Law
No. (13) of 2020
Regulating
the
Practice
of the Expert Witness Profession
before
Judicial Authorities in the Emirate of Dubai[1]
ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ
We,
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai,
After perusal of:
Federal
Law No. (10) of 1992 Issuing the Law of Evidence Governing Civil and Commercial
Transactions and its amendments;
Federal
Law No. (11) of 1992 Issuing the Civil Procedure Code, its Regulatory Bylaw,
and their amendments;
Federal
Law No. (35) of 1992 Issuing the Criminal Procedure Code and its amendments;
Federal
Law No. (7) of 2012 Regulating the Practice of Expert Witness Profession before
Judicial Authorities and its Implementing Bylaw;
Law
No. (3) of 2003 Establishing the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai;
Law
No. (6) of 2005 Regulating the Dubai Courts and its amendments;
Law
No. (14) of 2009 Concerning the Pricing of Government Services in the Emirate
of Dubai and its amendments;
Law
No. (16) of 2009 Establishing the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes;
Law
No. (13) of 2011 Regulating the Conduct of Economic Activities in the Emirate
of Dubai and its amendments;
Law
No. (1) of 2016 Concerning the Financial Regulations of the Government of
Dubai; and
Law
No. (13) of 2016 Concerning the Judicial Authorities in the Emirate of Dubai,
Do
hereby issue this Law.
This
Law will be cited as “Law No. (13) of 2020 Regulating the Practice of the Expert
Witness Profession before Judicial Authorities in the Emirate of Dubai”.
The
following words and expressions, wherever mentioned in this Law, will have the
meaning indicated opposite each of them unless the context implies otherwise:
|
UAE: |
The United Arab Emirates. |
|
Emirate: |
The Emirate of Dubai. |
|
Government: |
The Government of Dubai. |
|
Judicial Council: |
The Judicial Council of the Emirate. |
|
Dubai Courts: |
The Courts of the Emirate regulated pursuant to the
above-mentioned Law No. (6) of 2005. |
|
Competent Court: |
The courts of first instance, the Court of Appeal,
the Court of Cassation at the Dubai Courts, or the tribunals formed pursuant
to the above-mentioned Law No. (13) of 2016. |
|
Public Prosecution: |
The public prosecution of the Emirate. |
|
Judicial Authority: |
This includes the Competent Court and the Public
Prosecution. |
|
Director: |
The Director of the Dubai Courts. |
|
Government Entity: |
Any of the Government departments, public agencies
or corporations councils, authorities, or other public entities affiliated to
the Government. |
|
Expert Witness Profession: |
Activities performed by an Expert Witness assigned
by a Judicial Authority to provide verbal or written opinions on a case or
incident. |
|
Expert Witness Firm: |
A firm or corporation licensed by the competent
licensing authority in the Emirate, and registered on the Roll. |
|
Expert Witness: |
This includes a natural person or an Expert Witness
Firm registered on the Roll. |
|
Committee: |
The Expert Witnesses Affairs Committee formed
pursuant to this Law. |
|
Organisational Unit: |
The organisational unit responsible for managing the
affairs of Expert Witnesses within the Dubai Courts. |
|
Roll: |
A paper or electronic record maintained by the Dubai
Courts on which Expert Witnesses, who meet the conditions and requirements
stipulated herein, are registered. |
|
Professional Code of Conduct: |
A set of professional rules and regulations that
Expert Witnesses must comply with in practising the Expert Witness
Profession. |
|
UAE National: |
A person holding the UAE nationality. |
|
Person: |
A natural or legal person. |
This
Law aims to:
1.
regulate the practice of the Expert
Witness Profession before the Judicial Authorities;
2.
support the Judicial Authorities by providing
legally and technically qualified Expert Witnesses to enhance the accuracy of
issued judgements and decisions and administration of prompt justice;
3.
promote the role of Expert Witnesses
in the administration of justice by providing technical and expert assistance
to the Judicial Authorities;
4.
develop the Expert Witness
Profession and increase the efficiency of those who practise it, for purposes
of expediting litigation procedures;
5.
build the capacity of, and empower, the
UAE national cadre to practise Expert Witness Profession; and
6.
enhance trust in practitioners of
Expert Witness Profession by prescribing specific professional, ethical, and
behavioural rules.
