Law
No. (8) of 2024
Amending
Law No. (13) of 2016
Concerning
the Judicial Authorities in the Emirate of Dubai[1]
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We,
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai,
After perusal of:
Law No. (13) of 2016 Concerning the
Judicial Authorities in the Emirate of Dubai and its amendments (the “Original Law”),
Do hereby issue this Law.
Superseded Articles Article (1)
Articles (11), (17), (24), (32), (33), and (35) of the Original Law are
hereby superseded by the following:
Functions of the Judicial Council
Article (11)
For the purpose of achieving its objectives, the Judicial Council will
have the duties and powers to:
1. establish, and supervise the implementation of,
a general policy for developing the administration of the affairs of the
Judicial Authorities;
2. propose, consider, and provide opinion on draft
laws and bylaws related to the Judicial Authorities;
3. approve the draft annual budget of the Judicial
Council, and submit the same to the Ruler for final approval, in accordance
with the procedures adopted in this respect;
4. supervise the affairs of, and ensure proper
conduct of work at, the Courts, the Public Prosecution, and their supporting
bodies; and the Judicial Inspection Authority; and supervise Members of the
Judicial Authorities to the extent permitted by this Law;
5. take the necessary action in respect of the
judicial work progress reports submitted to it by the Courts and the Public
Prosecution, and in respect of the reports submitted to it by the Judicial
Inspection Authority on judicial work progress at the Courts and at the Public
Prosecution;
6. review, and take the necessary action on, the
reports submitted to it by the Judicial Inspection Authority regarding Members
of the Judicial Authorities;
7. consider and determine all matters related to
Members of the Judicial Authorities, including appointment, re-appointment,
promotion, secondment, transfer, removal from post, retirement, and any other
matters;
8. approve the bylaws related to the affairs of
Members of the Judicial Authorities;
9. consider complaints against Members of the
Judicial Authorities referred to it by the Judicial Authorities; and issue the
necessary decisions in this respect, including imposing disciplinary penalties;
10. take action on the reports submitted to it by
the Judicial Inspection Authority;
11. consider, and issue the necessary decisions on,
the grievances submitted by Members of the Judicial Authorities;
12. establish the principles, rules, conditions,
and requirements related to the appointment of Members of the Judicial
Authorities;
13. prepare, at the end of each year, a
comprehensive report that includes the achievements of the Judicial
Authorities, the obstacles they encounter, and proposals concerning their
affairs; and submit the same to the Ruler;
14. nominate qualified persons for appointment as
Members of the Judicial Authorities;
15. issue the Code of Judicial Conduct;
16. summon any person, as it deems appropriate, to
provide it with clarifications on any matters referred to it;
17. request from Government Entities and
non-government entities any information or documents which are relevant to its
functions;
18. determine the applications submitted to it by any
of the Members of the Judicial Authorities to assume another post that does not
conflict with their employment duties; and
19. exercise any other duties or powers assigned to
it under the legislation in force in the Emirate or by the Ruler, or referred
to it by the Chairman.
Composition of the Courts
Article (17)
a. The Courts will comprise:
1. the Court of Cassation;
2. the Court of Appeal; and
3. the Courts of First Instance.
b. The law will prescribe the rules governing the
jurisdiction of the Courts, and the procedures to be followed therein.
c. One or more specialised Courts of two (2)
levels (first instance and appellate) may be established pursuant to a
resolution of the Judicial Council. Each of these Courts will have a chief
justice who is appointed pursuant to a resolution of the Chairman and whose
grade is not lower than senior appellate Judge. In the absence of the chief
justice, the most senior Judge of the Court will deputise for him.
d. The Chairman will issue a resolution
determining the jurisdiction of the specialised Court referred to in paragraph
(c) of this Article.
e. The specialised Courts referred to in paragraph (c) of this Article will comprise first
instance small-claim and major-claim divisions, and appellate divisions, which
are formed pursuant to resolutions of its chief justice. The number of Judges
in a major-claim division or appellate division must not be less than three
(3).
f. Unless otherwise decided by the Judicial
Council, the judgements
and decisions of the appellate divisions of the specialised Courts referred to in paragraph (c) of this Article
will be subject to appeal in cassation before the Court of Cassation in
accordance with the legislation in force in the Emirate.
