Dubai: The Ministry of Justice has issued a new regulation to ease the work of lawyers in the UAE and to obligate law firms to use more Emiratis as intern lawyers.
The new executive regulation aims at regulating legal practice and enhance professional levels of lawyers and also to benefit their clients in line with the international standards.
Minister of Justice Sultan Bin Saeed Al Badi, told journalists in Dubai recently that the new regulation is a step forward to advance the UAE’s global ranking in the Rule of Law Index.
“The UAE is currently ranked 33rd in the Rule of Law Index by the World Justice Project. With the introduction of the new regulation and more work, we hope to advance in the ranking. We hope that the Emirati lawyers will be a global reference in the future,” Al Badi said.
Study conducted
The UAE Ministry of Justice in cooperation with The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL), has conducted a study to know how the lawyers in the UAE evaluate their profession and the country’s justice system.
The study showed that lawyers are positive about the accessibility and quality of the court proceedings in the UAE and about the available legal information.
However, 73 per cent of lawyers called for a more efficient support system and 60 per cent of them agreed that more steps should be taken to increase the lawyers” qualifications and skills.
“The ministry also organises training for lawyers whenever it is required. With 800 lawyers graduating every year in the UAE, we tried to convince
law firms in the UAE to hire more Emirati interns to attend the court hearings as assistants of the senior lawyers,” Al Badi added.
The ministry has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi University for providing training to lawyers.
Field training
The minister said the intern lawyers will not only get a chance to get field training to hone their skills, they will also know how to protect their clients’ right.
He said the ministry has established a joint committee with lawyers and representatives from the judicial authority in the UAE. This committee will hold meetings to develop the lawyers’ profession in the country and find solutions to challenges being faced by them.
He said as the Ministry of Justice regulates the law practice in the UAE, the meetings will be an open channel between lawyers and judicial authorities.
Interaction
Al Badi said the study conducted by the ministry showed that 99 per cent of the lawyers were of the view that interaction between the legal profession and the judiciary needed to be more effective, transparent and collaborative.
He said that the study found that 25 per cent of the lawyers were satisfied with the functioning of the courts in the UAE but speed, costs and adoption of technology are some issues which needed to be addressed.
The study recommended to continuously integrate technologies to improve effectiveness of court proceedings and ensure access to justice.
According to latest statistic of the Ministry of Justice, there are 1,034 lawyers registered in the UAE out of which 1,015 are Emiratis including 299 female lawyers.
Al Badi said that the ministry provides many smart services for lawyers and it has upgraded its systems of case management and online payment of fees.
Number of Emirati lawyers registered in the country: 1,015
Male Emirati lawyers: 716
Female Emirati lawyers: 299
