<p><strong>Introduction</strong><br /><br />A country&rsquo;s strength ties in with the  success of its legislative, judicial and executive authorities. The function of  the judiciary is to promote justice and equity through the proper application of  laws and regulations in order to give every man his due.<br /><br />The UAE leaders  have demonstrated their interest and commitment to the judiciary since the  founding of the UAE by setting up courts and public prosecution departments in  all the Emirates and facilitating the work of the judiciary in line with its  goals and mission. This has reinforced the UAE&rsquo;s positive image in the  international community as a country with a modern system of justice that is  fair and impartial regardless of gender, religion or  colour.<br /><br /><strong>Developments</strong><br /><br />The UAE judiciary has  undergone many changes over the years&nbsp; and is still being developed to  effectively administer justice, consistent with the government&rsquo;s general policy  towards its various sectors. Besides the establishment of courts and the  enactment of legislation, the introduction of electronic services has  facilitated many aspects of the litigation process with courts being able to  dispense justice quicker to the point that swift case resolution and service  quality have become the norm despite heavy caseloads. Among the developments  witnessed by the judiciary over the past few years is the diversity of cases.  Specialized courts and special committees have been established and assigned to  handle certain types of cases with unique features. These developments extend  beyond the work of the courts and encompass the public prosecution and its  services, particularly online services.<br /><br />The developments further  encompass the work of lawyers and legal consultants. There has been a growing  interest in regulating the legal profession in what seems to be a serious move  towards advancing the profession given the importance of this vital sector and  its influential role in the judicial  system.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>Challenges</strong><br /><br />While it is important to  discuss the developments witnessed by the judiciary, the question remains: Are  these achievements the pinnacle of our ambitions and aspirations or does the  work of the judiciary still face many challenges which need to be  overcome?<br /><br />Of course, there are many challenges to overcome in order to  prove the ability of the judiciary to keep pace with the developments and plans  the UAE is pursuing as an active member of the international  community.<br /><br />The judiciary is one of the most important factors in the  success of any country aspiring to attract investment and build successful  international relations. A fair and modern judicial system is needed to gain the  confidence of the international community. Hence, responsibility for the  development of the judiciary does not rest with any particular entity or  department in the UAE and requires collective action on the part of several  entities in order to reach the desired end. The efforts required to achieve that  end and overcome the challenges of the next phase include:<br /><br /><strong>The  Role of the Ministry of Justice:</strong><br /><br />This Ministry has complete  oversight of the courts and prosecution departments across the federation in  terms of recruiting judges and organising the work of the courts and prosecution  departments.&nbsp; In addition to the recruiting, the Ministry regulates and licenses  lawyers, experts and interpreters.. First and foremost the Ministry of Justice&rsquo;s  responsibility to develop the work of the judiciary are highlighted in the  following examples below:</p>
<ol>
<li>Propose and implement amendments to the rules of procedure for civil and  criminal litigation as would serve the interests of justice and the public good,  taking into account international best practices that do not conflict with the  public order of the UAE and are consistent with the rules of justice and  equity.</li>
<li>Operate a more practical online service where online services are used, not  only to register cases and file applications, but to create an online forum for  hearing witnesses and experts from outside the UAE within statutory guidelines  that are first codified then implemented over a transitional period in which  case documents can be filed online to help ease the paper load of the court and  prosecution system.</li>
<li>Hire judges who possess a high degree of legal acumen especially with regard  to commercial transactions which are peculiar to the UAE as a business hub  located at the crossroads of east and west. In addition to attracting the right  experts in procedural laws, we need to attract specialists in diverse fields  such as e-commerce, banking, real estate, maritime law and insurance law not to  mention educating and qualifying a new generation of UAE judges specialising in  the above fields.<br /><br />Deciding to have specialist courts is quite beneficial  but it would be even better if we could have a qualified judicial cadre with a  high level of specialisation in the above fields and other legal fields so that  the call for establishing specialist courts can come to fruition with practical  results.<br /><br />Likewise, with the public prosecution, there is a need to  qualify a new generation of public prosecutors to deal with modern crimes of an  exceptional nature. Criminal law is now a different discipline in terms of both  methodology and subject matter. Today, an innovative approach is necessary to  investigate the new forms of crime which are on the rise e.g. cyber crime,  corruption, fraud and deception in commercial transactions, human trafficking  and terrorism.</li>
