UAE Courts and Law - Assignment Example

UAE Courts and Law Introduction The constitution of UAE is based on rule of law, equality, liberty, freedom of religion and speech, freedom of communication, freedom of association and council, freedom of movement and freedom to be elected for an office without any discrimination within the limitations of UAE. The judiciary of UAE is constitutionally independent that also includes the Federal Supreme Court. Ras- al Khaimah and Dubai are not the part of the Federal judiciary of UAE. There is a separate Islamic and Secular law for the criminal court, high court and civil courts. The court system of UAE comprises of civil and Sharia Courts. The testimony of a woman is considered half valuable as that of a man in criminal cases. There is an exclusive jurisdiction present in the courts of Sharia to hear the disputes of families, including cases such as the custody of a child, divorce, guardianship, inheritance and child abuse. Sharia courts that are present only at the federal level listen to the appeals of criminal cases such as certain criminal cases, robbery, driving while drunk and rape. Civil Law Case The Civil Case of UAE against the 17 bootleg killers The reconciliation committee sent this case to the court for both the parties failed to make the decision and reach a single conclusion regarding the claim that was filed by the murdered man’s brother named Misri Khan. He also claimed that he was seriously injured in the fight take took the life of his brother. Thamer Hassan, the lawyer of Misri Khan said in an interview that the judge has approved that their case should be transferred to the civil court. He further added that his client has suffered from serious injury and had nearly 70 percent of disability. The claim registered by Misri Khan had been reduced from DH 1million to DH 500, 000; although the day of the hearing has not yet been decided by the court. The lawyer of the 17 men also recorded his comments by saying that the court was sent to the federal court only because Misri Khan did not settled the claim out of the court. About DH 3.4 million were paid by the killers to the family of the murdered man in order to settle the claim. This money was also paid by the killer to the family of the murdered man and the victim (Misri Khan) in exchange of pardon and as blood money. The death sentences of the murderers have been computed by the court but the prosecutor has successfully registered an appeal against this verdict of the court. The murders have also been facing another suit that has been filed by Misri Khan, who claimed that he has been seriously injured during the brawl (Kannan). This is a civil case that was filed by Misri Khan who was the brother of the murdered man and the victim as well. The hearing of the case is still on pending but the killers of Misri Khan’s brother have been sentenced to death and they have also paid heavy compensation in exchange of pardon. This kind of case shows the supremacy of the civil rights in UAE. In this particular case the family of the victim not only received compensation but the killers were also sentenced to death. This highlights that how just is the Judiciary of UAE that works to provide justice to the citizens of their country. Shariat Law In UAE according to the Shariat Law a man has the right that he can discipline his children and wife as long as he does not leave any physical marks on their body. There was a case registered in October 2010, in which a man was found guilty for slapping and beating his wife and daughter. There were several bruise found on the hand and knee of the girl and severe injuries were present on the lower teeth and lip of the girl. The court claimed that the bruises and the injuries give evidence that the man has abused the Shariat rights of his wife and daughter. In the case of the man’s wife the law of Shariat has definitely been violated as the injuries resulted from the beating were severe whereas the age of the daughter was 23 and she was too old to be disciplined by her father. The man claimed that he did not have any intentions of beating his wife. He also added that he hit his wife mistakenly while he was trying to discipline his young daughter. The man was fined DH500 for abusing his wife and daughter. The decision was announced by the court of Sharjah but the man registered an appeal in the high court against the verdict of the case. Although in UAE the Shariah law gives permission to a man to discipline his wife and children but still the man must abide by the limitation imposed by this law. If a man uses his right to punish and discipline his wife or children than it will be difficult for him to be exempted from punishment. Majority of the religious scholars would agree to this that it is forbidden in almost every religion to insult or injure the respect or dignity of women. The secret of a healthy marriage is the mutual and constant love given by both the partners and also respecting the values of one another. When in a marriage any couple starts thinking that there is a need of beating than it is better to call for divorce. If the wife has done something wrong than it is better for the husband to report it to the police but in sensitive cases the husband usually finds better to discipline her wife himself. This is against the law of Shariat (United Arab Emirates - Islamic court: OK to beat wife if no marks left). Criminal Case The stains of crime can be seen on the historical pages of UAE and it is certain that they will also be the part of its future. In UAE both the federal as well as the state government has the authority of prosecuting the criminals. Below discussed is a criminal case of abduction. Mahmoud Al Mabhouh is considered to be a ruthless and cold-blooded kidnapper and also a murderer. He was also bank bandit and has been the part of some major bank robberies that took place in UAE. He died on July 19, 1938 in Doha. It was on the early morning in July 1938 when the court punished him by executing him in the electric chair for the murder and abduction of Atif Qamruddin Popere. On 19th October, 1937, it was quite evident that the abductor does not have any intention of releasing the victim and it was then that the UAE police started to undo the web woven around the crime committed by Mahmoud Al Mabhouh. Every resource that UAE police had was given the orders to take action and fetch evidences and find a solution to this notorious crime. According to the statement given by Mahmoud Al Mabhouh, he believed that he has planned a perfect crime. The UAE police searched for almost four months for the clue that would lead them to the person involved in this crime. This wide implication of the investigation crossed the territorial limits of UAE in order to find evidence. This was the most extensive manhunt ever, arranged by the UAE police. The most modern mean of crime detection was used for the case. After the struggle of 4 months the police succeeded in finding the abductor and murderer Mahmoud Al Mabhouh but they were not able to save Atif Qamruddin Popere. Mahmoud Al Mabhouh was sentenced to death. The mission failed for the UAE police as they were not able to save the victim by using all their advance means of investigation. However this influenced them to