Dubai Courts Issue the 2019 Annual Report The Digital Justice Platform

Dubai Courts issued its 2019 Annual Report, titled “The Digital Justice Platform,” documenting the courts’ activities and annual achievements, as well as offering important information about Dubai Courts and its sectors. The report provides details on the judicial and administrative system, in addition to the courts’ 2017–2021 strategic plan and the completed projects and initiatives.

His Excellency Tarish Eid Al Mansouri, Director General of Dubai Courts, who launched the report in the presence of His Excellency Judge Abdul Qader Musa, Deputy Director General of Dubai Courts, along with the presidents of courts, sector directors, and department directors in the organization, said that after a year full of achievements, this concise report outlines the most prominent accomplishments of Dubai Courts. He noted that the Annual Report of Dubai Courts includes the organization’s strategy, vision, mission, objectives, and strategic indicators, as well as a summary of the work of all organizational units at Dubai Courts, their projects, initiatives, and performance levels, ensuring the provision of the best services to customers, the achievement of happiness for all, and the welfare of society in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him.

He added, “The Annual Report includes the most important achievements attained by Dubai Courts during the past year and provides comprehensive information about the developments and transformations the courts have witnessed, as well as performance indicators for judicial and administrative operations. This makes it an important reference for all those interested and specialized, seeking accurate and authentic information about judicial work in the Emirate of Dubai. It also highlights the most prominent work indicators of the courts in various aspects, as well as the successes the department has achieved in its initiatives and projects in numerous areas. This is in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, to continue enhancing government work to serve and bring happiness to people as a top priority, supporting government entities in their efforts to improve service efficiency, increase customer focus, and optimize resource usage in delivering government services.”

The Annual Report of Dubai Courts tracks the general performance indicators of the courts at all three levels—first instance, appellate, and cassation—in all sectors. Notably, one of the distinguishing features of 2019 was the adoption of a culture of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, pluralism, and the enhancement of capabilities to innovate methods and mechanisms for leveraging cultural diversity within the UAE society. Tolerance is embedded in all strategies and initiatives of the department, which focus on moderation, respect for various beliefs and religions, all stemming from the wise leadership’s appreciation for every resident on UAE soil. Initiatives such as the “Dubai Courts Charter for Tolerance” and the “Center for Tolerance and Settlements” serve as exemplary achievements. Dubai Courts also launched the “Justice and Tolerance” campaign under the slogan “Together for a Tolerant Community” to promote settlement and tolerance, alongside the “Center for Amicable Dispute Resolution,” which resolves disputes between litigants without resorting to court proceedings, ensuring justice and guaranteeing rights to all parties by mutual consent. Additionally, the “Family Reconciliation and Guidance Department” provides alternative methods to court proceedings in the Personal Status sector by working to solve family disputes through counseling.

He pointed out that 2019 was a year of achievements for Dubai Courts, highlighting that His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, launched the “Digital Justice Platform,” considered a major embodiment of the digital and visual revolution in judicial technology and aligning with the rapid pace of comprehensive development in Dubai. It also adopts innovative solutions consistent with the vision of Dubai’s government for a qualitative leap in litigation procedures. Dubai Courts is committed to continually enhancing its services by shifting to smart technologies, developing its judicial system, and modernizing its legislative infrastructure to keep pace with the latest innovations. This ensures that it provides the best, top-tier services, streamlines them for clients, boosts operational efficiency, and employs modern technologies to complete transactions remotely, making Dubai stand out by offering litigation options through an advanced judicial system harnessing cutting-edge technologies that exceed users’ expectations.

Dubai Courts issues its Annual Report on a regular yearly basis to document all the events and activities witnessed by the courts throughout the year. Consequently, it serves as a record of the accomplishments of Dubai Courts, providing documented information for stakeholders, decision-makers, and researchers. The Annual Report also reflects the extent of Dubai Courts’ commitment to excellence and its continuous pursuit of institutional performance enhancement, solidifying its position as a global model founded on a sophisticated administrative system that keeps pace with international changes. Through this report, the courts endeavor to assess progress achieved under Dubai’s continual judicial development strategy, the success rate of the projects and initiatives listed in its operational plan, and their alignment with strategic objectives. It also identifies any improvement opportunities and addresses them to advance its vision of becoming “Pioneering Courts, Globally Distinguished.”

