Administrative Resolution No. (54)
of 2022
Concerning the Disciplinary
Accountability Regulations for
Advocates and Legal Consultants in
the
Emirate of Dubai[1]
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The Director General of the
Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department,
After
perusal of:
Article
(5)(15) of Law No. (32) of 2008 Establishing the Government of Dubai Legal
Affairs Department (the “LAD”), which stipulates that the LAD is in charge of licensing
advocacy and legal consultancy professions and firms; monitoring their
practice; and issuing the required regulations, bylaws, and resolutions;
Law
No. (8) of 2016 Regulating the Grant of Law Enforcement Capacity in the
Government of Dubai and its Implementing Bylaw;
Executive
Council Resolution No. (22) of 2011 Concerning Fees and Fines Prescribed for
the Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Profession in the Emirate of Dubai;
Administrative
Resolution No. (11) of 2012 Granting Certain Employees of the Government of
Dubai Legal Affairs Department the Law Enforcement Capacity;
Administrative
Resolution No. (112) of 2017 Concerning the Professional Conduct Committee for
Advocates and Legal Consultants and its amendments;
Administrative
Resolution No. (51) of 2022 Approving the Bylaws Concerning the Registration of
Advocates and Legal Consultants in the Emirate of Dubai; and
Administrative
Resolution No. (52) of 2022 Approving the Bylaws Concerning the Licensing of
Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Firms in the Emirate of Dubai,
Does hereby issue this Resolution.
The following words and expressions
wherever mentioned in this Resolution, will have the meaning indicated opposite
each of them unless the context implies otherwise:
|
The Emirate of Dubai. |
Emirate: |
|
The Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department. |
LAD: |
|
The director general of the LAD. |
Director General: |
|
The advocacy or legal consultancy profession. |
Profession: |
|
A natural person who is registered with, and
authorised by, the LAD to provide all Legal Services to the public. |
Advocate: |
|
A natural person who is registered with, and
authorised by, the LAD to provide all Legal Services to the public, except
for Pleading and the representing others before the Dubai Courts (comprising
the Courts of First Instance, the Court of Appeal, and the Court of Cassation). |
Legal Consultant: |
|
An Advocacy Firm or legal consultancy firm licensed
by the LAD and other competent entities in the Emirate. |
Firm: |
|
The legal services which an Advocate or Legal
Consultant is authorised to provide in the Emirate. These include, but are not
limited to, Pleading; representing others before judicial authorities,
arbitration and conciliation tribunals and centres, and administrative
entities; providing legal opinion and advice; drafting contracts; and
providing other legal services. |
Legal Services: |
|
The Advocates and Legal Consultants Affairs
Directorate of the LAD. |
Directorate: |
|
The Professional Conduct Committee formed within the
LAD pursuant to the provisions of this Resolution to consider and determine
Violations attributed to Advocates and Legal Consultants; and to impose the
appropriate disciplinary penalties on them, in accordance with the rules and
procedures stipulated in this Resolution. |
Committee: |
|
The committee formed within the LAD pursuant to the
provisions of this Resolution to consider and determine the Grievances
submitted to it by a party to a Complaint and the Objections submitted by the
Directorate against a decision issued by the Committee, in accordance with the
rules and procedures stipulated in this Resolution. |
Grievance Committee: |
|
A Misconduct or Professional Violation attributed to
an Advocate or Legal Consultant as set out in Article (4) of this Resolution. |
Violation: |
|
A document prepared by the Directorate stating the
Violations attributed to an Advocate or Legal Consultant. |
Audit Report: |
|
A written application submitted by a natural or
legal person pursuant to the provisions of this Resolution, reporting a
Violation by an Advocate or a Legal Consultant. |
Complaint: |
|
A written application submitted by a party to a
Complaint pursuant to the provisions of this Resolution, challenging a
decision issued by the Committee. |
Grievance: |
|
Objection: |
This Resolution applies to:
1. the
Advocates and Legal Consultants registered on the Roll maintained by the LAD;
and
2. the
Firms licensed to provide Legal Services to the public in the Emirate,
including in free zones, such as the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Violations
attributed to Advocates or Legal Consultants are categorised as follows:
1. Misconduct:
Any action that discredits and is inconsistent with the integrity, ethics, and
customs of the Profession.
2. Professional
Violations: Any professional error that constitutes a deviation from the basic
principles of law or reflects ignorance of the facts relating to legal
practice.
The
Directorate will, in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this
Resolution, detect the Violations attributed to Advocates and Legal Consultants
through Audit Reports or the Complaints filed against them.
