Under the legal system of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), litigation s conducted in accordance with the guidelines outlined in Federal Law No. 11 of 1992 on Civil Procedure, commonly referred to as the Civil Procedure Law, and Cabinet Decision No. 57 of 2018.
The submission of a Memorandum of Defense by the defendant in response to a plaintiff's claim is a crucial step in this process. This article explains the importance of the Memorandum of Defense and its procedural intricacies within UAE courts.
Legal Framework
Federal Law No. 11 of 1992 on Civil Procedure and Cabinet Decision No. 57 of 2018 establish the foundation for judicial procedures in the UAE. These regulations delineate procedures for filing claims, presenting defences, issuing verdicts and initiating appeals within the UAE judicial system.
All judicial proceedings, including document submissions, are conducted exclusively in Arabic. Non-Arabic documents must undergo translation and legalisation before submission to the court.
Initiation of Proceedings
Civil litigation in the UAE commences with the plaintiff filing a claim with the Court of First Instance. Pursuant to Article 16 of the Cabinet Decision, this entails submitting a comprehensive Statement of Claim containing pertinent legal information. Additionally, in accordance with Article 20 of the Cabinet Decision, the Statement of Claim must be accompanied by supporting documentation, such as expert reports.
Notification and Assistance
Upon registration of the Statement of Claim, the defendant is notified through various channels delineated in Article 6 of the Cabinet Decision. Should traditional notification methods prove ineffective, alternative options include publication in designated newspapers, personal service and modern technological means.
Submission of Memorandum of Defence
Following notification, the defendant must promptly furnish a Memorandum of Defense outlining the defense against the plaintiff's claim. This memorandum may include relevant supporting documentation. Seeking legal counsel at this juncture is advisable, necessitating the granting of power of attorney to the counsel.
Pleading and Adjudication
Subsequently, both parties engage in public pleadings in accordance with Article 38 of the Cabinet Decision. In commercial cases, the defendant's defense typically relies on documentary evidence after the plaintiff presents its case. Thereafter, the court deliberates and issues a decision encompassing all pertinent information, as mandated by Articles 50 and 51 of the Cabinet Decision.
Appeals and Execution
As per Article 159 of the Civil Procedure Law, parties have the option to either execute the judgment or file an appeal within 30 days of its issuance, unless otherwise specified by statute.
Understanding the Memorandum of Defense and its role in the UAE judicial system is essential for both plaintiffs and defendants involved in legal disputes. Compliance with procedural requirements and securing legal representation significantly influences the outcome of litigation, underscoring the importance of adherence to established legal frameworks within the UAE jurisdiction.
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Rental expenses constitute a significant portion of the monthly outlay of most residents in the UAE, often ranking as the primary expenditure in their budgets, whether monthly or annually.
Over the past three years, rental prices in the UAE have steadily increased, driven by a substantial influx of foreign workers and the robust expansion of the economy. According to reports, in the final quarter of 2023, average apartment rents in Abu Dhabi saw a 2.0 per cent year-on-year rise, while villa rents increased by 0.8 per cent per cent. Similar upward trends were observed in Dubai and the Northern Emirates during 2023.
Dubai alone recorded 205,346 new rental contracts and 293,624 renewals, indicating the enduring demand in the rental market. Projections indicate that rental rates will continue to climb in 2024, albeit at a slightly slower pace.
To address the challenges posed by escalating rents, several local banks offer a 'rent in advance’ service to alleviate the financial strain on their customers.
Which are the Banks Offering this Facility?
Dubai Islamic Bank: The largest Shariah-compliant lender in the UAE, offering the 'rent in advance’ facility through Al Islamic Finance.
HSBC Bank: Provides customers with the option to pay rent in advance through a ‘Rent Loan,’ with an annual percentage rate starting from 7.24%. This rate is available to Premier customers employed by an HSBC-listed company, who transfer their salaries to HSBC.
Ajman Bank: Offers rent payment through its Shariah-compliant personal finance scheme, ‘Service Ijarah,’ allowing customers to use the service for a predetermined period in exchange for agreed-upon rent.
First Abu Dhabi Bank:Allows tenants to manage rent payments with the bank’s credit card, offering interest-free easy payment options for rent and property fees.
Al Hilal Bank: Assists tenants facing financial difficulties with rent payment through the ‘Rent Finance’ scheme, offering payment tenure of up to one year with competitive rates. Requirements include a minimum salary of Dh5,000, a valid passport and visa, and a six-month bank statement, among others.