<li>In terms of lawyers, experts and interpreters, the role of the ministry  should extend beyond granting and renewing licences to administering practical  and theoretical assessment tests for individuals who wish to become licenced  professionals. <br /><br />Drawing from my experience, I recall ten years ago, there  was a shortage of lawyers and the government had to steer law graduates towards  the profession in order to fill the void. With that trend reversed, the ministry  can now focus on quality rather than quantity. It is now time to prepare our  young people to take the lead in this profession by subjecting them to  theoretical and practical tests for a period of at least a year which would  culminate in their admission to practice before the trial courts, as is the  current practice. The immediate focus, moving forward, should be to implement a  minimum number of professional development courses and professional conferences  which lawyers need to attend each year in order to renew their licences  (continuing education) with the aim of enhancing their personal and professional  skills in keeping pace with developments in the larger legal industry and the  economy, thus developing both the profession and the skills of the  practitioner.<br /><br />Likewise, with experts, only the best experts and  interpreters should be licenced and accredited by the Ministry of Justice.  Assistance can be sought from international auditing and consulting firms in the  UAE to develop the work of experts in the fields of accounting, engineering  consulting, auditing and various other disciplines, using timelines and  practical programs designed to raise the standard of their work which is  important to most cases before the UAE courts</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>The Role of Universities and Judicial Institutes-  Recommendations<br /><br /></strong>University law schools in the UAE have a  responsibility to develop both the theoretical and practical knowledge of their  students as follows:&nbsp;</p>
<ol>
<li>By giving students the option of specialising in different aspects of the  law instead of requiring them to study general law. I propose that students be  required to undergo a study of general law over the first two years with the  option of studying a particular area of law in detail and depth. To specialise  and excel in a particular area of law is far better than having a general  overview of laws which the student may never encounter in his professional  career. This approach is not unusual and many professions, including medicine  and engineering, believe in specialisation and apply it from the time of  study.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Law students should be proficient in both the Arabic and English languages  for several reasons, including the nature of commercial transactions in the UAE  and the make up of its business community. In all cases, the student will need  English especially if he wishes to pursue postgraduate studies in the future.  Many modern laws relating to emerging transactions originate in foreign  jurisdictions which are ahead of us in terms of practical experience. Finally,  let us not forget that the UAE judicial community includes a court that operates  in English with a legal framework based on English law. Why not train the next  generation of lawyers and judges to make appearances and take up posts in such  courts? To that end, the student would first need to train at university level,  then complete his professional practice at the Institute of Judicial Studies  before taking up practice as a lawyer, judge or legal consultant.</li>
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<p><strong>The Role of Judicial Training Institutes and Legal  Institutions:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Training institutes play an instrumental and important role in the  qualification, education and training of members of the judiciary through a  continuous series of courses, conferences and seminars. However, training  institutes will need to play a more positive role through partnering with  international bodies and organisations to host an annual conference in the UAE  on various legal issues of concern to all segments of the legal and judicial  community so that members of the judiciary can keep abreast of the latest  international developments and practices in business transactions, commercial  and civil litigation, and criminal law. We propose that such an initiative be  conducted between the Federal Institute of Training &amp; Judicial Studies and  the Dubai Judicial Institute.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Training institutes should be given wide and comprehensive powers to develop  training courses and programs (continuing education) for members of the  judiciary including judges, public prosecutors, lawyers and even legal  consultants. The training would be made compulsory for promotion (of judges) and  for the renewal of licences (for lawyers and legal consultants). This suggestion  is to be measured not so much by the obstacles and difficulties that may come as  by our commitment to the advancement of the UAE legal community through  development and the pursuit of excellence.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>The Role of Law Firms:&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br /></strong>UAE based law firms and  multinational law firms have an important role to play within the UAE judicial  system as a key component which, apart from providing services to their clients,  can significantly contribute to the effectiveness and performance of the UAE  judiciary in the following ways:&nbsp;</p>
<ol>
<li>Facilitating the professional development of new lawyers and consultants  with theoretical and practical training with a view to qualifying interns and  acquainting them with the core values and basic principles of the  profession.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Partnering and cooperating with judicial training institutes by sending  lawyers and consultants to attend their conferences and seminars and selecting  experienced in-house lawyers and consultants to participate as speakers and  lecturers in such conferences and seminars.</li>
<li>Partnering and cooperating with judicial training institutes by hosting  in-house qualification and training workshops for lawyers which acquaint them  with methods and procedures for effectively managing law firms across their  administrative, financial, marketing and other functions.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Partnering and cooperating with universities through the development of  joint programs for visiting lecturers to speak at faculties of law on the  practical aspects of enforcing various procedural and special laws in order to  give students a solid understanding of how such laws might apply in  practice.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Arranging for lawyers and legal consultants to attend courses and  international seminars and conferences abroad and encouraging their  participation as speakers and delegates. In addition to the obvious marketing  benefits for the law firm, there is also an educational benefit for participants  who are kept abreast of the latest global developments in their field.</li>
</ol>
<p>In summary, this overview of the contribution various parties can make to the  development of the judiciary underscores our appreciation for the ongoing  efforts to improve the functioning of the judiciary. As mentioned earlier, we do  realise that there are still many challenges ahead if the industry is to reach  the desired objectives. Concerted efforts are needed in order to advance the UAE  legal community as a world-class centre of professional excellence.</p>