Dubai sets up new court to resolve cases in ‘one-day’

A new initiative has been adopted in Dubai to ensure that minor court cases are resolved within one day.

The UAE’s Vice President, Prime Minister and Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved Law No. (1) of 2017 on Tuesday to facilitate “speedy rulings” for minor cases outside the court.

He also approved an initiative to provide ‘one-day-resolution of cases’, official news agency WAM reported.

The initiative will reduce the process of resolving minor cases to two steps that can be completed within 24 hours.

It aims to reduce waiting time at Dubai Court by 60 per cent, speed up the settlement of the case by 60 per cent and save Dhs40m in government expenses.

Cases such as refusal to pay and those involving low-value cheques, slander and simple assaults are expected to fall under the purview of the new law.

The Public Prosecution has been given the authority to impose fines and additional penalties on convicted individuals.

The law also grants the Attorney General the authority to identify the types of cases that fall under the purview of the initiative.

Sheikh Mohammed said: “The UAE is a state governed by institutions and the law, and has a distinctive judicial system based on the latest systems and procedures. The UAE’s independent judicial and security authorities seek to ensure that justice is delivered effectively and speedily without compromising the rule of law.

“We are sure that our judicial system will be able to provide highly efficient services in record time, which will help us enhance efficiencies in the resolution of minor cases, apart from reducing the workload on courts,” he said.

He added: “These initiatives are part of our efforts to improve the government system in Dubai. We always seek to find ways to enhance the efficiency, quality and speed with which government services are delivered, boost the happiness of members of society, and increase customer satisfaction for services.”

Sheikh Mohammed also ordered the implementation of the initiative to provide ‘one-day-resolution of cases’ across police stations starting from Wednesday.

“We reviewed the initial outcomes of the initiative to provide ‘one-day-resolution of cases’, and we saw that it delivered high time and cost efficiencies. We have ordered police stations across Dubai to implement this and further streamline the process so that it can be implemented in other sectors. We are keen to proactively seek ways of enhancing efficiencies in all sectors so that we can achieve high rankings in global competitiveness reports,” he said.

The initiative was initially implemented at Al Barsha and Al-Murraqabat Police stations and was later introduced in immigration and traffic prosecution. It saw “positive results” with 70 per cent of minor cases resolved using this system in 2016.

The move is part of Dubai Plan 2021’s objectives of improving the efficiency of the judicial system and fast-tracking the litigation process in Dubai.