The
provisions of this Law will apply to all Persons who practise the Expert
Witness Profession before the Judicial Authorities, excluding:
1.
Government Entities whose technical
opinion is solicited by a Judicial Authority in respect of an investigation or
a claim that is being heard by that Judicial Authority;
2.
a Person on whom the litigants agree
to engage as an Expert Witness, subject to the approval of the Competent Court;
and
3.
a Person who is not registered on
the Roll, but is appointed by a Judicial Authority to provide technical
assistance in respect of any case or incident that requires technical opinion.
a.
A committee named “Expert Witnesses
Affairs Committee” is hereby formed within the Dubai Courts. The terms of
reference of the Committee, the procedures for holding its meetings; and the
remuneration of its members will be determined pursuant to a resolution issued
by the Chairman of the Judicial Council in this respect.
b.
The Committee must be comprised of a
chairman, a vice chairman, and a number of members from amongst members of the
Judicial Authorities, as well as experts and specialists from the Dubai Courts,
Government Entities, and the Private Sector. The chairman and vice chairman of
the Committee must be from amongst members of the Judicial Authorities.
In
addition to the functions assigned to it under this Law, the Committee will:
1.
propose the rules and requirements
for the classification of Expert Witnesses and submit the same to the Director
for approval pursuant to a resolution he issues in this respect;
2.
approve the Professional Code of Conduct,
and submit the same to the Director for final approval pursuant to a resolution
it issues in this respect;
3.
approve the guidelines on the rules
for estimating the fees of Expert Witnesses and for regulating the Expert
Witness Profession, and submit the same to the Director for final approval
pursuant to a resolution he issues in this respect;
4.
approve the examinations required
for Expert Witnesses to qualify for being registered on the Roll, and the Expert
Witness training programmes;
5.
determine applications for
registration, and renewal of registration, of Expert Witnesses on the Roll; and
for Expert Witnesses classification, in accordance with the provisions of this
Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof;
6.
determine the applications submitted
to it for striking Expert Witnesses off the Roll;
7.
reclassify the registration of
Expert Witnesses between categories in accordance with the rules and conditions
approved in this respect;
8.
consider grievances filed by Expert
Witnesses against the results of their technical assessment;
9.
take the necessary measures against
any Expert Witness whose technical assessment result is below seventy percent
(70%), including suspension from practising the Expert Witness Profession or
striking off the Roll;
10. consider
the violations committed by, and complaints against, Expert Witnesses, and take
the necessary action in respect of these violations and complaints, including
imposition, against violating Expert Witnesses, of the penalties prescribed by
this Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof;
11. review
the annual report prepared by the Organisational Unit; and submit the
appropriate recommendations in this respect to the Director;
12. form
sub-committees from amongst its members or other persons, and determine their
duties and obligations;
13. seek
assistance from experts and specialists as it deems appropriate to assist it in
exercising its duties and powers under this Law and the resolutions issued in
pursuance hereof, provided that they do not have a vote in its deliberations;
and
14. perform
any other duties related to the Expert Witnesses Profession, as assigned to it
by the Chairman of the Judicial Council.
