The single aim of this thesis can be stated clearly: to argue for the use and usefulness of thick and thin concepts within law. The distinction between thick and thin concepts - recently popularized in analytic philosophy - has in the last two decades migrated from its point of origin in meta-ethics to other areas of philosophy and now law. My contention is that whilst use of the distinction within law is welcome, legal deployment of the distinction has been haphazard, with the idea left vague and ambiguous. Although the lack of clarity within the legal literature could be explained by the infancy of these ideas within legal discourse, the imprecision and ambiguity that results has undermined the juristic value of the central distinction for law. In particular I note the lack of any attention at all within the legal literature to the question of whether normative and descriptive aspects of thick concepts are capable of being separated - even though this controversy has dominated the philosophical literature. However, my criticism of the legal deployment of thick and thin is not restricted to this idea alone. Failure to investigate (or mention) the several issues I identify has, I argue, seen opportunities missed for the gainful use of the distinction in law, with my thesis focusing, in illustration, on the value to be gained through such analysis in the areas of jurisprudence and legal education. I select these two areas because they ably demonstrate the opportunities that I contend exist, and also because their scope, from theoretical analysis to educational practice, serves notice that these insights might reasonably range over a wider field in law too.

Arbitration is of growing importance across the United Arab Emirate (UAE) and there are various arbitral regimes with different levels of international respectability within the federation. Despite the existence of a draft federal arbitration law there is no respective federal law in place. The economy of the UAE has expanded over the last 5 decades and with economic development has come an increase in commercial activities, which has led to higher incidence of commercial disputes on an equally high rate. Arbitration has not only become a favourite route for domestic commercial transactions but it also applies to international commercial transactions and investment disputes. With the increase of arbitration cases in the UAE, it has become necessary to pass a federal law for arbitration in general in order to fill the legal vacuum in the present civil and procedures law No.11/1992. Passing a federal law to regulate arbitral proceedings would enhance the legal position of the UAE and not just a part of it in attracting international investment. This will in turn lead to improved economic growth and the encouragement of foreign investments. The significance of enacting a new arbitration law is that it would also help to end the conflict between the existing nine arbitration centres in the UAE with regard to the enforcement of local and foreign judgments. The different regulations and laws for each centre furthermore creates uncertainties about how to enforce awards between these centres. This begs the question of when will this important Gulf Cooperation Council member state have a deserving and fit for purpose federal law on commercial arbitration. This thesis evaluates the draft federal law, investigates the socio-legal challenges preventing the achievement of the noble aim of implementation of a federal law and evaluates the existing regimes and bodies regulating arbitration in the federating parts of the UAE.