The Police in the United Arab Emirates - Essay Example

? The Police in the United Arab Emirates and the Justice System Task: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) legal system has emergedamong the top in a survey assessing the integrity of legal systems globally. The study encompassed sixty-six nations that included America. Surprisingly, UAE’s legal system adherence to the law surpassed that of America. The above study demonstrated the progress that UAE has realized in enforcing the law. This write-up seeks to study the legal system in UAE. The study of their legal system will evaluate the structure of the system, the statutes followed and professionals in their courts. Additionally, this write-up also analyzes the independence and integrity of the legal system since the above virtues are crucial for any judiciary. The judiciary requires an effective police force in order to execute its mandate properly. Consequently, it is imperative to study the police force (Tammim and Price 25). The constitution of UAE is the ultimate law that grants authority to the courts of that nation. The laws in this country are largely civil and Sheria laws. The Egyptian laws primarily influenced the civil laws. UAE’s law has expanded rapidly due to the increase in Dubai’s commercial activities. The enormous commercial activities have resulted in legislation of laws providing a legal structure for commercial activities. The areas of business captured by the new laws include intellectual property, banking and labour. Enactment of the new laws was imperative and timely since it is crucial to provide legal guidance enabling elimination of malpractices. UAE is a coalition of seven emirates. Understanding the political structure of this nation will make understanding their judicial system easier. The overall judicial authority is the federal judicial authority that oversees the operations of the courts. However, certain emirates of the UAE are self-governing. Such emirates include Dubai that has maintained its own lawyers and judges. Dubai’s system has three different sections in its court system. First, there is the civil section that addresses all the civil suits. Secondly, there is the criminal section that addresses criminal suits. Lastly, there is the Sheria section that addresses family matters that relate to parties that profess the Islamic faith. These sections of the Dubai court have enabled the legal system in this part of UAE to address all the suits that arise. UAE is an Islamic country where the religion influences the law considerably. Additionally, many of the parties in the suits may profess the Islamic faith hence, demanding that the court follows the Sheria (Tammim and Price 31). Evidently, Dubai has an exceedingly elaborate judicial system. This emirate has property and labour courts. The property courts address all suits that pertain to possessions in Dubai. While the latter addresses suits, pertaining to workers and employers disputes. These courts are critical since Dubai has witnessed massive foreign and internal investment and in such cases, numerous suits have arisen pertaining to labour and property. Globally, judicial precedents are central in the determination of subsequent cases. As such, some judicial precedents have formed the pillar of the current laws. However, in Dubai the judges follow a different trend. Judicial precedents have minimal implications on other related cases hence; the judge is at will not to adhere to the precedents. This is unique since judicial precedents have massive implications on related rulings in most nations. In many courts globally, rulings in courts of higher jurisdiction bind junior courts. As such, a court with higher jurisdiction can overturn the ruling in a junior court. However, in Dubai, there are not binding but they provide guidance in legal practice (Tammim and Price 42). The above details reveal that Dubai has its own judicial system that does not operate under the Supreme Federal Court (SFC). The SFC evaluates the conduct of all the courts in UAE. However, some emirates are not subject to SFC’s authority. These include Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This independence relates to the agreement made during the formation of the federation. It is imperative to note some of the weaknesses of their legal system despite all the praise heaped on it. Some of the weaknesses of the system relate to the rulings made and the general structure of the system. First, the Congress report on this country points out that the legal system is selective. Hence, the influential personality in UAE can evade consequences of breaching the law while the ordinary citizens face its full force. The report highlights a case relating to a royal family member in Dubai who evaded imprisonment on dubious basis despite evidence incriminating him to a crime. This represents a key flaw since any justice system ought to treat all citizens equally. The court system in UAE lack juries. Juries have a critical role in determining the ruling and ensuring just outcomes. The absence of juries has led to bias in rulings. The global development has necessitated adjustments to the UAE