Dr. Habib Al Mulla

Dr. Habib Al Mulla is the Founder of Habib Al Mulla and Partners, focusing on Arbitration and Mediation. He is one of the UAE’s most respected legal authorities and has over 41 years of experience in UAE law.

He has drafted many of the modern legislative structures in place in Dubai today and is a strong advocate for the modernisation of UAE laws. He pioneered the concept of financial free zones in the UAE and was the chief architect of the legal framework establishing the DIFC, the first financial free zone in the country. He held several prominent government positions, including as a member of the UAE Federal National Council, the Legislative Committee responsible for reviewing federal laws, and the Economic Committee overseeing the Union’s fiscal and economic policies. He was also Director of the Institute for Advanced Legal and Judicial Studies in Dubai and President of the UAE Lawyers Association.

As an international arbitrator and a leading expert in UAE law, Dr. Al Mulla is frequently called to testify before foreign courts and international arbitration tribunals on UAE laws and Arab laws in general. He serves on the boards and panels of numerous arbitral institutions, including the Academy of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC), the Board of Trustees of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), the Technical Decisions Board of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA), the International Arbitration Subcommittee of the Russian Arbitration Center, and the Panel of Arbitrators for the Hainan International Arbitration Court.

A prolific author and commentator, he has published numerous books and articles on law and economics in the UAE, including a two-volume work, Harvest of a Lifetime, compiling his writings on law, policy, economy and society.

Dr. Al Mulla holds an LLB in Shari’a and Law from UAE University (1984), a Master of Law from Harvard Law School (1987), and a PhD from the University of Cambridge (1993). He was admitted in Dubai in 1984 and speaks English and Arabic.