An
Organisational Unit is hereby created within the Organisation Structure of the
Dubai Courts. In addition to its functions under this Law, the Organisational
Unit will:
1.
register, and determine the
classification categories of, Expert Witnesses on the Roll, in accordance with
the relevant resolutions issued by the Committee;
2.
draft the Professional Code of Conduct
and present the same to the Committee for approval, prior to submitting it to
the Director for final approval;
3.
supervise, audit, and inspect the
activities of Expert Witnesses to verify their compliance with the provisions
of this Law, the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof, and the Professional Code of Conduct;
4.
conduct technical assessment of
Expert Witnesses, in accordance with the rules and standards determined
pursuant to a resolution issued by the Director in this respect; and submit the
necessary recommendations to the Committee to take the appropriate actions and
measures against Expert Witnesses whose technical assessment results are below
seventy percent (70%);
5.
refer the violations committed by,
and the complaints filed against, Expert Witnesses to the Committee, supported
by the relevant opinions and recommendations; and enforce the decisions
rendered by the Committee in respect thereof;
6.
follow up the Criminal Lawsuits
filed against Expert Witnesses, and submit the relevant recommendations to the
Committee in respect thereof;
7.
conduct studies related to regulating
the Expert Witnesses Profession, and make the necessary proposals for
developing the same and addressing the challenges associated with it;
8.
develop, in coordination with the
Government Entities concerned with the specialities determined for Expert
Witnesses, training programmes and Roll registration qualifying exams; submit
the same to the Committee for approval; and follow up their delivery upon
approval;
9.
issue Expert Witness identification
cards for those registered on the Roll;
10. organise
conferences, workshops, and training courses for Expert Witnesses at the local
and international levels, with a view to improving their competency, developing
their skills, and sharing success stories;
11. prepare,
and submit to the Committee, an annual report on all matters related to the Expert
Witness Profession. This report will particularly include the following:
a.
the number of Expert Witnesses
registered on the Roll under each area of expertise; the number of Expert
Witnesses needed in each area of expertise; and ways to meet this demand;
b.
the number of cases assigned to each
Expert Witness, whether completed or in progress;
c.
proposals by the Organisational Unit
for introducing new categories into the Roll;
d.
proposals by the Organisational Unit
for opening or closing registration on the Roll under certain areas of
expertise;
e.
the number of complaints filed
against an Expert Witness, and the actions and measures taken in respect
thereof; and
f.
outcomes of performance indicators;
12. draft
the guidelines on the Expert Witness Profession and submit the same to the
Committee to take the appropriate action in respect thereof; and
13. perform
any other duties related to the Expert Witness Profession, as assigned to it by
the Committee or the Director.
Roll
Article (8)
A
roll for registering Expert Witnesses (the “Roll”) will be created at
the Dubai Courts. The form of the Roll, and the data and documents to be
entered on it will be determined by a resolution of the Director.
Requirements for
Registration of Natural Persons on the Roll
Article (9)
a.
A natural person may be registered
on the Roll as an Expert Witness, subject to the following:
1.
He must be of full capacity.
2.
He must be medically fit.
3.
He must be of good conduct and
repute and not have been sentenced for a felony or other crime affecting honour
or trustworthiness, unless he has been rehabilitated or pardoned by the
competent authorities.
4.
He must not have been dismissed from
service by the entity for which he was working, pursuant to a court judgement
or disciplinary action.
5.
He must be a holder of the academic
qualifications and professional certificates determined by the Committee, and
which must be relevant to the area of expertise under which he will be
registered on the Roll.
6.
He must have a minimum work
experience in the area of expertise he has applied to be registered under as an
Expert Witness of:
a.
seven (7) years (for a UAE National);
b.
ten (10) years for a non-UAE
National, whether or not he is a UAE resident.
7.
He must successfully pass the exams
prescribed by the Committee.
8.
He must provide an approval issued
by the entity for which he works.
9.
He must undertake to attend the
Expert Witness training courses organised or prescribed by the Organisational
Unit, in accordance with the relevant approved training plan.
10. Where
he is a non-UAE National who is a resident of the UAE, he must have a notice of
appointment or employment offer issued by an Expert Witness Firm.
11. At
least two (2) years must have elapsed since his application for registration on
the Roll was declined.
