Discuss how the UAE legal system is organized

Transcription

1 Discuss how the UAE legal system is organized The United Arab Emirates is a Federation that has seven emirates that have united in 1971, forming a coherent and centralized base of the legal structure in which they follow to this day. The organizations and the details were delineated in the Constitution of which formed this sovereign state. The expansive legal paradigm in the UAE includes the creation of Education, Labor and Social Affairs sectors, amongst many others. The UAE is a country that deeply incorporates religion as part of its culture, tradition and norms. The legal system is no different, with Sharia principles being the fundamental source of the structure of the country s legal system. The legislation of each emirate was independently constructed before the uniting establishment. However, with the union of the seven emirates, this became centralized by the Federal Laws, which comprehensively regulates laws from labor, trade and health to civil legislation, property and maritime matters. Each emirate had the right to decide whether they would recognize and undertake the Federal Laws, which they eventually did. As the law is deeply rooted in religion, there has been the establishment of Civil Courts to look after the commercial and personal matters, specialized respectively. In regards to the personal matters such as marriage, custody, inheritance and divorce, the Sharia Courts have judges that are trained proficiently in implementing Islamic Law and Jurisprudence. Overall, while Islamic Law is a founding law in the country s legislation, it has also proven numerously to have an impact on the Federal Courts of the UAE. With independent legal preferences, the UAE has centralized its legal structure to encompass all matter and emirates, with undeniably heavy influence by Sharia law mixed with

2 foreign concepts. Source:UAE Company Law and Practice How are the courts structured? The UAE s courts are divided into three different types. These are the Court of First Instance, Court of Appeals and Court of Cessation. Aimed at comprehensively covering all matters within the country and to resolve numerous forms of disputes, the jurisdiction of these courts cover Personal Status, Criminal, Commercial, Civil and Administrative circuits. The Court of First Instance, with the largest Court based in Abu Dhabi, offers numerous services such as Notary Services, expedite cases and handle matters such as personal status, which encompass inheritance, family guidance amongst other services. Moreover, the Court of Cessation, which is labeled and treated as the most supreme judicial body in Abu Dhabi, and the UAE in general, has the jurisdiction to look over and try cases that were contested by the Appeals Court. It also enjoys jurisdiction to try the accountability of the Executive Council members and other senior civil servants appointed pursuant to Emiri Decrees upon a proposal made by the Chairman of the Executive Council, the Ruler s approval and in accordance with the relevant law (ADJD, 2012). The UAE s courts are divided in order to systematically have a method to solve the various legal issues that could come up, with a specialized type of court and process providing each service.

3 Source: ADJD (2012). Retrieved from: What are the similarities and differences between the Dubai system and the other emirates? Dubai is one of the most modernized emirates in the UAE, with a high activity of foreign businesses and a big expat population living in it. The emirate, like the other emirates, is allowed to have its own judicial authority in its city. However, Dubai has a unique element within its system that the other emirates do not have: the Dubai International Financial Centre. Moreover, Dubai shares a common aspect with Ras Al Khaimah, which is not being part of the country s federal judicial system. This means that both emirates have devised their own form of a court system and is not bound by the Supreme Court. In the case of Dubai, the court structure is divided into three Courts that are the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation. The courts of the UAE (without the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai) and only on a federal degree, would have the Sharia court to take on appeals of criminal cases, which would normally be in the jurisdiction of the criminal courts. Source:

4 How is the federal legal system structured? The country s constitution has divided the legislative authority between the federal level and each emirate s local structure. As states in the constitution the federal legal system has exclusive jurisdiction over certain matters in which it legislates. However, implementing these iseach emirate s responsibility. While the federal legal system has the highest jurisdiction and is supreme over the country s legal system, each individual emirate has the right to implement its own legislation for issues that do not fall under the federal law. This means that shall the federal system not have any legislative power in a certain issue the emirate itself can exercise its own method of handling the matter. During the signing of the constitution that united the emirates, each emirate had the right to decide whether they would join the Federal judicial system or to formulate a system of their own. The emirates of Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah opted to keep their individual judicial structures, while the remaining five emirates signed the constitution by accepting the Federal Legal System to be encompassed in their territory. Overall, the Federal Legal System is structured as an option to handle interemirate matters as well as area specific issues shall an emirate accepts it to do so. In the case of the UAE, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah have chosen to maintain an independent approach rather than utilize the structure the country has offered during the signing of the constitution. Source:

5 Discuss the free zones legal system and the DIFC court With a country that aims to lure foreign businesses to operate in it, the UAE (Dubai in particular) has utilized the concept of free zone trade areas. Within these areas, certain legal structures were made that is different from the conventional laws regulating the rest of the country that makes it more attractive. One of the most notable additional in this system is for the foreign company to maintain complete ownership of the company, unlike the 49% ownership rule in the rest of the country. Moreover, there are no restrictions on the repatriation of capital and profits and freedom from currency restrictions and import duties (L&W, 2012). Companies that wish to operate under the free zone laws need to establish a physical presence within the boundaries of the free zone area, which is mostly for a guarantee of a sustainable operation on the long run. The most advanced free zone in the UAE is undoubtedly the Dubai International Financial Centre, established in 2004 with its own set of laws and courts to implement them. This is still part of the UAE criminal law but has its own legislative system for arbitration in regards to civil and commercial matters. The DIFC s laws are inspired by numerous practices that are proven to be the most efficient and successful types in the world, utilizing mainly from international financial and commercial laws. These laws include the Companies Law, Contract Law, Arbitration Law and Insolvency Law, among others, administered by the DIFC Authority (L&W, 2012). Source: Latham & Watkins. (2012). Retrieved from:

6 Discuss which court is used for copyright and trademark issues, and libel cases Copyrights and trademarks have expanded for owners in the UAE with the recent update of the Federal system in 2002 by passing law number seven Concerning Author s Rights and Neighboring Rights. This law gives copyright protection to a great variety of works. Similarly, Federal Law number thirty-seven, issuedin 1992, secures trademarks and trade names in the UAE. Furthermore, the UAE has a registry in regards to copyrights, patens and trademarks, which falls under the Economic Ministry. Falling under the Federal legal system s jurisdiction, copyrights and trademark issues fall under the Federal Court. However, with the bulk of companies set up in the case of Dubai are attracted to the free zones, and since the emirate does not follow the federal system, the DIFC courts are used to settle issues that qualify as copyright, trademarks and libel cases.