Agreement of the Union of the Nine

PART I The Establishment of the Union of the Arab Emirates (1) There shall be established a union of the Arab Emirates in the Arabian Gulf of the contracting emirates and it shall be called " The Federation of the Arab Emirates". (2) The objective of this Federation is strengthening the ties and cooperation between the member Emirates in all fields, coordinating plans and measures for their development and prosperity, reinforcing the respect of each for the independence and sovereignty of the others, unification of their foreign policies and representation, organizing their collective defense to preserve their peace and security, and the general consideration of their common interests to ensure the fulfillment of their aspirations and that of the whole greater Arab region. PART II Powers (3) A council to be called " The Supreme Council", shall supervise the affairs of the Federation and shall be composed of the Rulers of these Emirates. (4) The Supreme Council shall draw up a complete and permanent charter for the Federation and formulate higher policy on international, political, defense, economic, cultural and other affairs connected with the objectives of the Federation detailed in the second Article of this agreement. The Council shall be responsible for issuing the requisite Federal laws and legislations in this connection and it shall be the highest authority for determining limits of jurisdiction, and shall make its decisions by unanimous vote. (5) The chairmanship of the Supreme Council meetings shall rotate annually among the Rulers of the member Emirates. The Chairman shall represent the Federation both internally and abroad. (6) The general budget of the Federation shall be issued by decision of the Supreme Council. The sources of revenue and the share to be contributed by each member Emirate shall be determined by law. (7) The Supreme Council shall be assisted in the exercise of its powers by a council called "The Federal Council". (8) The Federal Council shall be the executive body of the Federation and shall carry out its functions in accordance with the higher policy determined by the Supreme Council and with the Federal laws.