Federal Law Draft on National and Reserve Service
Excellency, the Rapporteur:
Article Three
“New articles numbered 42 bis, 54 bis, and 44 bis are added to Federal Law No. 11 of 1992, which read as follows:
Article 42 bis
A “Case Management Office” shall be established by a decision from the Minister of Justice or the head of the local judicial authority, each according to their jurisdiction, at the headquarters of the competent court, and the decision will define the office’s operating system.
The Case Management Office shall be composed of a head and a sufficient number of court employees, both legal and non-legal, under the supervision of the head of the competent court.
The Case Management Office is tasked with preparing and managing the case, including registering it, notifying parties, and exchanging memoranda and documents, as well as expert reports between the parties.
The competent judge may fine the delaying party as stipulated in Article 41 of this law.
If the case includes a formal objection by one of the parties, an urgent request, a request to add a party not originally addressed in the case, or if the defendant fails to appear after being duly notified, or if the proceedings are interrupted by law due to the death of one of the parties, loss of legal capacity, or the removal of the representative who was handling the case, the Case Management Office shall refer the case to the competent judge after setting a session to decide on any of these matters. The judge may then return the case to the Case Management Office to complete the necessary preparations for the case as appropriate.”
No amendments.
Excellency, the President:
Now, we move to the two articles that were postponed. Mr. Ahmed, please proceed.
Excellency / Ahmed Ali Al Zaabi:
The two articles are with the esteemed advisor, Your Excellency.
Excellency, the President:
Please proceed, esteemed advisor.
Dr. Hisham Mohammed Fawzi (Legal Advisor to the Council):
Regarding Article 3/152, we agreed to keep the committee’s opinion as it is, so the article remains unchanged: “The judgment shall be announced according to the procedures stipulated in Article 4 of this law,” and we delete the phrase “and the period shall run for those notified of the judgment.” Thank you.
Dr. Hisham Mohammed Fawzi (Legal Advisor to the Council):
In Article 155, the idea is that we have improved the method of notifying the case according to Article 4. We made the notification primarily to the residence, then to the place of residence, then to the place of work, and as a last resort to any human. If none of these are available or if delivery is refused or impossible, the notification shall be made via email, fax, or registered mail. If these methods are not available, other methods shall be used. Article 4 clarified the idea of posting or publishing the notification, posting at the last known residence, or publishing. This is the general rule in Article 4. The remaining issue in Article 155 is the notification of the appeal. We referred it and decided that the notification shall be according to Article 4 because if we improved the way of notifying the case, what’s the use if you get a judgment and cannot enforce it? Will you just frame it? You want to enforce a judgment for a million dirhams, so the successful handling by the committee and the government was excellent. The remaining issue is how to handle the problem of notifying the appeal. We referred it to Article 4: “The appeal shall be notified according to the procedures stipulated in Article 4 of this law.” This is the general appeal for all individuals, this is clause 1.
Clause 2: Let’s assume you notified the plaintiff or the appellant; they should have provided their address in the lawsuit or the appeal document. The government’s request, which we agreed upon and hope the council agrees, is that we first refer not to Article 4, which governs all cases except these, but to the address stated in the lawsuit or the appeal document. If not found, then refer to Article 4. This is the wording I will read, Your Excellency.
“2. If the respondent is the plaintiff or the appellant and has not specified an address in the initial lawsuit document or the appeal document, and this information is not clear from other documents in the case, the appeal shall be notified according to the procedures stipulated in Article 4 of this law.”
Therefore, Article 4 is a fallback, but the original reference is to the address. This is very good. Thank you.
Excellency, the President:
Thank you. Now, does the council and the minister agree on this amendment?
(Agreed)
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