Dubai Courts provides free pleading service for insolvent litigants through ‘Sanad Program'

UAE, November 13, 2017 - Dubai Courts has launched the ‘Sanad Program’ as part of its commitment to financially support insolvent litigants, in line with the national directives to spread happiness and promote the culture of giving and wellbeing under the Year of Giving initiative. ‘Sanad Program’ is the result of the cooperation with various law firms in Dubai, which opens new horizons to the legal sector aimed at facilitating the litigation process by providing free pleading services in labor lawsuits from the date of registration up to the final judgment. The project is in line with the initiatives of the Dubai Courts in its efforts to contribute to the achievement of the Dubai Plan 2021 towards a united and mutually supportive society of proud and happy citizens.

H.E. Taresh Eid Al Mansouri, Director General of Dubai Courts said that the ‘Sanad Program’ is testament to the effectiveness of public and private partnership, which takes place between the Dubai Courts and the participating law firms in Dubai and brings about a positive outcome by providing community services. He added that the project guarantees customer happiness, which is the fundamental objective and main priority of the project, and noted that these positive aspirations to provide a free pleading service for insolvent litigants in partial labor lawsuit cases is an addition to Dubai Courts’ other successful initiative, the ‘Shore’, one of the seven initiatives chosen for the ‘2017 Year of Giving’. This reflects the vision and direction of H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who said that ‘providing happiness to the people is important and cannot be postponed’.”

Al Mansouri explained that the ‘Sanad Program’ is part of Dubai Courts’ initiatives for community volunteerism, humanitarian and charity activities that reflect its commitment to fulfill the declaration of H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE for 2017 to place justice, independence and transparency as the main pillars of the legal and judicial system, so that everyone in Dubai can enjoy living in a just and fair society. The program also represents an important addition to the initiatives drawn from our strategy 2016-2019, which puts the happiness of the customers among its top priorities.

He noted that the core objectives of the program will undoubtedly be a strong boost to the Dubai Courts’ efforts to uphold the values ​​of justice, independence and transparency while ensuring a fair and accurate window of justice by making legal services accessible to all, driven by its vision to create a ‘world-class courts’. He emphasized the Dubai Courts’ partnership with law firms will have a positive impact on promoting prosperity and wellbeing for the local community.

Chief Justice Jamal Al Jabri, Head of the Labour Court at Dubai Court, said that the launch of ‘Sanad Program’ consistent with the Dubai Courts’ focus on supporting and helping insolvent litigants in labor cases, in accordance with the directives of the UAE’s wise leadership in protecting workers rights and to consolidate UAE’s regional and international leadership in workers' welfare. He also added that providing free pleading services for insolvent litigants in labor lawsuits will strengthen Dubai Labor Court’s efforts in enhancing the happiness and the wellbeing of workers and in protecting their rights, which is one of the strategic goals in making Dubai one of the world’s most preferred place to live and work by 2021.

The ‘Sanad Program’ allows individuals to apply for free pleading service at the Labor Cases Section at the Dubai Courts, where the applicant should meet the general conditions and then submit the application to a competent committee who will study the case and make the final decision and then send the application to partner law firms. Individuals are entitled to apply only once at the ‘primary’ and ‘appeals’ levels, and only if they are financially unable to cover pleading expenses or have a special social and health condition. Dubai Courts intends to measure the satisfaction of clients with this service following the completion of the lawsuit, in accordance with the directives of the UAE’s wise leadership to ensure customer satisfaction as an essential measure of success in government services.