across hundreds of laws, reducing conflicting clauses.
• Free Up Experts: Let human lawmakers focus on high‑level policy, letting AI handle repetitive boilerplate.

A pilot program launching later this year will target fintech, data protection, and environment regulations before rolling out across all ministries by 2026.

Building the Machine Legislature

Creating a system capable of legal drafting requires more than raw computing power:

1. Curated Legal Dataset: Tens of thousands of pages of UAE federal laws, ministerial decrees, and landmark court rulings are being digitized and annotated by legal scholars.
2. Human-in-the-Loop Review: Drafts generated by AI undergo review by panels of judges, clerks, and AI ethicists to catch errors, bias, or unintended loopholes.
3. Ethics & Transparency: A new AI Oversight Board, chaired by the Federal Supreme Court’s chief justice, will publish regular reports on the system’s performance and safeguards.

Cloud infrastructure is hosted in secure, sovereign data centers, with strict access controls to protect sensitive legal texts and maintain public trust.

Global First—but Not Alone

While other governments use AI for legal research or translation, none have entrusted it with primary drafting duties. The UAE move may set a precedent:

• Scalability: Smaller nations with limited legislative staff could adopt similar tools.
• Standardization: Multinational bodies—like the GCC or even the UN—might explore AI to harmonize regional regulations.
• Private Sector Spin‑Offs: Law firms and consultancies are already racing to develop commercial “legislation-as-a-service” platforms.

Yet experts caution against blind reliance. “AI can draft clauses fast,” notes a professor of AI and law, “but it can’t grasp social context or justice values without human judgment.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How exactly will AI draft new laws?
The system uses large language models trained on UAE’s legal corpus to generate initial versions of legislative text. Humans then review and refine these drafts, ensuring alignment with policy goals and legal norms.

Q2: What safeguards protect against biased or flawed AI output?
A multi‑tier review process—combining judges, legal experts, and AI ethicists—checks every AI‑generated draft. An independent Oversight Board publishes performance audits and recommendations to maintain transparency.

Q3: Will AI replace legislators or lawyers?
No. AI handles repetitive drafting tasks, but elected officials, legal advisors, and judges retain full control over policy decisions, final wording, and legal interpretation. The technology is a tool, not a substitute for human judgment.

Sources Financial Times