Abu Dhabi Courts of Appeal begin to offer forms for proceedings in Arabic and English

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) has extended the scope of use of interactive bilingual claim forms for cases before the Courts of Appeal, allowing foreign litigants to easily familiarise themselves with court procedures and have access to case-related legal texts without language barriers.

The adoption of the set of Arabic and English appeal forms comes as the fourth phase of the bilingual claim forms project launched by the Judicial Department two years ago, said Youssef Saeed Al Abri, the ADJD undersecretary. The aim is to develop an advanced and world-class judicial system that supports the emirate of Abu Dhabi’s position as an attractive destination for business and investment, with the necessary corollary work in place to improve the efficiency and sustainability of judicial processes and the development of services.

ADJD, by providing the appeal forms in Arabic and English, confirms its leadership in the Arab region in the field of judicial development and simplification of judicial procedures for all members of society, so as to ensure ease of access to justice, Al Abri said.

English translations

The undersecretary also recalled that the bilingual claim forms project started, in its first phase, with the obligation to translate all case documents and attachments into English. This initiative is still unique in the region, and Al Abri explained that Abu Dhabi courts are the only judicial structures that allow foreign litigants to receive case documents in English as a condition for proceeding with lawsuit procedures.

As part of the second phase of the project, ADJD has provided these claim forms to courts of first instance in several other languages, including French, Russian, Hindi and Chinese, in order to eliminate any language barrier that may prevent foreign litigants from accessing court services. In the third phase, he added, claim forms in English were adopted for court proceedings at the case preparation level, as well as for alternative dispute resolution and for the process of appointing judicial experts.

Convenience in appealing decisions

In the fourth phase of the project, he said, the courts of appeal are being covered, by providing easy-to-use interactive forms that allow litigants to conveniently appeal decisions made by courts of first instance, through a set of approved forms that clarify the litigation process in easy steps.

Forms provided by the ADJD are characterised by many features in terms of form and content, and are presented in a sophisticated design with the adoption of infographics for the first time in a court form, in addition to the use of simple terminology and the presentation of a list of the most commonly used and common claims before the courts.