12. The
number of areas of expertise under which he applies to be registered may not
exceed two (2).
13. A
professional indemnity insurance policy, specifying the Dubai Courts as
beneficiary, and issued by an insurance company licensed in the Emirate, must
be provided. This insurance policy must be valid throughout the period of
validity of registration on the Roll. The Director will determine the insured
sum and the methods of enforcement of that policy.
14. He
must pay the fee prescribed for registration on the Roll.
15. He
must satisfy any other technical requirements prescribed for the areas of
expertise set out in the Schedule by the relevant resolution issued by the
Director.
b.
Notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraph (a) of this Article, the following natural persons may
be exempted from compliance with certain Roll-registration requirements:
1.
Employees of Government Entities;
2.
natural persons who were registered on
the Roll prior to the effective date of this Law, where it is established to
the Committee that they have the necessary competency and experience in view of
their portfolios and the number of Expert Witness Profession duties assigned
to, and completed by, them; and
3.
natural persons who are possess rare
experience, as well as those who are versed in the customs followed in a
particular activity, craft, or industry, provided there are no Expert Witnesses
with similar experience and expertise, or where the number of such Expert
Witnesses is insufficient. In these cases, exemptions will apply to the
requirements related to academic qualifications, professional certificates, and
the number of years of experience.
A
firm or company may be registered on the Roll as an Expert Witness Firm,
subject to the following requirements:
1.
The company or firm must have a
valid licence, authorising it to operate in the Emirate, issued by a competent
commercial licensing authority.
2.
The managing partner must be an
Expert Witness registered on the Roll.
3.
A professional indemnity insurance
policy, specifying the Dubai Courts as beneficiary, and issued by an insurance
company licensed in the Emirate, must be provided. This insurance policy must
be valid throughout the period of validity of registration on the Roll. The
Director will determine the insured sum and the methods of enforcement of that
policy.
4.
At least three (3) persons must be
appointed, whether they are registered on the Roll, or approved by the
Committee in view of satisfying the conditions stipulated in Article (9) of
this Law, particularly the ones relating to academic qualifications and
professional experience.
5.
The fee prescribed for registration
on the Roll must be paid.
6.
Any other conditions determined
pursuant to the relevant resolution of the Director must be met.
Registration
on the Roll will be done in accordance with the procedures determined pursuant
to the relevant resolution of the Director.
Registration
on the Roll will be valid for a term of three (3) years, renewable for the same
period. The application for renewal must be submitted at least thirty (30) days
prior to the date of its expiry. A registration will be renewed in accordance
with the conditions and procedures prescribed by a resolution of the Director.
a.
An Expert Witness may
not practise the Expert Witness Profession unless he takes the following legal
oath before the Director or his authorised representative: “I swear by Allah
the Almighty to perform Expert Witness duties assigned to me with the utmost
honesty, integrity, and dedication, without any discrimination or favouritism;
and to comply with the legislation in force in the Emirate and with the Professional Code of Conduct”.
b.
Oath-taking by an Expert Witness will be
documented by a report that will be kept in the Expert Witness’s file
maintained by the Organisational Unit.
No
person may practise Expert Witness Profession before Judicial Authorities,
unless he is so permitted in the cases provided for in this Law.
a.
A Judicial Authority may appoint any
Expert Witness to perform specific duties related to a case or an incident that
requires investigation; assessment; weighing various technical opinions and
choosing the best in respect thereof; a determination; or a specialised
technical opinion.
b.
Where the requested Expert Witness
Profession duty requires taking a second opinion on another Expert Witness's
report, the concerned Judicial Authority may appoint an Expert Witness or form
a panel of Expert Witnesses. Unless otherwise decided by the Judicial
Authority, the second Expert Witness or the panel of Expert Witnesses must be
of the same area of expertise as that of the previous Expert Witness and are
classified in a category higher than that expert, in accordance with the rules
of classification of Expert Witnesses adopted under the provisions of this Law.
c.
