Court incidents, official rule revisions and analysis in Gulf states, as they enter the record. Researched and drafted with AI assistance; verified against primary sources and edited by Cognesio LLP. The linked official documents are the record — our summaries are not the law and are not legal advice.https://safelegalai.comen-gbCC BY 4.0 — SafeLegalAI, published by Cognesio LLPhttps://safelegalai.com/regulation/gulf/qicdrc-practice-direction-1-2026-aihttps://safelegalai.com/regulation/gulf/qicdrc-practice-direction-1-2026-aiA practice direction and accompanying practice guidance issued by the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre on 6 January 2026 on the use of AI in proceedings before the Qatar Financial Centre courts. Parties and representatives must verify AI-assisted content, may be required to disclose AI use, and remain responsible for fabricated or inaccurate material. Primary source: QICDRC — Original — https://www.qicdrc.gov.qa/media-center/news/qicdrc-issues-practice-direction-no-1-2026-and-practice-guidance-use-artificialTue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMTregulationgulfhttps://safelegalai.com/tracker/sheppard-v-jillion-qfchttps://safelegalai.com/tracker/sheppard-v-jillion-qfcIn this Qatar Financial Centre Civil and Commercial Court judgment, President Lord Thomas found an anonymised Dubai-based lawyer in contempt for citing two fake QFC cases sourced from Google and persisting after challenge, breaching Article 35.2. The court imposed no penal sanction, treating the apology and publication of the judgment as sufficient. Primary source: Jonathan David Sheppard v Jillion LLC [2025] QIC (E) 3 (12 Nov 2025) — QFC Civil and Commercial Court (official judgment) — https://www.qicdrc.gov.qa/judgments/ctfic00332025Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTincidentgulfhttps://safelegalai.com/regulation/gulf/bh-iga-general-policy-ai-usehttps://safelegalai.com/regulation/gulf/bh-iga-general-policy-ai-useFirst release of the policy. Bahrain's whole-of-government AI policy, issued by the Information and eGovernment Authority on 20 May 2025. It applies to all government entities and sets four pillars: legal compliance, adoption and use, awareness and education, and cooperation. It contains no judiciary-, court- or legal-services-specific provision. Primary source: iGA (Bahrain) — 1.0 — https://www.iga.gov.bh/Media/Publications/National%20Digital%20Policies/General%20Policy%20for%20the%20Use%20of%20AI.pdfTue, 20 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTregulationgulfhttps://safelegalai.com/regulation/gulf/ae-uae-charter-development-use-aihttps://safelegalai.com/regulation/gulf/ae-uae-charter-development-use-aiPublished by the UAE AI Office. A non-binding national charter published on 30 July 2024 setting twelve ethical principles for developing and using AI in the UAE, including safety, bias mitigation, data privacy, transparency, human oversight, governance and accountability, and compliance with local law and international treaties. It is the UAE's principal horizontal AI instrument in the absence of an AI statute. Primary source: UAE AI Office — Original — https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/strategies-initiatives-and-awards/policies/Ai/The-UAE-Charter-for-the-Development-and-Use-of-Artificial-IntelligenceTue, 30 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMTregulationgulfhttps://safelegalai.com/regulation/gulf/ae-difc-courts-practical-guidance-note-2-2023-aihttps://safelegalai.com/regulation/gulf/ae-difc-courts-practical-guidance-note-2-2023-aiFirst issue. Guidance issued by the DIFC Courts on 21 December 2023 for parties and practitioners using large language models and generative AI in proceedings. It sets out four principles — transparency, accuracy and reliability, professional and legal obligations, and avoiding over-reliance — and requires parties to declare AI-generated content at the earliest possible opportunity. Primary source: DIFC Courts — Original — https://www.difccourts.ae/rules-decisions/practice-directions/practical-guidance-note-no-2-2023-guidelines-use-large-language-models-and-generative-ai-proceedings-difc-courtsThu, 21 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMTregulationgulfhttps://safelegalai.com/regulation/gulf/ae-difc-data-protection-regulation-10https://safelegalai.com/regulation/gulf/ae-difc-data-protection-regulation-10Added to the DIFC Data Protection Regulations, in force 1 September 2023. Regulation 10 of the DIFC Data Protection Regulations, in force 1 September 2023, is the first instrument in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia to govern personal data processed through autonomous and semi-autonomous systems, including generative AI. It sets behavioural boundaries for entities that deploy or operate such systems rather than regulating algorithms directly. Primary source: DIFC Commissioner of Data Protection — Enacted — https://www.difc.com/business/registrars-and-commissioners/commissioner-of-data-protection/regulation-10Fri, 01 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTregulationgulf