In the Gulf States the commercial law is not only to be found in the various Laws, Codes and Regulations which have been influenced by the West, but also in the Shari’a (the Law of Islam). For the Western commercial lawyer and businessman the Laws, Codes and Regulations are generally readily accessible in translation, but these give a very much incomplete picture of the law that is actually applied in the Gulf States. The Shari’a, however, remains inaccessible to the non-Arabic speaker, being embodied in the Arabic manuals dating from medieval times.

Professor Coulson in his Commercial Law in the Gulf States uses his thorough understanding of the Arabic language and the Shari’a to provide a masterly insight into the fundamental principles that are the basis of the commercial and contractual relations in the Shari’a. In the Introduction, the relationship between the modern Laws, Codes and Regulations and the traditional Shari’a is illustrated by an analysis of two recent decisions of the courts of Dubai and Ras al Khaima. In both cases the courts invoked the Shari’a and went behind their respective Contract Laws to decide a commercial dispute. Professor Coulson deals with the historical development of commercial contracts, the concept of contract, formation and dissolution of contracts, and the freedom of contract according to the Shari’a. Each aspect is examined from the standpoint of each of the four Sunni schools of law: Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi’i. The book only purports to give a general picture of the Shari’a in this field and is not intended to provide answers to specific issues which may arise in practice. Unfortunately, the work lacks a glossary of terms and a bibliography, but these are minor points. The achievement of Professor Coulson is to have set out the fundamental principles of the Shari’a in a form which makes them intelligible to the common lawyer, while at the same time avoiding putting Shari’a concepts into common law terms.