Statute Lookup

Use when a user needs the current text of a specific statute, article, or regulation — not a summary or paraphrase, but the actual verbatim text with citation, effective date, and authoritative source link. MENA-primary: covers Lebanon (Official Gazette), KSA (Bureau of Experts), UAE federal (MOJ), DIFC (Laws portal), ADGM (Legislation portal), with secondary EU (EUR-Lex), France (Légifrance), and general access. Always quotes verbatim — never paraphrases article text. Pairs with recent-amendments-tracker because MENA databases lag the official gazette.

Statute Lookup

Retrieve the current verbatim text of a statute, article, or regulation from its authoritative source. This skill quotes the text exactly as enacted — it never paraphrases. It also provides the citation, effective date, amendment history, and a link to the authoritative source so the reader can verify.

When to use this

A lawyer drafting a legal opinion needs to quote the exact statutory text
A contract drafter needs to verify that a compliance clause correctly reflects the applicable law
A court submission requires a verbatim statutory quotation with citation
A compliance team is building a control framework anchored to specific statutory articles
A researcher needs the original instrument before analyzing regulator guidance or case law that interprets it

Do not use this when you need regulator interpretation — that is [[research-regulator-guidance-lookup]]. Do not use this when you need recent changes — pair this with [[research-recent-amendments-tracker]].

Inputs

Input	Why it matters	Default
Statute or law name	The instrument to look up	Required — or provide subject area if name not known
Specific article(s)	Retrieves targeted text; avoid returning the entire law if only 1–2 articles are needed	Provide if known
Jurisdiction	Different jurisdictions have different sources	Required
Effective date / version date	For historical analysis or dispute about what law applied at a past date	Default: current consolidated version
Language preference	Many MENA instruments exist in Arabic only; English translation may be unofficial	Note Arabic-only instruments

Sources by jurisdiction

Lebanon (LB)

Official Gazette (الجريدة الرسمية / Al-Jarida Al-Rasmiya):

The sole authoritative source for enacted laws and decree-laws in Lebanon
Published by the Ministry of Information; accessible via the official gazette portal (gazette.gov.lb) and the Lebanese Parliament's digital archive (lp.gov.lb)
Available in Arabic and French (many foundational laws are in French from the Mandate period)

Key Lebanese statutes frequently referenced:

Code of Obligations and Contracts (Code des Obligations et des Contrats, Decree-Law of 9 March 1932)
Commercial Code (Code de commerce, Legislative Decree No. 304 of 24 December 1942)
Labor Law (Legislative Decree No. 124 of 23 September 1946, as amended)
Law No. 3 of 1956 — Banking Secrecy
Code of Civil Procedure (Decree-Law No. 90 of 16 September 1983)
Company Law (Law No. 126 of 19 May 2019 for offshore companies; SAL provisions in Code of Commerce)

Access via: [[connector-legal-data-hunter]] for consolidated Lebanese law texts.

KSA (Saudi Arabia)

Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers (BOE):

The authoritative consolidated source for Royal Decrees and Council of Ministers decisions
Maintained at bureau.gov.sa; Arabic language
BOE consolidates amendments into the base text — the most reliable source for current law

Official Gazette (أم القرى / Umm Al-Qura):

Primary promulgation vehicle; published weekly
Hijri calendar dates — convert to Gregorian when citing

Key KSA statutes frequently referenced:

Commercial Register Law (Royal Decree M/1 of 1423 AH / 2002 AD)
Labor Law (Royal Decree M/51 of 1426 AH / 2005 AD, as amended)
Companies Law (Royal Decree M/132 of 1443 AH / 2022 AD — new law replacing 2015 version)
Capital Market Law (Royal Decree M/30 of 1424 AH)
Anti-Money Laundering Law (Royal Decree M/20 of 1424 AH / 2003 AD)
Real Estate Development Law (Royal Decree M/43 of 1442 AH)

Access via: [[connector-legal-data-hunter]] for KSA law; BOE portal for primary source.