The year 2019 saw further progress in most happiness indicators across the courts’ premises, both internally and externally. Notably, the customer happiness rate measured by Dubai Courts reached 98%. One of the key achievements was the jump of four percentage points in society’s confidence in the judicial system—reaching 83%—according to a study by Gallup, compared to 2018. Employee happiness also reached 94% for 2019.

Dubai Courts continued its work in support of the Dubai Paperless Strategy, aspiring to achieve 100% digital transformation through various initiatives, including the “Digital Justice” initiative, which aims to transition to electronic and smart management of case files. This initiative alone eliminated the use of one million sheets of paper, reducing stationery costs and fully eliminating the need for customers to travel to the courts in person. Another initiative, “Smart Correspondence,” processes all correspondence and messages related to cases of different types and categories electronically. This initiative also saved an additional one million sheets of paper. The “Electronic Collection” initiative aims to collect fees and trusts without requiring a printed receipt for customers. It helped eliminate 1,770,237 sheets of paper, bringing the total number of canceled sheets in Dubai Courts, according to the Smart Government report, to 7,559,156. This was achieved through persistent efforts to eliminate printers and reduce paper and ink consumption by 100%.

Dubai Courts maintained its ninth-place ranking globally in 2019 for the Enforcing Contracts indicator and has remained at the top spot in the Middle East for five consecutive years to date. It also achieved 14 points out of 18 in the Judicial Quality element, with court fees equivalent to 21.0% of the claim amount. Furthermore, the courts set an ambitious target in the Enforcing Contracts indicator, aiming to reach first place globally in the 2021 report through a carefully selected set of qualitative initiatives.

The 2019 Annual Report also addressed the awards Dubai Courts has received, in line with its level of leadership. The courts received two awards at global, regional, and local levels, including the “Golden Sail Award for Excellence in Public Relations 2019,” which aims to institutionalize and develop the public relations and media profession and is awarded to institutions and individuals who excel in this field according to carefully crafted international standards and through a professional, independent, and impartial evaluation committee. Dubai Courts also won the “Global Business Excellence Award – United Kingdom” under the category of Outstanding New Employee as one of the categories within the Global Business Excellence Awards.

Dubai Courts continued its commitment to government accelerators in 2019, where the Government Accelerators Team witnessed notable activity in the past year for the Direct Electronic Enforcement Project of judgments, decisions, and delegations. This project aims to increase the implementation rate of delegations in execution courts nationwide by connecting 72 entities with the delegations system, thereby accelerating the execution of court orders and ensuring transparency and clarity in enforcement decisions through the exclusive use of the system. As part of this unique project, its scope and plan were established, and an agreement to manage the system was signed with Emirates Auction. Additionally, all federal and local judicial entities were integrated into the system, followed by all relevant local and federal entities, agreeing that all delegations would be processed through the electronic system.

The total number of delegations executed in 2019 reached 9,067, resulting in savings equivalent to 800,000 working hours, 6,500 trips between entities, 60 seconds for sending a delegation, and 30 hours as the average time needed to implement a delegation.

Regarding smart services, the total number of smart requests submitted amounted to 497,497, all of which received decisions via smart requests. The Courts of First Instance received 29,881 cases last year, with a disposal rate of 107%. In the Civil Court, 3,548 cases were registered in 2019, with an overall disposal rate of 99.1%. The Commercial Court registered 6,841 cases, recording a 148.8% disposal rate. The Real Estate Court registered 1,446 cases, achieving a 96.2% disposal rate, while the Labor Court registered 15,393 cases, with a 93.5% disposal rate. The Personal Status Court registered 2,653 cases, reaching a 94.0% disposal rate. The Criminal Court heard 31,347 cases, achieving a 96.0% disposal rate.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Court finalized 313,642 cases, with an average decision time of 1.8 days. The Court of Appeal received 10,780 cases, recording a 96.1% overall disposal rate, whereas the Court of Cassation registered 2,561 cases, reaching an overall disposal rate of 113.1%.

In 2019, Dubai Courts increased its focus on the value of tolerance and encouraged disputing parties to reach amicable settlements, in line with the “Year of Tolerance,” aiming for swift resolutions and higher satisfaction among disputants. The total number of settlements reached 5,326. Dubai Courts also adopted numerous initiatives to promote happiness and positivity in its internal environment, recognizing that its human resources are the true drivers of excellence.

This article is translated and not the actual content.