Thesis calls for establishment of constitutional court

Mosabah Al  Ketbi, member of the National Council, has called  for the establishment of a constitutional supreme court in UAE, to review passed laws.

This came in a thesis “Control of the constitutionality of laws in the UAE” submitted by Ketbi which earned her a master's degree in public law from the University of Sharjah.

In the thesis, Ketbi said the UAE currently lacked a high
constitutional court specialising in review of the constitutionality of laws. “We must create a high constitutional court and it should be given full authority and guarantees of independence.”

At present, constitutionality of laws comes under the jurisdiction of the Federal Supreme Court which works under the Ministry of Justice. This is inconsistent with the principle of separation of powers which requires
separation of the judiciary from the executive, the thesis said.

The thesis recommended  passing of new legislation for the judiciary, determining  the formation of the Supreme Constitutional Court, number of its members and terms of reference and its powers.

The thesis was discussed by a number of law professors at the University of Sharjah. The discussion was attended by Mansour bin Nassar, director of the Legal Diwan of the Ruler of Sharjah.