Ince & Co - Justice overruled in the UAE?

Sept. 13, 2010 - PRLog -- The Federal Supreme Court of the UAE has ruled in a recent case that the Ministry of Justice has the power to overturn any Court ruling which it deems to be “improper”.
http://www.incelaw.com/news-and-events/News/justice-overruled-in-the-uae

According to Justice Amin Ahmed al Hajeri of the Federal Supreme Court, the Attorney General has the power to overturn any final Court decision “if he considers that the verdict is based on a mistake in implementing or interpreting the law”. He may also do this upon written request from the Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs. Whilst the Attorney General does not have the power to issue a verdict of his own, this ruling effectively gives him (and the Ministry of Justice as a whole) the power of veto or the ability to insist that any case is retried.

In the June 2010 ruling in question, an Al Ain businessman sued two of his partners whom he claimed owed him money. The Court of First Instance apparently ruled that both partners were liable but, following an appeal, the Court of Appeal instead ruled that only one partner had to pay. The partner who was ordered to pay appealed to the Federal Supreme Court who refused to hear his case. He then applied to the Ministry of Justice for a re-trial. The Ministry agreed and wrote to the Supreme Court requesting a new trial on the basis that the verdict of the Court of Appeal had been based on an incorrect assumption. The Supreme Court granted the request for a re-trial.

It is of some concern that the Ministry of Justice was able to intervene in this way in the due process of the Courts and Mohammed Abdullah Al Zaabi of the Federal National Council has already criticised the Ministry of Justice for interference in this respect. The Federal National Council (“FNC”) was established in 2005 for the purpose of assisting the government in the implementation of its goal to enhance political toleration and develop a legislative process in a tolerant and consistent environment. The FNC’s principal power therefore lies in its right to question government Ministers about their actions.

Since the UAE does not really operate a system of precedent with regard to Court judgments, there is a question mark as to how this ruling will affect future cases, if at all. Nevertheless, it is of concern and raises further uncertainty in an already uncertain system. We will monitor the situation and report on this again should there be further developments.


bob.deering@incelaw.com
http://www.incelaw.com/ourpeople/Bob-Deering
alexandra.bailey@incelaw.com
http://www.incelaw.com/ourpeople/alexandra-bailey

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Ince & Co is an international commercial law firm with offices in Dubai, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Le Havre, London, Paris, Piraeus, Shanghai and Singapore.
Our clients range from major international corporations to smaller companies, sole traders and private individuals. We practise English, French, German, Greek and Hong Kong law and advise on Singapore law in arbitrations.

We have seven core business areas: aviation, business & finance, commercial disputes, energy & offshore, insurance & reinsurance, international trade and shipping.