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Former US President Donald Trump, embroiled in a multitude of critical legal challenges, ranked at the bottom as 45th on a list assessing US presidents by their greatness, trailing behind even "historically calamitous chief executives" who either failed to prevent the Civil War or mishandled its aftermath.
Worse for the likely Republican nominee this year, his probable opponent, Joe Biden, debuted at No 14.
“Biden’s most important achievements may be that he rescued the presidency from Trump, resumed a more traditional style of presidential leadership and is gearing up to keep the office out of his predecessor’s hands this fall,” Justin Vaughn and Brandon Rottinghaus, the political scientists behind the survey, wrote in the Los Angeles Times.
Rottinghaus, of the University of Houston, and Vaughn, from Coastal Carolina University, considered responses from 154 scholars, most connected to the American Political Science Association.
The aim, the authors said, “was to create a ranking of presidential greatness that covered all presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden”, in succession to such lists compiled in 2015 and 2018.
“To do this, we asked respondents to rate each president on a scale of 0-100 for their overall greatness, with 0=failure, 50=average, and 100=great. We then averaged the ratings for each president and ranked them from highest average to lowest.”
At the top of the chart, there was little change from previous surveys – the latter of which also saw Trump, then in office, placed last.
Abraham Lincoln, who won the civil war and ended slavery, was ranked first, ahead of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who saw the US through the Great Depression and the second world war. Next came George Washington, the first president, who won independence from Britain, Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Harry Truman.
Barack Obama, the first Black president, to whom Biden was vice-president between 2009 and 2017, was seventh, up nine places.
Considering drops for Andrew Jackson (ninth in 2015 to 21st now) and Woodrow Wilson (10th to 15th), Rottinghaus and Vaughn noted the impact of campaigns for racial justice.
“Their reputations have consistently suffered in recent years as modern politics lead scholars to assess their early 19th and 20th century presidencies ever more harshly, especially their unacceptable treatment of marginalised people,” the authors wrote.
Jackson owned enslaved people and presided over the genocidal displacement of Native Americans. Wilson oversaw victory in the first world war and helped set up the League of Nations, but was an avowed racist who segregated the federal workforce.
Other major movers included Ulysses S Grant (17th, up from 26th in 2015), whose administration generated significant corruption but whose attempts to enforce post-civil war Reconstruction in southern states, including fighting the Ku Klux Klan, have helped fuel reconsideration.
Grant succeeded Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s successor and the first president to be impeached. Like Johnson, Lincoln’s predecessor, James Buchanan, who failed to stop the slide to civil war, also sits higher than Trump on Rottinghaus and Vaughn’s list.
Trump is a uniquely divisive figure, his legislative record slim, his refusal to accept defeat by Biden leading to a deadly attack on Congress, and his post-presidential career dogged by 91 criminal charges arising from actions in office or on the campaign trail.
In the presidential survey, Trump is also ranked behind “such lowlights as Franklin Pierce, Warren Harding and William Henry Harrison, who died a mere 31 days after taking office,” Rottinghaus and Vaughn wrote.
“Trump’s impact goes well beyond his own ranking and Biden’s. Every contemporary Democratic president has moved up in the ranks – Barack Obama (No 7), Bill Clinton (No 12) and even Jimmy Carter (No 22).
“Yes, these presidents had great accomplishments such as expanding healthcare access and working to end conflict in the Middle East, and they have two Nobel prizes among them. But given their shortcomings and failures, their rise seems to be less about reassessments of their administrations than it is a bonus for being neither Trump nor a member of his party.
“Indeed, every modern Republican president has dropped … including the transformational Ronald Reagan (No 16) and George HW Bush (No 19), who led the nation’s last decisive military victory”, the Gulf war of 1991.
Accounting for Democratic climbs and Republican drops, the authors acknowledged that academics tend to lean left but also said, with a nod to Trump: “What these results suggest is not just an added emphasis on a president’s political affiliation, but also the emergence of a president’s fealty to political and institutional norms as a criterion for what makes a president ‘great’.
“… As for the Americans casting a ballot for the next president [in November], they are in the historically rare position of knowing how both candidates have performed in the job.”
Trump has not yet secured the Republican nomination but Biden trails in most polls, prey to public concern that at 81 he is too old for a second term, even though Trump is 77 and equally vulnerable to public gaffes – never mind his insurrectionist past.
Rottinghaus and Vaughn said: “Whether (voters) will consider each president’s commitment to the norms of presidential leadership, and come to rate them as differently as our experts, remains to be seen.”
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