How to File Civil Cases in the UAE?

You can file a civil case in UAE against someone who has a non-criminal lawsuit and private matters with you. You can file a civil case for non-criminal, personal litigation that generally involves private property rights, such as those guaranteed by the Constitution or federal or state law.

To properly launch a civil case in the UAE, the defendant or their legal counsel must submit a “statement of claim” and supporting papers to the court’s Case Management Office.

What is Civil Case?

Simply lawsuits in which individual persons or businesses sue one other in court are civil cases. It isn’t about violating the laws in a civil matter.

A civil case includes information on how to handle a case filling, mediation, appointing attorneys/lawyers, presenting in court, concluding a civil action, appealing a judgment, and more. You can file a civil case in Dubai for private matters.

In a civil case, the complainant files a lawsuit against the defendant, who is another person or corporation. A civil case typically involves the violation of legal obligation due to the complainant, a breach of contract, or a claim that the defendant has caused the complainant any hurt or damage.

Types of Civil Cases in the UAE

The types of civil cases in the UAE include

• Family Law Disputes
• Non-criminal cases
• Private property litigations
• Fraud Cases
• Contract Disputes
• Equitable Claims

How to file a civil case in UAE?

In the United Arab Emirates, Federal Law No. 11 of 1992, as revised by Law No. 10 of 2014. These laws govern the manner, methods, and authority for civil, commercial, and personal status cases. It specifies the procedure for appealing and carrying out judgments.

You can follow the below-elaborated steps if you want to file a civil case against someone:

1. Consult with a Lawyer

It’s vital to remember that a criminal judgment is a penal decision, which means that the punishment is either jail, a fine, or both. On the other hand, the complainant has the right to bring a civil case against the accused to seek compensation or damages based on the criminal decision. If he had consulted with a legal adviser at the outset, he would have known about this. As a result, it is always preferable to get legal counsel from a lawyer. Ignorance of the law is not an acceptable justification.

• Determine the authority of a court

A court’s authority refers to the judicial power limit or the amount a court of law can exercise jurisdiction over claims, cases, appeals, and other actions.

• Mediation

Mediation is a process in law. In mediation, the parties address their disagreements with the help of a skilled neutral third person(s) who helps them reach an agreement. It could be a casual gathering of the parties or a formal settlement conference before launching a civil action.

• File a case

If the committees cannot reach an agreement, you may seek a “No objection” letter and file a lawsuit with the Court of First Instance.

• Get the case number and date of hearing.

Because you’ll need to produce supporting papers and a statement of claim to the Case Management Office, you should hire a lawyer to file the case.

• Calculating the case’s worth

On the day of the trial, the estimation of the worth of a case is done. The value should be based on the parties’ most recent request, and it should include indemnities, income, and expenditures due on the day of trial, among other things.

• Response of Dependent

The defendant should submit a defense statement (an appeal) within three days to the Case Management Office and copies of his papers with his signature before the hearing date of the case. The time limit for appearing in court is usually 10 days. However, it can be shortened to 3 days or even 24 hours if required.

• Hearing of the Court

The parties or their legal representatives must appear before the court on the day set for the civil case hearing. The hearing will take place in the first session, and if the complainant or defendant presents a document in this session that he might have supplied when filing the case, the court may accept it if it does not cause the proceedings to be adjourned.

• Case Ending

Civil case judgment can be dismissed if both parties agree not to pursue the matter and obtain judicial approval. The Civil Procedural Law Article 101 states that such a stoppage might last six months from the court’s decision. During this time, neither party is permitted to accelerate the case without the approval of the other.

1. Judgment

Ultimately, the judge issues a decision in court, which includes the guilty party’s judgment, the overall cost of the case, and how the fee for the civil case will be paid.

1. Appeal for review of a Judgement

Court of First Instance judgments can be appealed to the Court of Appeal within 30 days after the review date; however, the appeal is within 10 days in urgent situations. The attraction might be based on either factual or legal grounds or both. Litigants may also present additional evidence or request more witnesses.

1. Implementation of judgment

The judgment is carried out under the supervision of the Court of First Instance’s execution judge, who execution representatives aid.

Civil case court fees

The civil case court fees in UAE depend upon the city where you are filing a case. Although according to approximations, the expert costs for uncomplicated patients range from AED 5,000 up to AED 90,000 for complicated building disputes. If the civil case losing party is ordered to pay the expert fees in addition to the entire amount of the judgment, the expert costs are refundable in the UAE.

For example, in Dubai, the civil case cost will be AED 40,000/-

Minimum price to file a civil case in UAE

The minimum price to file a civil case in UAE will also vary in the city. As the city changes, its laws also get slightly different.