A federation established on 2 December 1971, with five federal authorities under a 152-article constitution

Background

The Cabinet decision on the 2027 to 2029 federal budget reported in this section today is the act of one of the five federal authorities that the UAE Constitution creates. The Constitution was adopted on 2 December 1971 as a provisional, or temporary, constitution, and by Constitutional Amendment No. 1 of 1996 the federation's Supreme Council cancelled the word 'Temporary' from the Constitution wherever it appeared, making it permanent, and made Abu Dhabi City the capital of the federation. The Constitution runs from Article 1 to Article 152 in ten parts, from the federation, its fundamental constituents and aims to the armed forces and the security forces and the final and transitional provisions. Article 1 provides that the United Arab Emirates is an independent, sovereign, federal state consisting of the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. Article 45 provides for five federal authorities: the Supreme Council of the federation, the President and the Vice President, the Council of Ministers or Cabinet, the Federal National Council - which the Constitution's English text calls the National Assembly of the Union - and the federal Judiciary. Article 116 leaves the emirates all powers not assigned to the federation and Article 122 gives them jurisdiction in all matters not assigned to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federation. Article 144 requires the agreement of two-thirds of the votes of attending Federal National Council members to approve a draft constitutional amendment.