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Abu Dhabi: The Federal Supreme Court (FSC) is the highest court in the land that upholds, interprets and instigates the law.
In a nation where foreigners make up 80 per cent of the population, the challenge to the court is how to deliver justice to all equally.
With 24 judges, including five Emiratis, from throughout the Arab world, the FSC handles about 25 cases per day.
In an exclusive interview the chief of the federal Supreme Court, Dr Abdul Wahab Al Abdoul, told Gulf News of the challenges and direction of the court.
After graduating at the top of his class from university in 1974, Dr Abdul Wahab studied law at the prestigious Alexandria Faculty of Law.
In 1978 he returned to Abu Dhabi and has been here since, working in the judicial system.
How does the diversity of the UAE with so many different cultures that bring their own lifestyles here pose a challenge to the Federal Court?
Our job as the FSC is to stick to the Constitution. It makes no difference if the person is Arab, non-Arab, Muslim or non-Muslim because at the end, this is a court that enforces the law for all.
However diverse the UAE becomes in its nationalities, religions and philosophies, I am certain that it will not shake the foundation of the justice system. We have been charged by the Constitution to maintain the authoritative judicial say on the law.
What is your vision for the federal justice system and the court?
We have a mission here that is based on three words: Justice, equally and proficiently. My vision stems from that mission. These are a huge responsibility that is bestowed upon us to deliver justice, but not only that.
We are often put into situations where we have to look at more than just the word of the law, but the spirit and nature of the law. My hope is that we will maintain justice and that the world will continue to see us as a just country.
How does the issue of Sharia law relate to expatriate communities living here?
It is set in our Constitution that Arabic is our language, Islam is our religion and that Sharia is a source of justice. The lawmakers refer to all of these values to make the laws. Much of our legal system in the UAE comes from Sharia law.
That being said, there are certain Sharia laws and certain rulings that do not apply to non-Muslims. This court is of the view that Sharia is strictly for Muslims. As I said earlier, we have not had any trouble upholding our laws despite the unbalanced demographics.
Does the federal court create laws or simply uphold the existing ones?
The constitution mandates the FSC with defining the law by passing judgements. In cases where, lower courts are mistaken or misinterpreted the law, it is our duty to review the appeal and in some cases overrule the lower courts.
We do not create laws out of abstract, of course, but we are also mandated with translating the law where vagueness prevails. Sometimes that may look like we are creating new laws, but all we are doing is defining the law.
After the Presidents of Supreme Courts conference in April, what has changed?
As you know this was a historic conference that brought 32 nations, including many European and United States courts, for the first time in the UAE.
The biggest achievement is that it created a channel of communication between us and other supreme courts that wasn't there to begin with.
I can honestly say that we are in daily contact and collaboration through phones and e-mails with these courts exchanging all kinds of information that allows us to do our job better.
This relationship existed of course with the other Arab countries, but it was never there before with Western and European courts. Also, this was a good opportunity for us to share with our counterparts what Sharia law actually is.
Court: Unique system
The Federal Supreme Court (FSC) gains its authority from the 1971 Constitution, which asserted the independence of the judicial system. It operates under the Ministry of Justice, while maintaining a separate entity. The judges of the FSC are appointed by the Supreme Council of Rulers.
Beyond dealing with appeal cases and federal crimes, the FSC also handles inter-Emirates legal affairs. It is therefore given the mandate to actually challenge rules that do not adhere to the constitution - even if that means contradictory rules within the Constitution its self.
The uniqueness of the UAE judicial system is what sets it apart from most Arab countries. It is one of the few Arab nations that intertwine a judicial system based on civil and Islamic Sharia law. All of these challenges are magnified in the face of unbalanced demographics.
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