Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) saw a significant jump in registration of cases last year as compared to 2018 due to enhanced measures to make courts accessible for all residents and nationals, an official said.
The Annual Achievement Report of 2019 of the ADJD, which was announced during a media briefing, indicated a visible increase in the registration of cases last year over 2018.
According to the court records, as many as 284,909 cases were handled last year, up from 243,776 cases in 2018. These cases are from First Instance, Appeals and Cassation courts, as well Family Guidance, Public Notary and marriage registrations.
Speaking to Gulf News, Awad Mohammad Al Humairy, Director of Planning and Performance Department in Department of Strategic Planning of the department, said, “Easy procedures to approach courts and claim the rights, digital platforms, online registration of cases helped people to reach to the court to register their cases.”
“Nowadays, court provides free assistance to many who can’t afford court fees and they can fight for their rights as affluent people do. So a variety of measures and increasing demography of expatriates community in the emirate contributed to the rising number of court cases,” he said.
The notary received 117,770 cases last year, while it handled 109,560 cases in 2018; documentations stood at 89,996 last year, which was 65,706 in 2018, while marriage registration cases in 2019 were 5,506, up from 5,467 cases in 2018, the court data showed.
“Our aim is to make it easy for the people to reach courts for justice through their mobile phones as courts apps are available where people can file their cases, Al Humairy said.
A year back, you were supposed to visit the court to file a case but now the department made it more accessible for people to open their cases from their home,” he said.
A total of 284,909 cases were handled, including 189,462 cases at First Instance Court, 29,087 in Appeals, 5,038 in Cassation, 15,304 were reconciled and 14,494 at the Family Guidance department of the court.
Not only the number of cases increased but also settlement of cases significantly improved over the years.
Abdullah Zahran, Director of Strategic Planning at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, said, 68 per cent of cases were settled in less than 90 days last year, while 75 per cent cases were finished in 2018 in less than 90 days.
He said there has been a significant increase of 85 per cent cases on digital platform of the notary public in 2019 comparing to 2018 when it registered only 7,093 cases, while in 2019 in jumped to 12,755 cases.
