E-gateway comes under criticism from lawyers

There has been a mixed reaction from law-yers since the Dubai Department of Justice launched its new online service 'e-gateway' in October. Some say they have benefited from the website facility while others say they have noticed drawbacks.

Gulf News spoke to a number of advocates on the issue and the shortcomings seem to outstrip the advantages. Most of them wanted a more comprehensive information on criminal lawsuit, while others called for full access to lawsuits they are handling.

Hussein Abdullah Al Shibeeni, an Egyptian lawyer at Al Madina Legal Representatives, said: "This is clearly an innovative system making legal information available to the public and law professionals at the click of the mouse. However, I believe that the criminal lawsuits section carries scant information and is not as detailed as the civil cases."

He added: "Advocates searching for specific details like reasons for postponing trials or the type of documents needed for the lawsuit in criminal cases still have to go to the department and search through the files".

Alaa Diab, a lawyer at Al Shamisi and Associates Advocates and Consultancy Firm, said: "The website suffers from one major drawback which is the scarcity of information on criminal lawsuits. But in general its services are in a user- friendly and time-saving manner."

He added: "However, since the launch of the website on October 18, I have sometimes faced a network failure or a slow server while running my search. The problem could have been from the internet connection but something went wrong more than once."

He also said the website sometimes provides inaccurate dates for court hearings.
Omar Al Rasheed, a Sudanese lawyer at Al Taher Al Sabri Advocates, said: "I've heard many colleagues complaining that court verdicts reached in absentia are not listed on the website.

"I believe that all rulings need to be available for lawyers because it makes our job easier. I also wonder why authorised lawyers can't be given access to the lawsuits on the web. They should have full access to the lawsuits which they're handling."

Hamad Mohammed Satti, a Sudanese lawyer, called on officials at the department to scan all the important documents in the case files and download them on the website.

Ahmad Sulaiman, the Head of the Advocates Unit at the Department of Justice gave his explanation, saying: "Since the website was launched we haven't received any complaints. On the contrary, we heard that most of the advocates are pleased with the services."

A senior official at the IT section in the department confirmed that the website has been functioning normally so far. He said: "At certain times we can expect to face server failures or lateness due to technical reasons like upgrading the safety programme, but we haven't received any complaints".

Mukhtar Mohammed Gharib, a UAE national lawyer of Al Gharib Associates, praised the fact that department officials are working around the clock to support legal officials with website services.

But he added: "In certain cases lawyers cannot access the files because they are prohibited by the department. It's only the major lawyers who are authorised by a defendant or plaintiff who have access to the files.

"Before I had my own firm I shared an office with another UAE lawyer. We used to handle many cases and some are still being carried out even today. However, now I cannot access those files because originally it had been registered in my former partner's name."

Advantages
* Website provides services in a user- friendly and time-saving manner.
* The civil cases section contains comprehensive information

Shortcomings
* Criminal lawsuits section carries scant information.
* Specific details like reasons for postponing trials or the type of documents needed for the lawsuit in criminal cases are not available
* Website sometimes provides inaccurate dates for hearings.
* Verdicts reached in absentia are not listed.