laws. The adjustments to the UAE laws encompass the creation of free zones. The free zones include Dubai Media city, Jebel Ali Free Zone and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) (Tarbuck and Lester). These legal developments have made Dubai an exceedingly attractive destination since individuals do not encounter levies in these zones. Additionally, there are no regulations on capital flight. These are key legal incentives that have made UAE a business hub (Tarbuck and Lester). The constitution of UAE aims at guaranteeing the sovereignty of the judiciary. This means it bars any interference by individuals in authority. As such, the government does not interfere in the undertakings of the court. This ensures that judges’ verdict depends on the legal statutes and evidence. The courts conduct their proceeding in Arabic. Consequently, anybody seeking to practise in law should be proficient in Arabic. Additionally, the Justice ministry issues licences to lawyers seeking to practise. However, one must be a graduate of a Sheria College. The ministry has outlined that only graduates of Sheria colleges can practise in UAE courts hence, barring lawyers from other nations. Legal experts from other nations can only act as consultants in this field. Previously, the legal system appointed foreign judges. However, the current judges are largely UAE nationals. Ultimately, the commercial ambitions of UAE have influenced their legal system considerably. This has led to decrease in the influence of Sheria law in this Islamic state. Consequently, the civil courts have additional influence on most suits. Sheria applies in suits pertaining to family matters or where there are no civil statutes (Tarbuck and Lester). The agreement binding the seven emirates has considerable implications on the judiciary. Consequently, it provides that each emirate can constitute its own legal system or be part of the UAE legal system. Certain emirates such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai have their own legal systems that are fundamentally similar to the UAE system. This has allowed Dubai to make adjustments, which suit its ambition and population. This agreement has led to minimal disparities in the judiciaries of the emirates that constitute UAE. The department of justice has certain influence on the judiciary since it seeks to safeguard the judiciary, which is the pillar of social fairness. However, the department refrains from interfering with the verdicts of the courts (Tarbuck and Lester). The massive wealth that UAE has gained has enabled the nation to streamline its police and justice departments. The economic progress has necessitated advancement in law to provide an appropriate business environment. UAE’s administration has provided an exceedingly democratic environment that has allowed different emirates to have their own legal system. This unique development has allowed impartiality to prevail in a nation perceived to lag behind in enforcement of the law. However, UAE has outdone many western nations in adherence to its laws. Achievement of such progress in enforcement of justice implies that the legal system in that nation is progressive. The commercial expansion of Dubai has created a lucrative market for lawyers. However, such lawyers can only undertake limited activities in UAE’s judicial system. The above limitation emanates from the legal statutes governing the nation and the directive provided by the relevant. International lawyer can only undertake consultancy service since the nation only permits practise by Sheria graduates. The courts in this nation conduct their proceedings in Arabic. This is a key hurdle for foreigners wishing to tap into the legal fraternity of UAE. However, most business activities demand knowledge in English. This has allowed foreign lawyer to penetrate into the UAE legal sector (Tarbuck and Lester). The security agencies are an imperative constituent of any nation. Their mandate depends on the power vested on them by the law. Consequently, this write-up will analyse the role of the police force in enforcing justice in UAE. The Abu Dhabi police key goal is enforcing the law. Currently, the police force is under the authority of Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed who is also the Deputy prime minister and interior minister. This force implements the law in the entire Abu Dhabi. Their duties encompass criminal investigations, enforcing traffic rules, ensuring safety and peace among the population. The force cooperates with other security agencies internationally to curb crime. For the Abu Dhabi, police force to achieve such objectives it requires financing that will assist in procurement of the right equipment. The Abu Dhabi security force is financed appropriately hence; it has suitable equipment to fight crime. The Abu Dhabi police department employs about twelve thousand officers. This is a large security force relative to its small population (Tarbuck and Lester). The police department has various sections. These sections of the force include the rescue unit. This section responds to calamities that may arise. Such calamities include accidents, fire mishaps