Al-Adl: 1,296 lawyers are registered with the Ministry ... and the restrictions on their practicing commercial activities in the future will be eased

A new draft law obligating the "localization of the legal profession" in the private sector and free zones

During the discussion of the «National» the subject of the efforts of the Ministry of Justice in the matter of developing the legal profession.

From the source

The Minister of Justice, Sultan bin Saeed Al-Badi revealed that the ministry is preparing a draft federal law to regulate the legal profession, and said: “It will soon see the light, so that it will be the only law that requires the localization of the legal profession and legal advisor in companies and offices of the private sector and free zones”, confirming that the number of lawyers The citizens registered with the Ministry reached 1,296 lawyers.

He stressed during his attendance at the Federal National Council session, which was held the day before yesterday, to discuss the issue of the Ministry of Justice's efforts in the matter of developing the legal profession, that the prospective law will partially ease the ban or restrictions imposed on lawyers regarding their practicing commercial activities in parallel with the practice of law, provided that the lawyer does not conflict With the interest of his agent.

The Council adopted a number of recommendations reached by the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee and appeals to the Council during the discussion of the topic, which dealt with six sectors, including “legislation and policies, nationalization, protection of the legal profession, coordination and communication, programs and training courses, and community and health initiatives”, most notably the demand to amend the law Federal No. (23) for the year 1991 in the matter of organizing the legal profession to keep pace with the variables of the judicial workflow and economic and social developments in the country, in order to reduce the overlap in the specializations between law firms and legal advice offices, and coordination and cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and the law firms and foreign legal advice offices within The state appoints a citizen lawyer or legal advisor in order to achieve the state’s objectives in raising the rates of Emiratisation in the private sector, and coordinate and cooperate with international investment companies and institutions in the free zones to appoint citizen lawyers.

The Council recommended, in coordination and cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and the Emirates Association of Lawyers and Jurists, to activate the committee to protect the legal profession to monitor the progress of law firms, to develop monitoring mechanisms for the Ministry of Justice over the work of law firms to reduce the phenomenon of shadow attorneys, and to coordinate and cooperate with the Pensions and Social Security Authority to review and examine The requirements of the authority to provide an adequate retirement pension for lawyers that guarantees a decent life for them and their families, and to develop the study programs provided by the Judicial Institute and keep them abreast with modern developments such as training students in virtual sessions and familiarizing them with modern laws and legislation to keep pace with the legislative goals of the UAE Vision 2071, and the Ministry of Justice adopts an initiative to provide health insurance for lawyers Citizens.

The session witnessed interventions from the members of the Council, during which they directed inquiries to the Minister of Justice, Sultan bin Saeed Al-Badi, and the representatives of the Ministry, while the Minister, in response to the majority of the interventions, confirmed that the ministry had finished preparing a draft of the new legal profession bill, but he undertook to include the observations received during his discussions. With the members, with the aim of developing the legal profession and reaching best practices.

He said, "With regard to the proposal for private health insurance, lawyers, it is no secret to everyone that lawyers are a segment of society and can be treated in government hospitals, and therefore there is no need for them to have private health insurance."

With regard to the high percentage of national lawyers registered on the rolls of non-practicing, representatives of the Ministry of Justice emphasized that the legal profession is free and therefore there is no obligation on the lawyer to continue to register the worker and practice the profession, and according to the law the legal profession is limited to citizens only, explaining that the number of citizen lawyers registered with the Ministry is citizens It reached 1,296 lawyers.

They indicated that with regard to the problem of the decline in the rate of resettlement of the legal profession with private sector institutions and companies and free zones, there are parties concerned with contributing to support the Emiratisation file in the private sector, especially since the legislation lacked a mandatory provision for the localization of the profession of lawyer counselors in free zones.

They said: "The new law firm will soon see the light, as it will be the only law requiring settlement, in order to avoid this problem, as it will include specific texts to organize offices and work links for legal advisors."

They added, "There is no overlap between the work of the lawyer and other activities, because the work of the lawyer in defense, pleading before the judiciary, and supervising the work of the legal consulting offices is not within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, but rather within the competence of the economic development departments."

In response to a question about the existence of a body in the Ministry of Justice concerned with defending lawyers in the event that they are subjected to abuse in the corridors of the courts, the minister said: “The ministry does not accept insulting lawyers, and any lawyer can file a complaint according to the circumstances, especially since insulting them is equivalent to assaulting a government employee while performing his work The draft law took into account the provision for the protection of lawyers. ”

While ministry officials emphasized that there is no clear legal text defining the fees for the legal profession as it is a free profession, and the existing legislative text in the event of a dispute over fees, the principal has the right to resort to the courts.

Combating 'shadow lawyer'

In response to a question about the spread of the phenomenon of the so-called "shadow lawyer" in most of the country's courts, which is represented in the control of the foreign lawyer over the legal profession, which leads to its transformation into a popular profession for many people who have begun to lease a lawyer license, Minister of Justice Sultan bin Saeed stated It seems that the Ministry deals with lawyers with confidence, and whoever commits a mistake bears the result, especially the owner of the office and whoever makes a mistake, he will be punished.

Ministry officials responded that "the executive regulations set rules and controls to combat shadow attorneys. Article 28 prohibits the lawyer from appointing someone to manage or rent his office, and the lawyer is personally responsible for managing the office, and whoever violates this exposes himself to disciplinary accountability."

They stated that the bill to be issued includes a ban on renting offices to any person other than a lawyer or his sub-management, and the maximum penalties will be applied to the lawyer who leased or leased his office, noting that the ministry plays the supervisory role to regulate the legal profession, and the offices are monitored by mechanisms that take into account Legal reputation.

Recommendation to activate the Committee for the Protection of the Legal Profession to monitor office work and limit the "shadow lawyer".

Ministry of Justice:

- “The lack of a clear legal text defining the fees for the legal profession, as it is a free profession.”

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