Prior to commencing judicial
proceedings, or in the course thereof, litigants may request the appointment of
an Expert Witness to substantiate a case or claim. The Competent Court may, at
its own discretion, decide to grant or dismiss this request based on whether it is warranted
by the case.
a.
An Expert Witness must practise the
Expert Witness Profession within the limits of the duty assigned to him by the
Judicial Authority, in the manner he deems conducive to achieving the purpose
of his assignment, and in line with the legally prescribed procedures and
provisions.
b.
An Expert Witness assigned by
the Judicial Authority must:
1.
set a start date for performing the
duty assigned to him;
2.
invite the parties to the dispute
for a meeting through any of the legally prescribed notification methods. The
invitation notice must be delivered at least five (5) Working Days prior to the
date scheduled for the meeting. However, where the case is urgent, the parties
may be invited to the meeting at a short notice;
3.
review the subject matter of the
case assigned to him; present a summary memorandum in which he affirms that the
Expert Witness Profession duty assigned to him is relevant to his area of
expertise, ; and specify the case completion phases, the time line of each
phase, the place of performing the duty, the fees and expenses that he will
charge for the assigned duty, the date of presenting the initial report to the
concerned parties, and the date of submitting the final report to the Judicial
Authority;
4.
amend the memorandum referred to in
sub-paragraph (b)(3) of this Article, where any amendment is made by the
Judicial Authority, in which case the Expert Witness is bound by any such
amendments;
5.
allow parties to the dispute to
access the summary memorandum approved by the Judicial Authority, and have them
sign a copy thereof;
6.
meet with the parties to the dispute
jointly, or separately where so decided by the Judicial Authority, to hold
discussions with them and enable them to present their substantiating
documents. An Expert Witness may also access any place, that is relevant to the
assigned duty, for inspection and detection of anything that may help him to
form his opinion;
7.
not hand over the original documents
submitted by one party to the dispute to the other party, but rather attach a
copy thereof to the initial report sent to the parties to the dispute for
comments, prior to drafting his final report;
8.
not disclose the information to
which he has access, unless to the extent required for performing the assigned
duty;
9.
where the parties to the dispute
submit any documents written in a foreign language, the Expert Witness may
examine and study the said documents without requesting their translation into
Arabic, provided that he does not find it necessary to do so and is able to
understand the content of those documents in a way that does not conflict with
their true meaning or lead to an interpretation that deviates from the intended
meaning;
10. not
exceed the time limit specified in the summary memorandum approved by the
Judicial Authority, for reasons attributable to him or the parties to the
dispute. The Judicial Authority may, at its own discretion, extend this period
in certain cases; and
11. submit
his final report to the Judicial Authority.
a.
the parties to a dispute must, upon
signing the summary memorandum prepared by the Expert Witness and approved by
the Competent Court, fully cooperate to implement it as per its phased plan.
b.
The Expert Witness fees and expected
expenses will be deposited in the name of the Expert Witness by the party
obligated by the Competent Court to pay them, with the Dubai Courts in cash or
under a cashier's cheque or by any other payment method determined by the Dubai
Courts.
a.
An Expert Witness will not be deemed
to have discharged the duty assigned to him by the Judicial Authority, unless
after he has fulfilled all its requirements and responded to the remarks and
inquiries of the Judicial Authority and the objections of the parties to the
dispute in respect of his findings.
b.
The Judicial Authority that has
appointed the Expert Witness may approve his final report as is; require him to
reconsider it; or, where required, engage another Expert Witness.
c.
Upon approval of the Expert
Witness’s final report, the Judicial Authority will determine the Expert
Witness fees and the reimbursable expenses.
An
Expert Witness will be removed subject to the rules and time frames stipulated
in the above-mentioned Federal Law No. (10) of 1992.
a.