In
preparing Audit Reports, the Directorate will:
1.
gather information and investigate
the veracity of the acts attributed to an Advocate or a Legal Consultant and that
may constitute a Violation;
2.
notify the Advocate or Legal
Consultant of the acts attributed to him and to enable him to respond to the
same in writing within the prescribed time frame. The Directorate may summon
the Advocate or Legal Consultant to hear his statement, or require him to
provide any other relevant documentation;
3.
prepare an Audit Report on the
Violation attributed to the Advocate or Legal Consultant, and on his response
thereto; and
4.
refer the Audit Report referred to in
paragraph (3) of this Article to the Committee, in accordance with the relevant
approved procedures.
a.
A Complaint will be filed against an
Advocate, a Legal Consultant, or a Firm on the relevant form prescribed by the
LAD, together with the documents supporting the Complaint.
b.
Upon receipt of a Complaint, the
Directorate will:
1.
notify the Advocate or Legal
Consultant, as well as the Managing Partner of the Firm with which the Advocate
or Legal Consultant is affiliated, of the filed Compliant. Where the Complaint
is filed against a Firm without specifying the name of a particular Advocate or
Legal Consultant, the Managing Partner of the Firm will be notified of the
filed Complaint. In all events, the party against whom the Complaint is filed
and the Managing Partner of the Firm must respond to the Complaint in writing
within the prescribed time frame;
2.
prepare a report stating the facts
of the Complaint, the response of the Advocate or Legal Consultant against whom
the Complaint is filed, and the Violation attributed to him. The Directorate
may summon any of the parties to the Complaint to hear his statement, or request
any additional information or documents related to the Complaint; and
3.
refer the report mentioned in
sub-paragraph (b)(2) of this Article to the Committee, in accordance with the relevant
approved procedures.
c.
Withdrawal or settlement of the
Complaint between the concerned parties will not preclude the Directorate from
continuing to consider the Complaint and referring it to the Committee if it is
established by the Directorate that the acts attributed to the Advocate or
Legal Consultant constitute a Violation warranting disciplinary action, in
accordance with the provisions of this Resolution.
a. A
committee named the “Professional Conduct Committee for Advocates and Legal
Consultants” will be formed at the LAD. The Committee will be comprised of a
chairman, a vice chairman, and a sufficient number of members to be appointed by
a resolution of the Director General.
b. The
Committee will have one or more sub-committees. The chairman, vice chairman,
and members of each sub-committee will be appointed by a resolution of the
Director General.
c. Each
sub-committee will perform the duties and functions of the Committee, in
accordance with the rules and provisions stipulated in this Resolution.
d. A
rapporteur will be appointed to the Committee and each of its sub-committees
from amongst the employees of the LAD pursuant to a resolution issued by the
Director General. The rapporteur will be responsible for sending invitations
for meetings, preparing minutes of its meetings, following up the
implementation of resolutions, and performing any other duties assigned to him
by Committee or sub-committee, as the case may be.
b.
The Committee’s jurisdiction under
paragraph (a) of this Article applies where the acts attributed the Advocate or
Legal Consultant are committed fully or partially within the Emirate.
c.
Notwithstanding the provisions of
paragraph (b) of this Article, the Directorate may, based on a Complaint filed
with it, refer the Advocate or the Legal Consultant to the Committee to
consider and determine an act he has committed outside of the Emirate, where
the act constitutes a Misconduct or Professional Violation under the applicable
legislation regulating the Profession in the Emirate, in accordance with the
relevant rules prescribed by the LAD.
a. In
performing its functions under Article (9) of this Resolution, the Committee
will have the authority to:
1. investigate
Violations, including hearing statements of the complainants and witnesses, and
confronting the Advocates or Legal Consultants in respect of the Violations
attributed thereto;
2. request
any documents relevant to the Violations;
3. seek
the assistance of any employees of the LAD or any other persons, as the
Committee deems appropriate, to assist it in performing its functions; and
4. take
any other action it deems necessary to prove or dismiss Violations.
b. The
Committee must limit its investigation to the Violation referred to it and to the
material facts associated therewith. Where the Committee uncovers any facts
that may constitute a separate Violation not inextricably
linked to
the original Violation under consideration, it must refer the new Violation to
the Directorate to take the necessary action in respect thereof, in accordance
with the provisions of this Resolution.
c. In
performing its duties, the Committee must comply with the legislation in force
in the Emirate, the bylaws applicable at the LAD, the rules of justice and
equity, and the norms governing the ethics of the Profession.
a.
Hearings of the Committee will be
held in person at the LAD premises. The Committee may hold its hearings using
audiovisual means of telecommunication.
c.
Hearings of the Committee will be
valid if attended by the majority of its members, provided that its chairman or
vice chairman is in attendance.
d.
The Committee will pass its
decisions by majority vote of the attending members, and in the event of a tie,
the chair of the hearing will have a casting vote.
e.
Decisions of the Committee will be
recorded in minutes signed by the chair of the meeting and the attending
members.
f.
Hearings and deliberations of the
Committee will be held in camera and may not be disclosed. No copies of the
information recorded in the minutes of Committee hearings may be made without the
chairman’s decision.
An Advocate or Legal Consultant
against whom a Complaint is filed or to whom a Violation is attributed must
appear in person before the Committee. The Advocate or Legal Consultant may
appoint an Advocate or a Legal Consultant registered with the LAD to represent
him, subject to providing a valid reason. The Committee may request the
Advocate or Legal Consultant, to whom the Violation is attributed, to appear
before it in person. Where he fails to appear in person, or to appoint a legal
representative, the Committee may issue its decision in absentia upon verifying
that the Advocate or Legal Consultant has been duly notified.
Modern
technology may be used for serving notices of the procedures for attending
hearings of the Committee remotely and for exchanging documents, including but
not limited to, those related to filing a Complaint, serving notifications,
investigating the Complaint, announcing the decisions issued by the Committee, and
filing Grievances against such decisions.
Where it is established that an
Advocate or Legal Consultant has committed a Violation, the Committee will
impose against him any of the following disciplinary penalties:
1. serving
a written notice stating the details of the Violation, and warning him against
repeating the Violation in the future;
2. serving
a written warning;
3. suspending
him from practice for a period not exceeding two (2) years; or
4. striking
off him from the Roll of Advocates or Roll of Legal Consultants.
a.
Where a decision is issued by the
Committee to fully or partially close the Complaint, the Advocate or Legal
Consultant, or the person who filed the Complaint against any of them may
submit a written Grievance to the Grievance Committee against the decision
within thirty (30) days from the day following the day on which he was notified
of the decision.
b.
The Directorate may submit an
Objection to the Grievance Committee against a decision issued by the Committee
within the time frame referred to in paragraph (a) of this Article, commencing
the day following the date of issuance of the decision.
a.
A committee named the “Committee for
Grievances against Decisions of the Professional Conduct Committee for
Advocates and Legal Consultants” (the “Grievance Committee”) will be formed in
the LAD, pursuant to a resolution of the Director General, which will nominate
its members.
b.
A rapporteur will be appointed to
the Grievance Committee, from amongst the LAD employees, pursuant to a
resolution of the Director General. The rapporteur will be responsible for
sending invitations to the Grievance Committee hearing, recording its minutes,
following up the implementation of its decisions, and performing any other
duties assigned to him by the Grievance Committee.
a.
The
Grievance Committee will have the jurisdiction to consider and determine the
Grievances and Objections referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Article (15)
of this Resolution,
whether by upholding, amending, or overruling the relevant Committee’s
decision. The decision issued by the Grievance Committee on the Grievance will
be final.
b.
In exercising its functions, the Grievance
Committee will be governed by the provisions of Articles (10), (11), (12),
(13), and (14) of this Resolution.
a.
The decision issued by the Committee
to suspend or strike off an Advocate or Legal Consultant will be enforceable
upon becoming final.
b.
The Directorate will notify the
Advocate or Legal Consultant, and the complainant, of the decisions issued by
the Committee and the Grievance Committee.
c.
The LAD will determine the
obligations of the Advocate, Legal Consultant, or the Managing Director of the
Firm, where a decision is issued pursuant to the provisions of this Resolution to
suspend the Advocate or Legal Consultant or strike him off the Roll. These
obligations will be determined in accordance with the legislation regulating
the Profession and the bylaws, resolutions, and instructions issued by the LAD.
d.
The Department will determine the
obligations of the Managing Director of the Firm in the event that a decision
to suspend the Advocate or Legal Consultant, or to strike him off the Roll, is
issued.
This Resolution supersedes
the above-mentioned Administrative Resolution No. (112) of 2017. The
resolutions and instructions issued in implementation thereof will continue in
force to the extent that they do not contradict this Resolution.
This Resolution will be published in
the Official Gazette and will come into force on the day on which it is
published.
Dr.
Lowai Mohamed Khalfan Belhoul
Director
General
Government of Dubai Legal Affairs
Department
Issued
in Dubai on 21 December 2022
Corresponding to 27 Jumada al-Ula 1444 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.