- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:24 05:43 12:19 15:46 18:51 20:09
Litigation in UAE courts has not been affected by Cabinet Law No.5 of 2002 which confined pleading before UAE courts to Emirati lawyers only.
That decision prevented expatriate lawyers from appearing before the courts of first instance from March 29, 2012.
But Emirati lawyers said they are sponsoring expatriate advocates working in the UAE.
With the exception of a few cases in the courts of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, there were no problems in the courts of Dubai and Sharjah, they added.
This came in a ‘Rouh Al Qanoon’ programme broadcast on Noor Dubai radio and presented by lawyer Eisa bin Haider. The programme discussed emiratisation of the pleader’s profession.
The 2002 decision authorised non-Emirati attorneys to be registered in the lawyers’ schedule to plead before the courts of first instance for two more years.
The implementation of this law was delayed for the past ten years because of extensions of the previous law which ended on March 29.
The previous law restricted foreign lawyers from the courts of appeal and cassation. The new law will prevent them from pleading before all courts in UAE.
Emarati Attorney Ibrahim Al Tamimi said he does not mind expatriate Arab lawyers appearing before UAE courts, provided Emirati lawyers get reciprocal treatment.
Al Tamimi cited the experiences of Kuwait and Bahrain which have localised the lawyer’s profession without grace period.
Lawyer Khalifa Al Maftoon said the initial ‘imbalance’ in the courts of Ajman when the new law was applied, has now been rectified.
Lawyer Aisha Al Tinaiji called for more training programmes for young lawyers organised by the Judicial Institute, particularly in the art of advocacy and writing legal memorandums.
Advocate Ali Musapah said localization of the profession could increase the number of Emirati lawyers practicing independently.
Ministry of Justice statistics indicate that the 555 Emirati lawyers make up 76.5 per cent of the total number lawyers practicing in the UAE.
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