The Competent Court may, on its own
motion or upon a request by any party to the dispute, appoint an Expert Witness
to provide his opinion, at a public hearing, on any case or event that requires
technical or scientific expertise.
b.
The opinion referred to in paragraph
(a) of this Article will be delivered by the Expert Witness in person by
appearing at the hearing, or through remote communication. The Expert Witness
will deliver his opinion either verbally or by means of a written report, and
his opinion will be kept in the case file or documented in the minutes of the
hearing.
c.
The Competent Court must notify the
Expert Witness, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of this
Article, of his appointment sufficient time prior to the date of the hearing,
and must enable him to review the facts of the case or incident on which his
opinion is solicited, as well as with any information or data necessary for him
to form his opinion.
d.
The party requesting the appointment
of an Expert Witness must pay the security deposit prescribed by the Competent
Court to cover the Expert Witness Fees and expenses, failing which his right to
uphold the judgement or the decision to appoint the Expert Witness will be forfeited.
An
Expert Witness must:
1.
comply with the legislation in force
in the Emirate including this Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance
hereof, and with the instructions issued by the Dubai Courts in respect of the Expert
Witness Profession;
2.
fulfil the requirements for
registration on the Roll;
3.
perform his assigned duty with the
utmost accuracy, honesty, dedication, and objectivity, without any
discrimination against any of the parties to the dispute; and comply with the
professional standards included in the Professional Code of Conduct;
4.
perform, by himself, the duty
assigned to him by the Judicial Authority;
5.
not disclose, except in the cases
prescribed by law, the data or information to which he may have access in the
course of practising the Expert Witness Profession;
6.
ensure that neither his spouse, nor
any of his relatives up to the fourth degree, has direct or indirect interest
in the duty assigned to him by the Judicial Authority;
7.
ensure that his employer is not a
party to the dispute subject of the duty assigned to him by the Judicial
Authority;
8.
disclose to the Judicial Authority
that appoints him if he has previously provided any opinion or consultation on
the subject of duty assigned to him;
9.
update and develop his skills in his
area of expertise, and endeavour to improve his performance, develop his
professional competencies, and remain informed of the latest developments in
his area of expertise;
10. mention
his name and registration number in all the correspondence, testimonies,
memoranda, and reports he issues;
11. maintain
a paper or electronic record of all duties assigned to him by Judicial
Authorities, for a period of five (5) years from the date of completion of
these assignments, in which copies of the written reports, correspondence, and
memoranda related to these assignments are included;
12. inform
the Organisational Unit of his address, and of any change thereof within a
period not exceeding one (1) month from the date of the change;
13. perform
the duties of the Expert Witness Profession assigned to him accurately and
objectively as required;
14. disclose
to the Judicial Authority any pressure or actions he may have been subjected to
before or during the performance of his duty from any Person;
15. not
accept or solicit, from any litigant, any gifts or any material or moral
benefits for himself, his spouse, any of his relatives up to the fourth degree,
his owner, or shareholders, as the case may be;
16. not
exploit or use the information that he obtains in the course of performing, or
upon completing, his duties to achieve personal gains or to cause harm to
others;
17. not
communicate with any of the parties to the dispute without the presence of the
other party, unless instructed otherwise by the Judicial Authority;
18. not
perform any act that may give rise to a real, apparent, or potential conflict
of interest between his personal interests and his obligation to discharge the
duty assigned to him by the Judicial Authority;
19. return
all the instruments, documents, and other items handed over to him by the
Judicial Authority or the parties to the dispute, upon completing the assigned
duty;
20. provide
the insurance policy prescribed by the Director, and ensure that the insurance
policy remain valid throughout the term of his registration on the Roll;
21. inform
the Organisational Unit of any impediment that causes him to cease to practise
the profession under which he is registered on the Roll. An Expert Witness may
request to resume to practise the profession, where the impediment ceases to
exist;
22. not
request any additional fees from the litigants; and
23. comply
with any other obligations determined pursuant to the relevant resolution of
the Director.
a.
