Justice System in the UAE - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages ” (Judicial System in Abu Dhabi par 13) on the other hand, Ras Al Khaimah does not have a Court of Cassation. The major source of law is legislation. The UAE mainly follows the system of civil law, inspired by the French and Roman legal systems as well as the Egyptian law of civil codes. The court system is generally inquisitorial, unbound by precedent and comprised of specifically skilled judicial officers. Despite being a federation of United Emirates, the judicial scheme is not all-inclusive or wide ranging, as some of the emirates have their own self-governing judicial systems. In spite of being an Islamic nation, the application of Shari’ah law is controlled and contractual as well as commercial transactions are controlled by written commercial laws and codes that can be relied upon by the needs of western businesses. The Justice system: The Justice system in the UAE is mainly based on the Constitution of the UAE? 1971 (Constitution). The federation has control over all affairs assigned to it in the Constitution. Each individual member of United Emirates has power over their own territories in all matters? rather than just the exclusive authority of the federation, as set out in the UAE Constitution. Additionally, every Emirate has a hereditary sovereign who exercises substantial control over his own Emirate. The 7 rulers, as members or associates of the Supreme Council, jointly exercise control over the UAE. The Sharia civil law systems are the chief sources of legislation (Constitution). Civil law system: The UAE functions in civil law statutes and such systems are the primary source of law. Decisions of the high courts in the UAE are not based on any decisions made by low courts. “In litigation matters, the pleadings submitted by the parties - plaints or written statements - play a determining role as the courts generally decide cases based upon them” (Latheef par 4). Every case is discussed and a decision is reached based on its own facts and merits. Every proceeding in the court is in Arabic. All Non-Arabic documents filed in the court by appellants are to be converted into Arabic by a translator licensed by the Ministry of Justice. The Sharia: Generally, the Sharia is a body of ethical, religious and legal rules. The fundamental and basic roots of Islamic Sharia are: The Koran? which is a compilation of divinely ordained policies. The Sunna that includes the teachings of Prophet (Hadith), as well as an account of his proceeding and actions. Sharia is established on well-known concepts of equity and justice, and its practical effect in commercial matters is frequently the same as would be attained in Western law. “To say that the Shari’a should govern judicial decisions is to refer to a process rather than to specify a result. Shari’a itself includes different schools of thought on a number of legal issues. However, it is founded on familiar concepts of justice and equity, and the practical result in commercial matters is often, though not always, the same as would be reached under Western jurisprudence” (United Arab Emirates par 257). For example, Sharia strives to provide effect to the party’s intention in matters of contract. On the other hand, the intention of the party may be in a different way construed by jurists in the two systems. For instance, one researcher has argued convincingly that in many cases? traditional Sharia would let go the parties ...Download file to see next pagesRead More