Ask Gulf News: Can an employer appeal a labour court ruling under Dh50,000?

Question: I worked for a company as a driver for five years. I filed a case against the company requesting rights amounting to Dh45,000. The court decided that the company shall pay me Dh40,000. The company appealed the decision, and the court decided that they shall pay me Dh35,000. My questions: Is the company liable to appeal the First Instance Court judgment? What should I do to challenge the appeal decision?

Answer: The company is not liable to appeal the First Instance Court judgment because the value of your case is less than Dh50,000, which is the quorum required to file an appeal according to Article (29) of the Civil Procedures Law No. 42 of 2022, which mentions that “Judgments rendered by the First Instance Tribunal shall be conclusive if the value of the case does not exceed [Dh50,000] fifty thousand dirhams.”

To challenge the appeal decision, you may file an application to the Attorney General, requesting him to challenge the decision and providing your reasons for this request. Article (176) of the same law states that:

“The Attorney General may challenge by way of cassation, either on his own or based on a request of the Minister of Justice or the Head of the Local Judicial Body, as the case may be, accompanied by the grounds for challenge, the final judgments, regardless of the issuing courts thereof, in the event that the judgment is based on the violation, misapplication, or incorrect application of the law in the following instances:
a. Judgments which the law does not permit the litigants to challenge;
b. Judgments in respect of which the litigants have missed the time limit for challenge, have waived the challenge, or have filed a challenge that is dismissed by the court as inadmissible.
The Attorney General shall file the challenge based on a statement of challenge to be signed by him, within one year following the date on which the judgment is rendered.”