An Expert Witness is entitled to his
fees upon completion of the Expert Witness Profession duties, unless the Judicial
Authority decides, on its own initiative or upon the request of the Expert
Witness, to disburse part of his fees at any earlier stage;
b.
An Expert Witness is entitled to his
fees and to a reimbursement of expenses as estimated by the Judicial Authority.
In determining the fees and reimbursable expenses, the Judicial Authority must
take into consideration the Expert Witness’s classification, in addition to other
factors related to the assigned duty, foremost among which are:
1.
the workload and complexity of the
assigned duty;
2.
the activities undertaken by the
Expert Witness, the time spent for completing the duty, and the stages of
completion of the assigned duty;
3.
the extent of the Expert Witness's
commitment to the performance of the assigned duty, and covering all its
aspects;
4.
the quality of Expert Witness
Profession duties he has performed and his achievement of the purpose for which
he has been appointed;
5.
the extent of his compliance with
the Expert Witness Profession rules of practice;
6.
his technical performance assessment
rating in respect of the assigned duty; and
7.
the expenses verified by the
Judicial Authority to have been incurred by the Expert Witness and required for
performing the assigned duty, including the cost of setting up a place for
meeting with the parties to the dispute; commuting to the inspection site; the fees
paid for obtaining any papers, certificates, maps, or documents; and fees for
the engaging specialists and technicians for opinion on aspects that fall
outside the scope of his area of expertise.
Technical
assessment of an Expert Witness’s performance will be conducted upon completing
the duty assigned to him, by means of a performance report prepared by the
Judicial Authority and the Organisational Unit. The performance report will be
prepared in accordance with the relevant standards approved by the Director,
and based on a one hundred (100) weighted point rating system, distributed as
follows:
1.
fifty (50) points allocated for the
Judicial Authority that appointed the Expert Witness; and
2.
fifty (50) points allocated for the
Organisational
Unit.
An
Expert Witness’s technical assessment report will be kept in his personal file
maintained by the Organisational Unit. No person may have access to the said
report except for the Judicial Authority, the concerned Expert Witness, the
Committee, the Organisational Unit, the Director, and any other person
determined by him.
a.
The Organisational Unit must provide
the Expert Witness with a copy of the technical assessment report within
fifteen (15) days from the date of its issuance.
b.
An Expert Witness may submit to the
Committee a written grievance in respect of his technical assessment report
within thirty (30) days following the date of receiving the same.
c.
The Committee will issue a decision
accepting or dismissing the grievance, or amending the technical assessment
rating within thirty (30) days from the date of submission of the grievance.
The decision issued by the Committee in respect of the grievance will be final
and not subject to appeal before any entity whatsoever.
Effects of Technical Assessment Reports
Where
an Expert Witness scores a technical assessment rating of less than seventy
percent (70%), the Committee will take against him the following actions in the
same order:
1.
where it is the first time the
Expert Witness has received this low rating, serve a written warning on him to
address the issues with his performance;
2.
where the Expert Witness receives
this low rating after receiving a written warning, suspend the Expert Witness
from practising the Expert Witness Profession before Judicial Authorities for a
period not exceeding six (6) months; and
3.
strike the Expert Witness off the
Roll, where he scores a low rating after being suspended from practising the
Expert Witness Profession.
The
audit of Expert Witnesses will be regulated by a resolution issued by the
Director in this respect.
A
complaint filed with the Organisational Unit against an Expert Witness will be
subject to the following procedures:
1.
A complaint against an Expert
Witness will be filed with the Organisational Unit on the form prescribed by
the Dubai Courts for this purpose, supported by the documents substantiating
the claims cited therein.
2.
The Organisational Unit will inform
the Expert Witness of the complaint filed against him to respond thereto within
ten (10) days from the date of its submission.
3.