use more and more technologic in solving a case. It was then that the UAE police started adopting advance techniques to find clues left by the criminals. Working Hours The working hours prescribed for an adult employee is about 8 hours every day and forty hours in a week. If the person is associated with job such as hotels, trade, guards and cafeteria then per day working hours can be increased to 9 hours. The time consumed in travelling in a particular job is not included in the labor hours. Employees are not allowed to work for the continuous 5 hours without taking a tea or prayer break in between. The resting and lunch breaks are not included in the working hours. In factories, people work continuously in shift because of several economical and technical reasons and therefore the attendance is taken and recorded for almost each hour. According to the labor federal law No. 8 Article 68, if the nature of the job require then the employee is obliged to work for extra hours, it is the duty of the employer to give the extra wages to the employees. If the employee is working overtime between 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. then the pay of the employee will be equivalent to the pay he is getting on the regular basis. If the employee is also working on Fridays than he is allowed to take the weekends off and the employer is not allowed to ask him to work two consecutive Fridays and the wage rate of that employee will be calculated on hourly basis (UAE Labour Law Section 7 - Working hours). The extra working hours of an employee must not be more than 2 hours per day. The employer is allowed to take more work from the employees only if the company is facing any sort of loss. The employer can also ask the employee to work for extra hours if in case there is an accident at the workplace and there is a need to remove the trace of that accident. A drunken employee’s accident case was reported in UAE lately. According to this case Duncan Smith in the hours of his work had two bottles of beer, for he was working late and needed to charge himself up. After consuming two bottles of beer he still thought that he wouldn’t get incapacitated but on his way to the home he accidently dropped his phone in his car and when he looked down to find the phone, but by that time it was too late and his car hit a fire hydrant and he was dead. This case is was particularly the case of allowing employees to drink while they are doing over time. The companies in UAE do allow such acts, which in fact can be a risk to the life of employees and the image of the firm (Two Drunk Driving Cases). UAE Labor Laws People who are willing to work in UAE are obliged to obtain a contract of employment, which must be signed by the employee as well as the employer and attested by the Ministry of Labor in UAE. As defined by the labor law of UAE, employment contract is considered to be an agreement that can be for a limited or unlimited duration, which is concluded between the employer and the employee. According to this contract an employee pledges that he will work for the employer and abide by the laws of the organization. The employment contract can be in Arabic or in English. Date of starting the job, type of job, terms and condition, location salary and working time period must be mentioned in this contract. Under the employment laws, the UAE citizens have the first right of employment, whereas the expatriates are also allowed to apply for the job by the approval of the UAE ministry of Labor. The first employment preference is given to the citizens of UAE; however if there are no UAE national present than an employer can think of the second option. All the employment archive of an employee such as its contracts, statements, instructions and documents must be in Arabic or any other language chosen by the employer as well as the employee (Human Resources and Employment Law). If the employment contract of the employee is not attested by the government then the employee is allowed to provide some legal evidence and continue working with the firm. These evidences may include internal employment contracts, book of attendance or appointment letter. One copy of the employment contract stays with the Ministry of Labor as an evidence. Ministry of labor can refer to the copy of this contract in case of any dispute that may occur between the employer and the employee. The employee as well as the employer is also allowed to check the details present in the contract simply by entering the labor card. In UAE the employment relation is governed by the Federal Law number 8 of 1980. This law is based on the model of International Labor Organization and applies to the entire UAE. Most aspects of the employee labor relationship are controlled by the government. The government may take into concern aspects such as duration of work, leave period, termination, repatriation and medical benefits that are provided to the employees by the employer (Employment Contracts and Durations). According to CNN (Dubai), a Norwegian woman named Dalelv was sentenced to prison but later on it was reported that she has been a victim of sexual assault by one of his colleagues. After this he was given a pardon and was sent back to home. Dalelv is a Qatar based interior designer, who worked for Al Mana interiors. Dalelve, on her work trip to Dubai reported to the police that she has been raped by one of her colleagues but instead of arrested the man the police detained Dalelv and she was charged for having unlawful sex, for consuming illegal alcohol and recording a false statement. Later on the accusations on Dalelv were found to be false and she received a clean chit from the police. Dalelv is no longer working with the company as she was fired by the employer one month after she was detained. She was forced to stay in Dubai for a whole month, as the case was moving through the legal system. The statement issued by the representative of Al Mana interiors said that the company decided to end the employment relationship with Dalelv only when she disagreed to have a constructive conversation regarding the status of her employment. UAE has been the subject of criticism by many groups who were working to support the victims of the workplace sexual harassment cases. Human rights watch marked this case as “shameful”, saying that UAE must learn to handle such sensitive cases with care. It was not the single case of sexual harassment at work place but in the past there have been a number of cases recorded but the UAE police handled it in the same way as they handled the case of Dalelv. The government must make new policies to protect the rights of women at workplace. More strict punishments must be allocated for the people who commit such crime in order to provide a secure environment to the working women. Work Cited Employment Contracts and Durations. 2012. Web. 13 December 2013 . Human Resources and Employment Law. 2012. Web. 13 December 2013 . Kannan, Preeti. New UAE civil case against 17 bootleg killers to go to court. 2012. Web. 13 December 2013 . Two Drunk Driving Cases. 2012. 13 December 2013 . UAE Labour Law Section 7 - Working hours. 2013. Web. 13 December 2013 . United Arab Emirates - Islamic court: OK to beat wife if no marks left . 2010. 13 December 2013 . Read More