ABU DHABI 18 September 2018: Sultan bin Saeed Al Badi, UAE Minister of Justice, has said that the adoption by the UAE Cabinet of the ‘One-day Court’ aims to facilitate the provision of judicial services for members of the community, reinforce the concept of efficient justice, and strengthen the rule of law.
He stated that the court aims to:
- Decrease the processing time of civil cases to only 15 days from their registration.
- Concerning criminal cases, investigations will be carried out by Public Prosecutor’s Office and transferred to the Criminal Court to adjudicate misdemeanours, which will be completed in only one day
The new judicial system is part of the ministry’s desire to improve the UAE’s legislative and judicial environment and keep pace with the developments being witnessed in economic, scientific and social areas, to make citizens happy, he told Wam.
The minister stressed that the new system will shorten procedures and mechanisms at federal and local levels to only one day with regards to:
- Financial penalties in civil cases that do not exceed Dh100,000
- As well as the validity of all signature cases and cases related to wage and salary claims not exceeding Dh200,000.
This will have many positive effects, including:
- Reducing the cost of postponed cases and
- Achieving balance between the need to ensure that civil and criminal proceedings are settled fairly
Al Badi said that the new system was drafted after studying the best international practices and reviewing the latest legislations adopted by leading countries.
The aim is to reduce settlement periods from three months to two weeks, which will:
- Reduce the cost of lawsuits and court operations and
- Limit the number of lawsuits in courts, by giving additional powers to the Lawsuit Management Office
- Make customers happy and protect their rights and freedoms
- Strengthen the concept of effective justice
- Increase the confidence of the community and investors in the judicial system
- Support the country’s position in global competitiveness reports