The Organisational Unit will submit
to the Committee a report that includes all claims cited in the complaint
against the Expert Witness as well as his response to such claims, within ten
(10) days from the date of receiving the Expert Witness’s response, or from the
lapse of the deadline referred to in paragraph (2) of this Article.
4.
The Committee will consider the
report submitted to it by the Organisational Unit in respect of the complaint
filed against the Expert Witness. The Committee may close the complaint, or
refer it for investigation by a sub-committee formed by the Committee for this
purpose.
5.
The sub-committee referred to in
paragraph (4) of this Article will investigate the complaint and submit a
report thereon to the Committee. This report must include an explanation of the
facts of the complaint, the relevant findings of the sub-committee, and the
recommended measures that must be taken against the Expert Witness.
6.
The Committee will impose any of the
disciplinary penalties stipulated in this Law on the Expert Witness, where it
is established that he has committed the actions ascribed to him in the
complaint.
7.
The Committee may require the
complainant to pay the expenses incurred in relation
to the complaint, where it is established to
the Committee that the complaint is vexatious. Where the complaint is found to
be justified, the Committee may require the Expert Witness to pay the incurred
expenses. The decision issued by the Committee in this respect will be final
and not subject to appeal before any entity whatsoever.
8.
The Organisational Unit will enforce
the decision issued by the Committee against the Expert Witness, and inform the
Expert Witness of the action taken against him.
a.
Without prejudice to any
applicable civil or criminal liability, and where it is established through an
investigation with an Expert Witness that he is not compliant with his
obligations under this Law, or has committed any ethical or professional
violation, the Committee will impose any of the following disciplinary
penalties:
1.
warning;
2.
suspension from practising the
Expert Witness Profession for a period not exceeding one (1) year; or
3.
striking the Expert Witness off the
Roll.
b.
The
Committee
may reinstate an Expert Witness who has been struck off the Roll, where he
meets the requirements for registration on the Roll, and a minimum period of
two (2) years has lapsed since his de-registration.
An
Expert Witness may file a challenge before the Court of Appeal of the Dubai
Courts against the decision of the Committee within thirty (30) days from the
date of imposing the disciplinary penalty on him, in case the decision is
rendered in the presence of the Expert Witness; or within thirty (30) days from
the date of being notified of the decision, in case it is rendered in absentia.
The decision issued by the Court of Appeal in this respect will be final, and
not subject to further appeal before any entity whatsoever.
Except
in the cases stipulated in this Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance
hereof, the federal and local legislation in force in the Emirate, including the
above-mentioned Federal Law No. (7) of 2012 and its Implementing Bylaw, will
apply to Expert Witnesses.
In
return for registration of Expert Witnesses on the Roll, and providing other
services under this Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof, the
Dubai Courts will charge the fees prescribed by a resolution of the Chairman of
the Executive Council. The collected fees will be paid to the Public Treasury
of the Government.
For
the purpose of enabling the Dubai Courts to perform its functions under this
Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof, Government Entities must,
upon request, cooperate with, and provide support and assistance to, the Dubai
Courts.
The
Director will issue the resolutions required for the implementation of this
Law. These resolutions will be published in the Official Gazette.
Any
person who is registered on the Roll by the effective date of this Law must
comply with the provisions of this Law upon the expiry of his registration, or
within a period of one (1) year from the effective date of this Law, whichever
is earlier. The Director may, where required, extend this grace period once for
the same period.
Any
provision in any other legislation will be repealed to the extent that it
contradicts the provisions of this Law.
This
Law will be published in the Official Gazette and will come into force on the
day on which it is published.
Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum
Ruler of Dubai
Issued in
Dubai on 24 November 2020
Corresponding to 9 Rabi al-Thani 1442 A.H.
©2024 The Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of
Dubai
[1]Every effort has been made to produce an
accurate and complete English version of this legislation. However, for the
purpose of its interpretation and application, reference must be made to the
original Arabic text. In case of conflict, the Arabic text will prevail.