and other incidents such as flooding. The diplomatic police provide security to the foreign dignitaries that tour the nation on national duty. This is a crucial section since dignitaries may be the target of attacks due to ideological and political differences that characterize the current world. The criminal investigation section primarily focuses on unearthing criminal activity and providing evidence. Other sections include the traffic department, which fundamentally ensures safety on the roads. As illustrated above, the police force in this emirate is adequate to meet any security challenges that may emerge. This police force has integrated technology in the battle against crime. The advancements integrated include facial recognition applications that make identification of criminals easy. Additionally, the department uses forensic proof in suits (Tarbuck and Lester). The success of the police force has resulted from concerts efforts by the Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed. Once Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed became the commandant of the force, he established a strategic plan that sought to modernize the police force. The Sheikh sought to increase efficacy and efficiency of the police force. The execution of this strategic plan ranged between the year 2004 and 2008. The second plan seeks to inject individual development into the members of the force. This represents a shift in the strategic plan. Generally, the strategic intent is ensuring efficiency of the police force first, by providing modern equipment then developing the individual capabilities of the officers. Overall, the plans have succeeded in improving security in Abu Dhabi by first improving the security force. Notably, the plans have encompassed strategies to rehabilitate convicts. This is a fundamental obligation of the prison department. Rehabilitation of convicts complements their overall plan of reducing crime since the prisoner emerges as a reformed individual who can contribute to the society positively. This denotes a shift from the prior police force that only punished convicts (Abu Dhabi Police). Sheikh’s vision as the commandant of the Abu Dhabi police is to improve their contribution to their society. The improvement will involve the creation of a crime free society and a population that lives fearlessly. The Sheikh has absolute control of the police force as detailed above. The progress of the police force depends on his vision since it is entirely dependent on the vision that the Sheikh set once he assumed leadership. The success of modernization in the police force has resulted in a significant reduction in crime levels. As such, Abu Dhabi is among the safest destination globally. Despite the reduction in crime, there are few cases of criminal activities. These cases relate to the natives, but they have minor implications on the overall security of this emirate. The Abu Dhabi police department gives unusual attention to drug, internet and taxation crimes. These crimes require international cooperation since their entail cartels in many nations. Accordingly, there are units assembled to address criminals involved in the above wrongs. Creation of units to fight such crimes has resulted from the liaison between the government and the private sector. This alliance has ensured safeguarding of the information technology (IT) sector and adherence to tax regulations (Abu Dhabi Government). The progress of the Abu Dhabi security force is an indication of UAE’s ambition. The security forces have ensured that this emirate is among the safest destinations globally. The above success is a culmination of the modernization undertaken to enable the force fight modern crime. Additionally, the Sheikh has undertaken an imperative role to enhance the efficiency of t his security agencies (Abu Dhabi Government). In conclusion, UAE has a developed judiciary influenced by the Islamic laws. However, the expansion in trade has led to materialization of civic laws. This has meant that Sheria only applies to suits in which both parties profess the Islamic faith. Additionally, the Sheria law applies in suits pertaining to family matters. The seven states that comprise the UAE are free to establish their own judicial process. Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed’s vision has enabled the transformation of the Abu Dhabi police force. The transformation is via his numerous strategic plans. Consequently, this force has reduced criminal activity considerably. As such, Abu Dhabi is among the safest destination globally (Abu Dhabi Government). Works cited Abu Dhabi Government. Drug Prevention. April 16, 2012. Web. April 16, 2012. Abu Dhabi Government. IT Security. April 16, 2012. Web. April 16, 2012. Abu Dhabi Police. Abu Dhabi Police Employees Services. April 16, 2012. Web. April 16, 2012. Tammim, Essam and Price, Richards. United Arab Emirates Court of Cassation Judgments, 1998-2003. Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill Publishers, 2005. Print. Tarbuck, Andrew and Lester, Chris. Dubai’s legal system: creating a legal and regulatory framework for a modern society.2009. April 16, 2012. Read More