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About ADJD

The government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has been keen to work within a cogent structure that offers world-class services to the public in all sectors as part of the general plan to restructure the government of the Emirate, which features first emerged in 2006. This was done so that Abu Dhabi could enter a new phase of construction to implement the emirate’s ambitious vision to enhance its competitiveness and achieve global leadership.

Hence, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on him, issued Law No. 23 of 2006 reorganizing the Judicial Department in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. This law came to confirm the independence and integrity of the judiciary, its impartiality and independence from the executive authority in the emirate. In this context, the law stipulates the establishment of a Judicial Council chaired by the President of the Court of Cassation, which is concerned with examining all matters related to the appointment, promotion, and secondment of judges in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in addition to the necessity of taking its opinion on bills related to the judiciary and the public prosecution.


The law also provideds for the formation of courts of first instance, courts of appeal and a court of cassation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Courts of first instance are are divided into civil, commercial, penal, administrative, and personal status chambers, in addition to other chambers that are formed based on the recommendation of the Judicial Council. The law also stipulates the conditions for appointing judges, it also establishe a public prosecution office for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, headed by an attorney general and a sufficient number of prosecutors, as well as the establishment of the enforcement division, which is concerned with the enforcement of court judgements and notices. Another division called the "judicial inspection division" was attached to the department, to be specialised in conducting periodic inspections of judges and members of the Public Prosecution Office and detecting any shortcomings in their performance of their duties. The law allocated an important chapter with regard to the immunity of judges, their duties, and accountability. This chapter aims to enhance the independence and integrity of the judiciary and ensure the transparency of the judge’s work within certain parameters that guarantee the judge’s commitment to his impartiality in taking decisions, as the law in this chapter gives them sufficient immunity to enable them to carry out their work without any influence from any party whatsoever in their decision-making, in addition to holding the judge accountable when he transgresses or fails to perform his tasks..
Since its inception, the Department has evolved its mission of upholding the law to protect rights, liberties, and community safety in accordance with a vision that prioritizes excellence, effectiveness, and the delivery of world-class court services while upholding the principles of justice, integrity, customer service, commitment to excellence, and teamwork.
Through the concerted efforts of its divisions, the Judicial Department promises to deliver its message of adhering to the rule of law and safeguarding rights, freedoms, and the security of society through: The Judicial Council which consists of ten of the top senior counsellors in the Judicial Department. Their task is to supervise all functions and tasks, including the selection, promotion, and secondment of judges as well as other judicial technical affairs.

Administration of the Judicial Department

headed by the Undersecretary of the Judicial Department, who supervises the implementation of strategies, supports administrative work, and all related matters


The Public Prosecution Office

headed by the Attorney General, who supervises all technical and administrative tasks related to the Public Prosecution Office.


Our Strategy

Message
Upholding the rule of law through achieving justice, preserving rights, and disseminating peace in society
   
Vision
Achieving excellence and efficiency in an independent judicial system and providing world-class justice services.
View our Strategy

The Judicial System

In view of the rapid development that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi is going through and the influx of regional and global investments into it, and based on legislation and regulatory laws for its various agencies, the Emirate has embarked on restructuring the judicial system in 2006 by issuing Law No. 23 of 2006 establishing the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which has sought since its inception to create a judicial system characterised by accuracy and speed in the implementation of judicial procedures to achieve justice. According to the aforementioned law, the department structure consists of three main components::
The Judicial council :
The Judicial Council works to ensure the independence of the judiciary by exercising the powers conferred on it by law, and it looks in particular at issues related to the appointment, promotion, transfer, delegation, and secondment of judges and members of the public prosecution in accordance with specific laws and rules. It also ensures the smooth functioning of the judicial work, expresses an opinion on bills related to the judiciary and the public prosecution in the Emirate, and undertakes functions related to the progress of the judicial process in general.
Public Prosecution: :
It is headed by the Attorney General, who supervises all judicial and administrative tasks related to the Public Prosecution Office, which exercises its competences regarding criminal cases in its capacity as a representative of society and the public's right to pursue justice and ensure the application of the law. The judicial system consists of three levels of litigation, represented by the Court of First Instance as the first instance of litigation, the Court of Appeal as the second degree, and the Court of Cassation as the third degree, which is the highest degree of litigation. Each of these courts is headed by a president, who is assisted in performing his duties by a group of specialised judges and full-time administrative staff. Each court consists of separate judicial circuits according to the types of cases, including, commercial, labour, criminal, family, etc. The courts of first instance and appeal exist in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and the Western Region, while the Court of Cassation is only located in the capital, Abu Dhabi.

Judicial Department Administration:
Headed by the undersecretary of the Department. The undersecretary supervises the development of the department’s policies and strategic plans and oversees their implementation after being approved by the chairman. Further to that, he supervises all sectors and divisions, proposes what is necessary, and submits periodic reports to the chairman on the department’s activities, achievements, and workflow.The Judicial Department consists of key sectors including: :
Administrative Support Sector
The Administrative Support Sector is responsible for providing financial, administrative, technical and logistical support to organisational units, implementing approved financial and administrative policies, regulations and procedures, and contributing to the upgrading of the administrative work system through continuous planning and development of work policies and programmes and qualifying staff according to the best international standards. It also undertakes the design and development of programmes and systems to meet the needs of users, the implementation and documentation of information systems standards, as well as accurate financial planning for the Department's activities and budget preparation based on the approved strategic plan. .
Judicial Support Sector
The Judicial Support Sector undertakes the implementation of the general policies related to case management, providing legal and judicial services in accordance with the best practices to ensure institutional leadership, upgrading the judicial work system by supplying qualified officers of the court to facilitate the case management process, oversee the classification of cases, dispatch the judicial work and manage the electronic registration of cases. It also proposes policies and procedures that regulate the stages of case management, facilitates the access of court users to the highest quality of legal and judicial services, manages the affairs of lawyers and experts, receives applications for registration and supervises their work, in addition to supervising the duties of the notary public and developing a mechanism for monitoring and ensuring the application of the law. .
The Rehabilitation and Correctional Centres Sector
The Rehabilitation and Correctional Centres Sector of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) is responsible for managing Rehabilitation And Correctional Centres dedicated to the enforcement of convictions and pretrial detention orders handed down by the ADJD's courts and prosecutions, preparing rehabilitation plans and programmes for the welfare of inmates and juveniles and following up on their enforcement, managing the affairs and welfare of inmates and juveniles, ensuring psychological and social stability, and monitoring the implementation of education, instruction and training programmes and living and health services. It also coordinates with the relevant authorities regarding aftercare for inmates and juveniles, and endeavours to reduce the rate of recidivism by applying the best preventive practices for inmates and juveniles while serving their sentences in coordination with other competent authorities.
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