Justice and Policing in the United Arab Emirates - Essay Example

Justice and Policing in the United Arab Emirates Introduction The United Arab Emirates which was formed in 1971is located in south west Asia. It comprises of seven emirates which are autonomous, it has population of 3.8 million. The largest emirate is Abu Dhabi which covers 80% of the area. Islam is the main religion for the emirates citizens (Abed, 2001). The seven emirates rulers constitute the federal supreme council which is the highest legislative and executive body. The council is charged with the responsibility of selecting a president and a vice president from its membership, the president then appoints the prime minister and cabinet. The citizens do not vote, but may express their concerns to their leaders through traditional consultative mechanisms (Kemshall 57). Policing in the United Arab Emirates The police department aims at creating an effective police force, safeguarding the achievements and security of the United Arab Emirates. This in turn is expected to help the society gain confidence with the police force. The high caliber police force is obtained as a result of vigorous and relevant training they undergo at the police college. (Schmalleger 67). The responsibility for public security, law and order is under the Ministry of Interior. Since 1990 the Ministry has controlled about 2500 members of the police force. The national police have the responsibility for maintaining public order, investigating and preventing crimes. Police selected for officer rank attend a three year program at the police academy. The Criminal Investigation Department which is under the Ministry of Interior is charged with the responsibility of investigating crime, was replaced by The General Administration of Public Security in 1991. There is a secret police office that deals with interception and arrest of terrorists; it is independent from the Ministry of Interior. The Army is not involved in the internal operations of the United Arab Emirates. They are only called upon incase of any serious occurrences that may cause unrest (Kemshall 46). It is illegal for a detainee to be held for over four days without being charged in a court. Generally the police department is efficient and effective. The employees of the police force are subjected to opportunities of career development. This is meant to help them improve on how they deal with the citizens. (Schmalleger 45). The police are currently using the patrols that will help in ensuring that there is prevention of crime. There are measures that have been instituted to ensure that the conditions that lead to crime are combated. The police force is further subdivided into different departments that make work easier for the citizens. In case of an issue a person just goes to the relevant department so as to be sorted. Thus reducing time spent as a person tries to find the right police officer to help them. For example, a person will contact the Department of social support to report an issue of domestic violence. While in case of a disaster or emergency situation a person is expected to report to the department of Operations. This will ensure there is immediate response, which results to efficiency of policing in the United Arab Emirates (Easton 56). Justice in the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates is known to have liberal laws compared to other Arabic states. This is evident due to the fact that, women can drive and they allow people to take alcohol. In most Arab countries it is a criminal offence to drink alcohol and women are so inferior that they cannot drive. There is a dual court system, Sharia or Islamic laws and the civil law, this is also not found in other Arab countries (Easton 33). The Islamic courts take charge of matters relating to: family issues. The sharia law only applies when both the plaintiff and the defendant are Muslims. The civil courts are responsible for matters related to commercial, criminal or civil. The civil courts can cater for cases that involve the plaintiff and the defendant, both being Muslims, non-Muslims or a Muslim and a non-Muslim. Sharia is applied first and, if evidence required by Sharia is found insufficient, the Penal Code is used (Easton, 2009).There is an extralegal requirement for the approval of the release of every prisoner whose sentence has been completed. Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah do not conform to the federal court system that is subjected to all the other members of the United Arab Emirates. The Supreme Court that was established and the federal council had well laid structures that define their relationship. This clearly made the Supreme Court to be the final court since all decisions made by the Federal Council have to be approved by the Supreme Court for them to be the final decision (Abed, 48). The Supreme Council is made up of the Emirates’ rulers or their representatives, makes it the supreme authority, which holds the ultimate legislative and executive powers. This has made the supreme council to reflect the independent status of each Emirate. It tends to be a form of collective leadership (Easton 26). The president and vice-president of the Supreme council are elected for a five-year term. The Vice-presidents role is to take charge in the absence of the president. The council of ministers is officially nominated by the prime minister. The ministers are responsible for implementing the policy laid down by the supreme council (Kemshall 45). The Federal National Council is made up of 40 members. They are appointed by their leader, who has authority to appoint and also consider whether to renew their contracts. Though the members of the federation are appointed by their respective emirates, they are expected to represent the United Arab Emirates people as a whole (Abed 35). The federal National Council is meant to be a consultation body. It is charged with the responsibility of give recommendations and observations that the council of ministers refers to. In general, the justice system of the UAE is fair to the nationals in so far as it is based on the sharia laws. The police force is also remarkably equipped to deal with crimes. With bail being an option for those detained, the justice system of the UAE is rated relatively highly by the US state department. Works cited Abed Ibrahim and Hellyer Peter. United Arab Emirates- a new perspective. Trident Press Limited. 2001. Dempsey John and Forst Linda. Introduction to Policing. Delmar, Cengage Learning. 2010. Easton, Marleen. Readings on Criminal Justice, Criminal Law and Policing. Maklu Publishers. 2009. Kemshall, Hazel. Understanding Risks in Criminal Justice. Mc-Graw Hill. 2003. Schmalleger, Frank. Criminal justice: A Brief Introduction. Prentice Hall. 2005. Read More