Tool — Statutory Interest Calculator

Tool — Statutory Interest Calculator

What it does

Computes statutory or contractual interest on overdue amounts — from debt claims and commercial invoices to court-awarded damages — across six major jurisdictions. Returns full computation with the applicable rate, day-count convention, and jurisdiction-specific warnings about enforceability.

Inputs

Statutory defaults by jurisdiction

Rates change. Always verify current rate before use in a court filing.

Lebanon

• Governing law: Article 766 of the Lebanese Code of Obligations and Contracts (OCC), as amended.
• Statutory rate: Published periodically; the civil rate and commercial rate may differ. Usury limits apply (interest cannot exceed a legally capped ceiling).
• Compounding: Simple interest is the default; compound interest requires express contractual agreement.
• Currency: Pre-2019 LBP claims require expert determination on conversion rate — see [[tool-currency-converter]].

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UAE Federal

• Governing law: Federal Law No. 18/1993 (Commercial Code) and Cabinet Decisions.
• Civil matters: 9% per annum (commonly applied default).
• Commercial matters: 12% per annum (commercial transactions between traders).
• Cap: Courts may reduce if the agreed rate is deemed excessively onerous.
• Day count: 365 days.
• DIFC/ADGM: These courts apply their own interest rules under DIFC Contract Law and ADGM Contract Regulations; statutory rate above does not apply. Check applicable DIFC/ADGM legislation.

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KSA (Sharia constraint — critical)

• Sharia position: Classical Islamic finance prohibits riba (interest). Saudi courts historically declined to award interest as a standalone remedy.
• Current practice: Saudi courts may award compensation for late payment structured as a "profit margin" or damages for delay, but not as classical interest accrual.
• Contractual practice: International contracts involving KSA parties frequently include a governing-law clause choosing English or DIFC law precisely to allow interest awards; Saudi courts may not enforce such clauses.
• Warning: Do NOT present an interest computation as enforceable in KSA courts without specialist local-law advice. Flag this constraint explicitly in every KSA output.
• SAMA-regulated entities: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) regulated contracts (banking, lending) operate under different rules; interest is effectively recharacterised as financing fees.

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France

• Governing law: French Civil Code (Code civil) — legal interest rate set by arrêté published twice a year (January and July).
• Commercial late payment: Law No. 92-1442 and EU Directive 2011/7/EU transposed — minimum 3× ECB rate or ECB + 10 percentage points for commercial debts.
• Compounding: Anatocisme (compound interest) permitted only by court order or for periods of at least one year with express agreement.
• Day count: 365 days.

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UK

• Governing law: Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (as amended by Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002 implementing EU Directive 2000/35/EC).
• Rate: Bank of England base rate + 8 percentage points per annum (for qualifying commercial debts between businesses).
• Day count: 365 days.
• Court award: Section 69 Senior Courts Act 1981 gives courts discretion to award interest; commonly awarded at the statutory rate or at the rate applicable to the underlying obligation.
• Personal injury: Special rules under Part 36 and court practice directions.

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EU (Directive 2011/7/EU on Late Payments)

• Rate: ECB main refinancing rate + 8 percentage points minimum (for commercial transactions — business to business or business to public authority).
• ECB rate: Published bi-annually; verify current rate.
• Due date: Interest accrues automatically after 30 days (60 days for public authorities) without the need for a reminder.
• Member state implementation: Each EU state may apply rates higher than the directive minimum; verify for France (see above), Germany, Netherlands, etc.

Output schema

{
  "jurisdiction": "UAE",
  "claimType": "commercial",
  "principal": 500000,
  "currency": "AED",
  "fromDate": "2024-01-01",
  "toDate": "2026-05-14",
  "rateApplied": 12.0,
  "rateType": "statutory_commercial",
  "dayCountConvention": "365",
  "compounding": "simple",
  "computation": {
    "days": 864,
    "years": 2.367,
    "interest": 142,027.40
  },
  "totalDue": 642027.40,
  "warnings": [
    "Rate verified as of May 2026 — confirm current Cabinet Decision before court use",
    "DIFC/ADGM matters: apply DIFC Contract Law rate, not UAE Federal rate"
  ]
}

Critical warnings by jurisdiction

Related skills

• [[tool-calculator-end-of-service-gratuity]]
• [[tool-currency-converter]]
• [[pa-workflow-litigation]]
• [[draft-demand-letter]]