Master's Student Dismissed Over AI Thesis Loses Dh100,000 Dubai Court Claim
Students and researchers across Dubai campuses face a firm precedent on academic integrity after a higher court ruling this week. Dubai’s Court of Cassation has definitively upheld a university’s decision to dismiss a master’s degree candidate who used artificial intelligence to generate sections of his final thesis and included non-existent legal citations.
Academic Misconduct Decisions Stand Firm in Local Higher Education
The ruling marks a decisive stance on AI technology in university coursework across the emirate. The Court of Cassation issued its decision on October 29, 2026, rejecting the student’s appeal along with his claim for Dh100,000 in material and moral compensation. In addition to losing his degree pursuit, the former student was ordered to pay court costs, Dh2,000 in lawyers’ fees, and forfeit his appeal security deposit.
The individual had completed his coursework and examinations in an international dispute resolution law master’s programme before reaching the thesis phase. On December 7, 2023, an academic integrity officer alerted him by email that his work appeared unoriginal. A subsequent investigation report on February 8, 2024, prepared by an investigator from Birmingham Law School for the Faculty Conduct Committee, confirmed that the student generated portions of the text using artificial intelligence and copied material without attribution.
While the student argued in court that AI-detection tools are unreliable, judges noted that the decision rested on broader, direct evidence. An expert appointed by the Court of Appeal uncovered fabricated legal references and cited judicial rulings that did not exist. The Court of Cassation confirmed that examining the substance of the research fell strictly within the expert’s scope, making the fake citations sufficient grounds to sustain the dismissal.
The Court of First Instance originally dismissed the student’s reinstatement lawsuit on February 10, 2025, and the Court of Appeal upheld that judgment on July 30, 2026. With the Court of Cassation’s final ruling, the university’s disciplinary action and academic penalty remain entirely intact.
