Dubai Courts announces expansion of successful ‘Al Salfa' Courts programme

Success of system reflected in accelerating online caseload for Q1 2014

Dubai – May 11, 2014: The Dubai Courts has announced that additional online services within the ‘Al Salfa’ programme will be made available to customers as of tomorrow (Sunday), in order to enable additional types of case to be registered online in an integrated manner. This service programme enables lawyers or litigants to register cases remotely. Litigants can both upload required documents and process payments online, which contributes to saving them time and effort, as well as contributing to the Dubai Courts’ vision, ‘Pioneering in Courts Work’. 
 
“The new online services cover all types of case including real estate, commercial, labour, civil and personnel affairs. Also covered by the new services are the settlement centre, orders upon petitions of all kinds, precautionary attachments, and other urgent matters,” stated the director of Cases Service Department at Dubai Courts, Mohamed Ahmed Al-Obaidli. 

He added: “Under the guidance of the director-general of Dubai Courts, H.E. Taresh Eid Al Mansouri, and with the aim of realising the Dubai Courts’ strategic vision, the Courts is working on completely shifting towards e-services. This move will facilitate operations for customers effectively saving them time and effort, while retaining accuracy in service delivery.” 

“The online case registration service, ‘Al Salfa’, has achieved important milestones, since the number of cases registered through it reached 12,350 over the last fifteen months. 8,342 cases were registered during 2013, while the first quarter of 2014 witnessed a large turnout by law firms and litigants, and the number of registered cases amounted to 4,008,” noted Al-Obaidli. 

He further stressed that government bodies in Dubai began to put the ‘Al Salfa’ service to use, by registering various elements of courts business, such as enforcement of judgments, letters rogatory, and judicial notices. “Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza), for instance, began to register all of its labour cases via ‘Al Salfa’ without having its workers physically go to Dubai Courts,” he explained. 

‘Al Salfa’ enables case registration in an integrated online manner without the need for a personal appearance at the Courts. The appropriate department accesses and verifies the case details and attached documents, and then communicates online with the case registrant. At this point, an update is given on the application status, and whether or not the transaction is complete or requires revision and further updates. Finally, the fees which can be paid online are determined, as well as the date of the first hearing of the case. 

All of the Dubai Courts online services, including ‘Al Salfa’ programme have been developed by the Courts’ IT Department. The procedures involved in the registration process have been designed to comply with online procedures, in order to ensure ease and speed of use, and to enhance the e-transformation in case registration. They also aim to provide services around the clock, as well as to raise work efficiency and improve the quality and speed of service delivery.