Adviser Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates, issued Regulations Nos. 0182, 0183, 0184, 0185 of 2022 regarding the definition of crimes to which the provisions of the Criminal Order, including the four Criminal Laws, apply, within the framework of strategic directions of the prosecutor’s office to adopt a disciplinary approach to the termination of a criminal case and to provide leading innovative judicial, judicial and legal services that keep pace with global trends towards consensual punishments, meet the needs of society and strengthen the rule of law.
In accordance with decisions taken in consultation with members of the public in the local judiciary, the offenses to which the provisions of criminal procedure apply are defined in Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 promulgating the Law on Crimes and Punishments, the Law on Road Traffic and its amendments and Federal Decree No. 29 of 2021 on the entry and stay of aliens, in addition to Federal Decree-Law No. 30 of 2021 on the fight against drugs and psychotropic substances.
The tables appended to the procurator’s orders included (41) the types of offenses for which members of the procurator’s office may issue criminal orders imposing the fine indicated in the tables annexed to these orders, provided that it does not exceed half the maximum amount of the fine established by law.
It is worth noting that the punishment imposed by a criminal order is not considered a judicial precedent requiring rehabilitation.
In this regard, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office published through its social media accounts an informational film titled “The Opportunity”, in which it noted the new punitive policy adopted by the UAE lawmaker in accordance with the new drug law, taking into account that some users are patients and victims of drug traffickers, and the tendency to give the abuser the opportunity to change for the better and start positively participating in life again in a way that reflects on their families and society, so prosecutors are allowed to issue a criminal order instead of imprisonment in accordance with control measures established by the decision of the Prosecutor General, with a periodical examination for the presence of narcotic substances for a period of two years. Based on the prosecutor’s order, the desire to support anti-drug efforts.
The tables can be viewed at the following link –
