Resolution No. (6) of 2022
Establishing the Probate Court[1]
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We, Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Chairman of the Judicial Council,
After perusal of:
Federal Law No. (11) of 1992 Issuing the Civil Procedure Code and
its amendments;
Federal Law No. (28) of 2005 Concerning Family Affairs and its
amendments;
Cabinet Resolution No. (57) of 2018 Concerning the Regulatory Bylaw
of Federal Law No. (11) of 1992 Issuing the Civil Procedure Code and its
amendments;
Law No. (9) of 2007 Establishing the Awqaf and Minors Affairs
Foundation and its amendments;
Law No. (21) of 2015 Concerning Judicial Fees of the Dubai Courts
and its amendments;
Law No. (13) of 2016 Concerning the Judicial Authorities in the
Emirate of Dubai and its amendments;
Law No. (9) of 2020 Regulating Family Property in the Emirate of
Dubai;
Law No. (13) of 2020 Regulating Expert Witness Work before the
Judicial Authorities in the Emirate of Dubai;
Decree No. (23) of 2020 Regulating the Sale by Heirs of Residential
Real Property in the Emirate of Dubai;
Decree No. (35) of 2021 Designating the Head of the Local Judiciary
in the Emirate of Dubai for the Purposes of Implementing Federal Legislation;
Resolution No. (8) of 2021 Forming a Special Tribunal; and
Resolution No. (3) 2020 Forming the Committee for Temporary
Assignment of Judges
of the Dubai Courts,
Do 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:
|
Emirate: |
The Emirate
of Dubai. |
|
Judicial
Council: |
The Judicial
Council of the Emirate. |
|
Courts: |
The Dubai
Courts, including the Court of Cassation, the Court of Appeal, the Courts of
First Instance, and any other court to be established therein. |
|
Probate
Court: |
The probate
court established pursuant to this Resolution. |
|
Estate: |
Any property
or rights left by a deceased person. |
|
Estate Claim: |
Any dispute relating to the inventory or liquidation of an Estate
or the division of its property among the heirs. This includes any civil,
real property, or commercial claim arising in relation to the Estate and involving the heirs, or involving the
heirs and others; and any interlocutory applications arising out of or
indivisibly connected to the Estate, for the exclusion or inclusion of an
heir; for Wills; or for equal distribution of gifts among heirs. |
|
Division: |
A judicial division formed at the Probate
Court in accordance with the provisions of this Resolution to consider Estate
Claims. |
|
Special
Tribunal: |
A tribunal
formed in the Emirate, pursuant to a resolution of the Ruler, to hear and
render a judgement determining any issue, case, or matter assigned to it. |
|
Probate
Judge: |
A Family
Court of First Instance Judge who has jurisdiction over conducting the inventory count of an Estate, and issuing decisions in respect thereof, in
accordance with the above-mentioned Federal Law No. (28) of 2005 and the relevant
legislation. |
|
Reporting Judge: |
A Judge
assigned to register and prepare an Estate Claim; manage it before the Probate Court; and perform all the
functions assigned to him under the above-mentioned Federal Law No. (11) of
1992, its Regulatory Bylaw, and this Resolution. |
A single-level court named the “Probate Court” is hereby established at the
Courts.
The principal seat of the
Probate Court will be at the Courts. Some hearings of the Probate Court may,
pursuant to a resolution of its Chief Justice, be held outside of the Courts.
The Probate Court will have the following objectives:
1.
to maintain social and family ties, and protect them from disputes that may arise over
Estates;
2.
to consolidate the claims and applications related to, or arising
out of, any Estate into a
single lawsuit before one judicial body instead of being heard by multiple judicial bodies as a result of
applying the rules of
jurisdiction;
3.
to simplify litigation proceedings by limiting them to a single
level
of courts;
4.
to ensure the expeditious determination of Estate Claims without prejudice to the requirements
of prompt justice;
5.
to serve as a specialized judicial body capable of determining Estate Claims and their ancillary claims and applications; and
6.
to adopt flexible procedures in Estate Claims, which require innovative judicial solutions.
a.
Without prejudice to the rules of jurisdiction of the federal and
local judiciary
in the United Arab
Emirates, the Probate Court will have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and
determine Estate Claims with an estimated value of not less than the minimum amount required for filing a cassation
appeal. These do not include Estate Claims falling within the jurisdiction of Special Tribunals.
b.
The Probate Court will hear and determine any Estate Claim in accordance with the substantive rules stipulated in the
above-mentioned Federal Law No. (28) of 2005 and Law No. (9) of 2007, and any other
applicable legislation relevant to the subject matter of the claim.
a.
The Probate Court will be comprised of one or more Divisions, each
of which will be presided over by a cassation Judge and will have an appellate Judge and a First Instance
Judge
as members. These Judges will be appointed or temporarily assigned in accordance with the provisions of the
above-mentioned Law No. (13) of 2016. In forming Divisions, it must be ensured
that Judges have diverse
specialisations as required to accommodate
the nature of the Estate Claims filed with the Probate Court.
b.
Divisions will be formed pursuant to a resolution of the Chief Justice of the Probate Court.
a.
A chief justice whose grade is not lower than cassation Judge will be appointed to the Probate Court pursuant to a resolution of the Judicial
Council.
b.
The Chief Justice of the Probate Court will supervise the work of
the Probate Court, and may preside over any of its Divisions.
An Estate Claim and case will be brought before
the Probate Court by way of:
1.
a written agreement between the parties to the dispute to file the Estate Claim
directly with the Probate Court, in which case the jurisdiction of the Probate
Court will extend to any dispute that arises or results from the original Estate Claim, even if this dispute is not expressly
covered by the agreement;
2.
referral by the Probate Judge, where the parties to the dispute
fail to reach Conciliation or settlement, or to agree on the transfer of the share belonging to an
heir to the other heirs (Takharuj), provided that the Estate Claim falls within the jurisdiction of the Probate
Court in accordance with the provisions of Article (5) of this Resolution; or
3.
referral by a Special
Tribunal upon obtaining the approval of the Ruler.
The rules stipulated in the above-mentioned Federal Law No. (11) of
1992 and its Regulatory Bylaw, and any procedural rules stipulated in the legislation in force, apply to the litigation procedures before the Probate Court.
a.
Estate Claims will be registered with, and managed before, the Probate
Court by one or more Reporting Judges. A Reporting Judge's grade may not be lower than senior First Instance Judge.
b.
A Reporting Judge will
have all the powers and responsibilities of a supervising Judge and a case manager under the above-mentioned
Federal Law No. (11) of 1992, its Regulatory Bylaw, this Resolution, and other
legislation in force.
c.
In the Estate Claims registered with the Probate Court, a Reporting Judge will have the same powers of a
Probate Judge in respect of conducting an inventory count of, liquidating, and managing the Estate; seeking to divide it among heirs; and proposing settlement in respect thereof, in accordance
with the procedures stipulated in the above-mentioned Federal Law No. (28) of
2005 and other relevant legislation.
d.
Where an Estate Claim is brought before the Probate Court by way of referral by a Probate Judge or a Special Tribunal in accordance with
Article (8) hereof, the Reporting Judge will complete the procedures, and follow up the progress, of
the Estate Claim based on the stage at which it was referred. In any event, the Reporting Judge must propose a settlement to the parties to the Estate Claim.
e.
Pursuant to a resolution of the Chief Justice of the Probate Court, a Reporting Judge
may be appointed as a member of any Division, in which case he must not consider any Estate Claim in respect of which he has undertaken preparatory or management work, or provided opinion.
The Reporting Judge will
propose a settlement to the parties to the Estate Claim; and if they accept the settlement, the following procedures will apply:
1.
A settlement agreement will be drafted under the supervision of the Reporting Judge, and will be signed by all the
parties to the Estate Claim.
2.
The settlement agreement will be ratified, approved, and documented
by the Reporting Judge. The agreement will have the force of a writ of
execution.
3.
A copy of the settlement agreement will be delivered to each party
to the Estate Claim, and a copy will be maintained by the Probate Court.
Where the Reporting Judge fails to conclude a settlement agreement among the parties,
he will register the Estate Claim with the competent Division of the Probate Court. The Reporting Judge must complete all the Estate Claim preparatory proceedings and provide opinion on the claim within thirty (30) working days from the
date of the registration.
a.
The Probate Court will hear and determine an Estate Claim within a period not exceeding one
(1) year from the date on which the claim is registered with it. However, this period may, upon
the approval of the Chief Justice of the Probate Court, be extended for any further period determined by him based on the
circumstances of the claim and progress of its proceedings.
b.
The Probate Court must prepare a schedule indicating the
requirements and procedures for determination of the Estate Claim within the period stipulated in
paragraph (a) of this Article. This schedule must be communicated to the
parties to the claim at the first hearing.
a.
The provisions of the above-mentioned Law No. (13) of 2020 apply to
regulating Expert Witness Work before the Probate Court.
b.
The Probate Court will determine the time limit for the Expert
Witness to complete his assignment and submit his report. This time limit may
be extended only at the discretion of the Probate Court based on substantial
grounds, provided that the extension period does not exceed the originally
prescribed period and does not conflict with the schedule approved by the
Probate Court for determination of the Estate Claim.
a.
A judgement rendered by the Probate Court will be deemed final,
enforceable, and not subject to appeal except by way of a petition for review in any of the cases stipulated in the
above-mentioned Federal Law No. (11) of 1992, or in the case of nullity of judgement for reasons related to serving the
statement of claim.
b.
A judgement rendered by the Probate Court may be vacated in accordance with the rules and
procedures stipulated in the above-mentioned Law No. (11) of 1992.
A judgement rendered by the Probate Court is immediately enforceable through the
regular methods of enforcement of judgements by the Courts, and do not require serving any notification. A challenge or grievance against that judgement may be admitted, or its execution may be stayed, only pursuant to a decision of the Probate Court based on an appeal of the judgement in any of the cases referred to in Article (15) hereof.
The Courts will provide the administrative, financial, and
technical support required to enable the Probate Court to exercise its
functions under this Resolution.
The Probate Court will have the duty to review the provisions of this Resolution
every three (3) years, or where required; propose any necessary amendments
thereto; and submit the same to the Judicial Council to take the appropriate
action in this respect.
This Resolution will be published in the Official Gazette and will
come into force on 1 September 2022.
Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Deputy Ruler of Dubai
Chairman of the Judicial Council
Issued in Dubai on 15 April 2022
Corresponding to 14 Ramadan 1443 A.H.
©2022 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.