Top lawyer calls for review of penal code

Eminent lawyer Dr Habib Al Mulla has called for a legislation to review of the UAE’s penal code to address issues like new types of crimes that emerge due to the multiplicity of nationalities living in the country.

Seeking adequate revisions in the country’s penal code, Al Mulla said while the country has made tremendous progress in all fields to become the second largest economy in the region, the legal provisions to handle newer crimes and issues must also keep pace. “The current penal codes can no longer cope with such a large number of issues, thus creating security and judicial challenges.”

“The gap between economic development and legislation (to handle these issues) is increasing by the day,” he told Emirates 24|7 in an exclusive interview.

What the country needs is a comprehensive review of all legislations in line with the fast-paced economic growth the UAE is witnessing, he said.

To better address the issue, he sought to enhance the use of technology and increase manpower in the judicial and security departments to handle the increasing volume of diverse issues and cases. This would help speed up dispensation of justice which is currently faster in Dubai than the federal courts.

Pointing out gaps in the existing legal framework, he called for changes in laws related to financial and economic crimes. Citing the possibility of misuse of existing laws, he said a client who realise that his cheques might bounce due to inadequate funds in the bank account can raise a complaint against his property developer. This leads to complications for the developer who may get a travel ban or even be arrested.

The global economic crisis that affected the country has affected the real estate sector by creating conflicts between developers, contractors, and investors.

The crisis has doubled the number of disputes being handled by the Dubai Arbitration Centre to 500.

The Centre saw the number of disputes doubling to 200 in 2009. Such increase in litigations has burdened the country’s judicial institutions, he said.

A normal complaint against a property developer may affect thousands of stakeholders like buyers and contractors.

He however hailed the banks that sorted out many debt disputes without seeking judicial intervention. The judiciary would have been more burdened had the banks referred all the payment disputes to the courts, he added.

The conduct of banks, he said, was contrary to what was seen during the 1980s crisis when the courts were overloaded with disputes with borrowers.

Corruption

On the issue of corruption, Al Mulla said it was not a major phenomenon as yet as corruption exists all over the world.

“The political leadership of the UAE has taken a decision to expose corruption and deal with great transparency and clarity in contrast to countries that deny such incidents,” he said lauding the way the issue is handled.

However, he said, the media need to play a larger role in throwing light on the issue of corruption.

Foreign lawyers

He said there was no reason for the UAE to make an exception to allow foreigners to argue cases in the courts. Most Arab states do not allow foreigners to argue cases, except in certain special cases. 

The issue of continuing expatriate Arab lawyers to appear in courts need to be handled carefully since some of them have been practicing for almost three decades.