Dubai Courts set to re-open soon

The refurbished Dubai Courts building near Dubai Creek Park will re-open to the public “soon'', said Hashim Al Hashemi, Head of Public Services Section at Dubai Courts Department.

He said the two-year-old, Dh16.4 million project will provide an efficient work environment for court employees and help officials offer better services.

This is the first face-lift the Dubai Courts building has had since its inauguration in 1992.

“The new central hall [which has been closed since April 2008] will provide the complete list of services to the public,'' Al Hashemi said.

The 28,000-square-foot hall is designed to encourage public interaction, he said. “The staff have been trained to be able to interact and deal with the public with regard to any court matter,'' said Al Hashemi.

General services booth

The hall will accommodate 19 general services booths in which employees will be able to complete any court-related transactions without visiting a specified department. There are three fast-track booths for urgent cases.

The refurbishment plan began two years ago with the personal status hall – which includes a wedding chapel now - being completed first. This was followed by the general services hall, which has a typing office and a restaurant now.

Nineteen of the 21 court chambers have also been refurbished, with new technology such as remote locks, a computerised National ID identification system and a live stenographer screen being added to the refurbished courts. The live screen will allow judges and lawyers to follow and read testimonies as they are being given during a hearing.

An electronic system will be launched where the entire Dubai Courts building becomes Wi-Fi-enabled, with electronic registry stations available to the public. A new service will aid people with special needs. “People with special needs will be able to come to the courthouse and dial a service line number from any of the in-house phones, identifying his or her location following which a service official will take all the documents and complete the transactions for them,'' he said.