Sharjah Introduces New Licensing Framework for Court Experts and Expert Firms

Sharjah has issued a new law regulating the practice of professional expertise before judicial authorities in the emirate. The legislation is intended to strengthen the quality, integrity and efficiency of expert evidence used in judicial proceedings by establishing clearer requirements for the individuals and firms permitted to provide specialist opinions to the courts.

The framework is relevant to specialists and professional-services firms that may be appointed to provide technical, financial, engineering or other expert analysis in litigation and judicial proceedings.

Under the new law, the Sharjah Judicial Department will maintain formal registers for professionals and organisations authorised to provide expertise before judicial authorities. The registers include:

• practising experts;

• non-practising experts;

• experts employed by government entities;

• trainee experts; and

• expert firms practising the profession.

  
  

The President of the Judicial Department may establish additional registers where operational requirements make them necessary. Experts will be registered according to recognised technical specialisations, with classifications based on academic qualifications and practical professional experience. Detailed registration conditions and required information will be established through the implementing regulations.

The legislation does not regulate only individuals. It also provides requirements for the registration and licensing of expert firms, including provisions dealing with both local and international expert houses.

This is commercially significant because businesses providing specialist advisory services may need a separate judicial-expertise registration if they intend to accept assignments before Sharjah courts.

A normal professional or commercial licence should therefore not automatically be assumed to authorise a firm to perform judicial expert work.

The general rule is that an expert or expert firm cannot conduct judicial expertise before the competent judicial authorities unless registered in the appropriate official register. The law provides limited exceptions. An unregistered expert or expert firm may be used where the parties to a dispute agree on the appointment and the judicial authority hearing the case approves that agreement. A judicial authority may also assign expert work to a government body or an expert who is not registered where permitted under the implementing regulations. These are exceptions rather than an alternative route to routine professional practice.

The new framework goes beyond registration. It establishes a wider regulatory system covering:

• expert registration conditions;

• licensing of judicial expert activities;

• professional rights;

• prohibited conduct;

• duties and responsibilities;

• procedural standards;

• expert fees and expenses;

• professional conduct and ethics;

• accountability procedures; and

• disciplinary sanctions.

  
  

A dedicated committee will oversee matters relating to expert registration, while the framework also provides for professional accountability and disciplinary procedures. The objective is to ensure that court-appointed technical opinions are prepared by appropriately qualified professionals operating under consistent standards.

Sharjah has also identified the development of national professional expertise as one of the objectives of the law.

The framework is intended to increase the number and capability of qualified specialists available to judicial authorities while improving the quality of expert reports and helping to accelerate litigation procedures.

The law follows several months of legislative review. The Sharjah Consultative Council considered the draft framework earlier in 2026, including requirements concerning licensing, expert fees, national and non-national experts, government employees, local expert firms and international expert organisations.

NUR Advisory Note

The new law is particularly relevant to professional-services businesses whose expertise may be required in commercial disputes.

Potentially affected sectors can include accounting, audit, engineering, construction, valuation, technical consultancy and other specialist disciplines where courts require independent professional opinions. Businesses should distinguish between:

• a commercial licence permitting them to provide professional services generally; and

• registration or authorisation permitting them to provide expert services before judicial authorities.

Firms considering judicial expert work in Sharjah should therefore review whether additional registration will be required under the new framework.

Professional-services firms should also assess which individual employees or partners hold the qualifications and experience necessary for registration, because the law links expert classifications to academic credentials and practical expertise.

International expert firms should pay particular attention to the implementing requirements applicable to foreign expert houses, including any local registration, licensing or professional conditions that may apply.

The development is another example of UAE emirates introducing increasingly specialised regulatory frameworks for professional activities. For companies entering highly regulated service sectors, obtaining a general trade licence may be only one part of the authorisation process.