Courts of First Instance
Article (24)
a. The Courts of First Instance will be formed of
a chief justice whose grade is not lower than senior appellate Judge, and a
sufficient number of Judges. In the absence of the chief justice of the Courts
of First Instance, the most senior chief justice of a specialised Court will
deputise for him. The Courts of First Instance will exercise the functions
assigned to them by law.
b. The Courts of First Instance will comprise
specialised courts. The
specialised Courts
will be formed, and their chief justices will be appointed, pursuant to
resolutions of the Judicial Council. These Courts will have jurisdiction to consider applications and claims in
accordance with the law.
c. Each specialised Court of First Instance will
have a chief justice whose grade is not lower than appellate Judge. In the
absence of a chief justice of any of the specialised Court First Instance, the
chief justice of the Courts of First Instance will assign a Judge to deputise
for him.
d. Each specialised Court of First Instance will
be formed of a number of major-claim divisions comprised of three (3) Judges
each, and small-claim divisions having a single Judge each. These divisions
will be formed pursuant to resolutions of their respective chief justices,
subject to the approval of the chief justice of the Courts of First Instance.
e. The President of the Courts will issue a
resolution regulating the jurisdiction of the major-claim and small-claim
divisions referred to in paragraph (d) of this Article.
f. The chief justice of the Courts of First
Instance may transfer Judges between different specialised Courts of First
Instance.
Appointment Requirements
Article (32)
For a person to be appointed as a Judge at the Courts, a Member of the
Public Prosecution, or a Judicial Inspector at the Judicial Inspection
Authority, he must:
1. be a Muslim of full capacity;
2. be a UAE national. The Judicial Council may
exempt any person from this requirement;
3. hold at least a bachelor's degree in law, or in
Islamic Sharia and law, from an academic institution whose degrees are
accredited by the competent federal or local government entity in the Emirate,
whether that degree is awarded within or outside of the UAE;
4. not be less than twenty-three (23) years of age
at the time of appointment as a Court of First Instance Judge; or less than
twenty-one (21) years of age at the time of appointment as an assistant public
prosecutor at the Public Prosecution;
5. complete the training course of the Dubai
Judicial Institute, unless the Dubai Judicial Institute decides to waive this
requirement;
6. be of good conduct and repute;
7. be medically fit to perform his employment
duties;
8. successfully pass the relevant interviews;
9. not have been convicted of any offence
affecting honour or trustworthiness by a Court or disciplinary board, even if
he has been rehabilitated or has been pardoned pursuant to an individual or
general pardon, and even if the disciplinary penalty imposed on him has been
expunged; and
10. meet any other requirements determined pursuant
to a resolution of the Judicial Council.
Employment
Grades and Designations
Article
(33)
The employment grades and designations of UAE national and
non-UAE national Members of the Judicial Authorities appointed at the Courts,
the Public Prosecution, and the Judicial Inspection Authority will be as stated
in the following schedule:
Grade |
Courts’ Designations |
Public Prosecution Designations |
Judicial Inspection Authority
Designations |
|||
UAE Nationals |
Non-UAE Nationals |
UAE Nationals |
Non-UAE Nationals |
UAE Nationals |
Non-UAE Nationals |
|
Special |
Chief
Justice of the Court of Cassation |
- |
Attorney
General |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
Senior
Cassation Judge |
Senior
Cassation Judge |
Assistant
Attorney General |
Senior
Advocate General |
Chairman
of the Judicial Inspection Authority |
Senior
Judicial Inspector |
Vice Chairman of the Judicial Inspection
Authority |
||||||
Senior
Advocate General |
Senior
Judicial Inspector |
|||||
2 |
Cassation
Judge |
Cassation
Judge |
Advocate
General |
Advocate
General |
Judicial
Inspector |
Judicial
Inspector |
Chief
Justice of the Court of Appeal |
||||||
3 |
Senior
Appellate Judge |
Senior
Appellate Judge |
Senior
Chief Prosecutor |
Senior
Chief Prosecutor |
Judicial
Inspector |
- |
Chief
Justice of the Courts of First Instance |
||||||
4 |
Appellate
Judge |
Appellate
Judge |
Chief
Prosecutor |
- |
- |
- |
5 |
Senior
First Instance Judge |
Senior
First Instance Judge |
Assistant
Chief Prosecutor |
- |
- |
- |
6 |
First
Instance Judge |
- |
Senior
Public Prosecutor |
- |
- |
- |
7 |
First
Instance Judge |
- |
Public
Prosecutor |
- |
- |
- |
8 |
- |
- |
Assistant
Public Prosecutor |
- |
- |
- |
Assuming Duties
Article (35)
Subject to the requirements stipulated in Article (36) of this Law,
before assuming his duties, an experienced appointed Member of a Judicial
Authority must complete the training or qualification programme approved by the
Judicial Council in this respect.
This Law comes into force on the day on which it is issued, and will be
published in the Official Gazette.
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Ruler of Dubai
Issued in Dubai on 3 April 2024
Corresponding to 24
Ramadan 1445 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.