UAE Federal

Ministry of Justice (MOJ) website (moj.gov.ae):

Consolidated UAE federal laws in Arabic; some in English
Federal Decree-Laws, Federal Laws, Cabinet Resolutions

UAE Federal Official Gazette (الجريدة الرسمية الاتحادية):

Authoritative; Arabic; published officially

Key UAE federal statutes frequently referenced:

Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 — Commercial Companies Law (CCL)
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 — Regulation of Employment Relations in the Private Sector (Labor Law)
Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 — Combating Rumours and Cybercrime
Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 — Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL)
Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 — Civil Transactions Law (Civil Code), as amended
Federal Law No. 11 of 1992 — Civil Procedure Code, as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022
Cabinet Decision No. 1 of 2022 — Implementing Regulation of the Labor Law
Cabinet Decision No. 58 of 2020 — Beneficial Ownership Procedures Regulation

DIFC

DIFC Laws portal (difclaw.ae):

The authoritative, version-controlled portal for all DIFC legislation
Consolidated texts with amendment history visible; notes the "as at" date

Key DIFC laws frequently referenced:

DIFC Law No. 3 of 2004 — Contract Law (as amended, incorporating 2017 and later amendments)
DIFC Law No. 5 of 2005 — Companies Law (as amended)
DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019 — Employment Law
DIFC Law No. 1 of 2008 — Arbitration Law (as amended 2013)
DIFC Law No. 4 of 2004 — Strata Title Law
DFSA Rulebook modules (not technically "statutes" but have statutory effect): GEN, COB, PIB, AML, etc.

ADGM

ADGM Legislation portal (legislation.adgm.com):

Authoritative portal for ADGM Regulations and Rules
Well-maintained and current; includes "table of amendments"

EU

EUR-Lex (eur-lex.europa.eu):

All EU Regulations (directly applicable), Directives, Decisions
Search by CELEX number (e.g., 32016R0679 = GDPR), by keyword, or by OJ reference
"Consolidated" versions incorporate amendments — verify the "consolidated on" date

Key EU instruments frequently referenced in MENA practice:

GDPR — Regulation (EU) 2016/679
AML Directive 6 — Directive (EU) 2021/1237
MiFID II — Directive 2014/65/EU
EU Sanctions Regulations (various programs)

France (FR)

Légifrance (legifrance.gouv.fr):

Authoritative source for all French laws and regulations
Code civil, Code de commerce, Code du travail, etc.
Use "version en vigueur au [date]" filter for historical versions
Available via [[connector-legifrance]]

Output structure

## [Statute Name]

**Jurisdiction**: [jurisdiction]
**Citation**: [full citation — decree/law number, date]
**Effective date**: [date law entered into force]
**Last amended**: [date; consolidated to [date] if consolidated version]
**Authoritative source**: [URL or reference to official portal]
**Language(s)**: [Arabic | French | English | Arabic + English]
**Status**: In force | Repealed | Superseded by [instrument name]

---

### Article [X] — [Article heading if available]

> [Verbatim text of the article, in original language]

**English translation** *(unofficial — original controls)*:
[Translation if the original is Arabic or French and no official English version exists]

**Notes**: [Any amendment to this article since enactment; version differences]

---

The verbatim rule

Never paraphrase article text. A paraphrase, however careful, risks:

Omitting a condition or exception that is legally material ("unless" clauses are frequently paraphrased out)
Changing the meaning of a term of art (Arabic legal terms frequently have specific jurisprudential meanings that are lost in casual translation)
Creating a misstatement that could mislead a client or court

If a verbatim quote is too long to reproduce in full, quote the specific sub-articles or paragraphs that are directly relevant, and note the omission.

Caution on MENA database lag

MENA legal databases — including commercial and official portals — frequently lag the official gazette publication by days to weeks. For laws enacted or amended within the last 3 months:

Explicitly flag the lag risk in the output
Run [[research-recent-amendments-tracker]] to check whether a more recent version exists
Recommend the user obtain a certified extract from the official gazette for mission-critical reliance

Hijri vs Gregorian dates: KSA instruments use Hijri calendar in the official citation. Always specify both when citing a KSA instrument (e.g., "Royal Decree M/51 of 1426 AH (2005 AD)"). Ambiguity in the calendar can cause a party to reference a completely different instrument.