Find out how you can appeal against a court’s verdict in Dubai
To appeal a first-instance verdict, a request must be submitted within 15 days
Dubai: If you have a case in Dubai and if are not satisfied with the verdict, then you need to know how to appeal against the verdict, all the way to the Cassation Court.
Senior Prosecutor Mohammad Shareef Al Ali, from Dubai Public Prosecution, said that the timeframe is important for both the parties — defendant and victim. The defendant needs to appeal against a first-instance verdict within 15 days from the date of judgement.
“To appeal a first-instance verdict, the parties need to submit a request for an appeal within 15 days from the day of judgement. However, to appeal against an Appeals Court verdict, both parties need to submit an appeal to the Cassation Court within 30 days,” Prosecutor Al Ali said.
He said that the Court of Cassation is the higher judicial body with powers to try cases contested in the Court of Appeals. It supervises the interpretation of laws and their proper enforcement and all decisions of Court of Cassation are final and binding and are not subject to appeal.
According to Dubai Public Prosecution, 4,159 cases were appealed against from January 2020 and until the end of September 2020. “Prosecution appealed against 1,108 cases while 3,141 cases were appealed against the parties,” he added.
Prosecution said that 893 cases were appealed against in Court of Cassation during the same period of time.
“The numbers show how Dubai Public Prosecution is keen on raising the quality of judicial rulings and increase the efficiency of the case management system to ensure integrity, quality and impartiality at the courts,” Prosecutor Al Ali said. “The clarity and accuracy of judicial rulings and investigations are in line with Dubai’s strategic plan and visions of Dubai’s leaders.”
The defendant or his lawyer needs to deposit Dh500 in Misdemeanour and Dh200 in case of violations to have the appeal accepted for hearing. For lodging an appeal with the Court of Cassation, appealing in Cassation, the lawyer needs to sign on a document stating the reasons behind the appeal.
“At the Court of Cassation, litigants may appeal only on points of law, such as violation of law or on erroneous application or interpretation of law, or reasons behind the appeal — such as those citing innocence or seeking reduction in punishment or appealing against deportation orders,” Prosecutor Al Ali further explained.
If the defendant failed to execute the first-instance judgement, then he must attend the first hearing for appeal. “If prosecution doesn’t appeal against a verdict, but if the defendant appeals, then the Appeals Court and the Court of Cassation cannot increase the verdict against the defendant,” Al Ali further said.