The department has been led by Director-General Tarish Eid Al Mansouri since 2014.

[2] It has jurisdiction across the Emirate, except for specific free economic zones like the Dubai International Financial Centre which may retain special jurisdiction for commercial and labour matters.

Judicial enforcement in Dubai was informally led by the sheikh or ruler in 1833, solving simple disputes between individuals, and who would often invite scholars to act as judges, often issuing verdicts in their homes, such as Justice Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdul Salam Al Margharbi, a scholar from Morocco that acted as a judge for the emirate in the early 1900s.

In 1938 then-ruler of Dubai, Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum issued a decree for his brother to resolve judicial and legal disputes, and eventually taking residence in Naif Fort, the first headquarters of the then-named Dubai Department of Justice.

By 1958, a judicial body of 3 judges was formed to hear disputes between locals, and disputes that involves foreigners were heard by a British commission as part of the Trucial States.