UAE 382/2016

This case involved the validity of a property sale. The full price of the property had been paid but the seller had died and their heirs had refused to transfer the property. The sales agreement was void as the property had been given to the original owner by the Government and as such it could not be sold without government authorisation.

Key Legal Questions:

-Whether a contract is considered void because its conclusion is illegal.

-If whoever has the interest should contest the voidance of the contract and the judgment should automatically raise this question.

-If a contract is null because it is related to public order as its subject - the property - is part of the public domain.

Background

The Respondent - Plaintiff - filed an action demanding the validity and the execution of a purchase agreement for a property concluded with the Appellants' heirs - the Defendants - in Sharjah.

The Plaintiff claimed that they bought the property given to their inheritor by the government for a price that she paid in full and the heirs refused to complete the sale procedures after the inheritor passed away.

Proceedings: