An extradition request should be assessed through its legal basis, supporting documents and the protections available to the person sought. A foreign accusation or conviction does not, by itself, answer whether surrender from the UAE is permitted. Equally, instructing a lawyer cannot guarantee that extradition will be refused.
A criminal lawyer in Dubai can identify the applicable framework, examine the request and prepare objections supported by evidence. The immediate priorities are to understand the person's procedural position, preserve relevant documents and identify any hearing or challenge deadline. Those steps make the defence specific to the case rather than dependent on general assurances.
Federal Law No. 39 of 2006 on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters, as amended, supplies the principal federal framework. Article 2 preserves applicable international agreements and allows cooperation on the basis of reciprocity. The relevant treaty, if any, must therefore be examined alongside the legislation. Absence of a bilateral treaty should not be treated as automatic protection against extradition.
Establish whether the person is wanted for investigation, trial or execution of a sentence. Record the requesting country, alleged conduct, relevant dates and procedural history. These details affect which documents and conditions must be examined.
Article 7 contains punishment thresholds and the requirement commonly called dual criminality. The analysis concerns whether the relevant conduct is criminal under both legal systems within the statutory conditions. Different offence names, classifications or constituent elements do not alone defeat the requirement.
A lawyer should compare the actual allegations with the relevant UAE provisions. Simply translating the foreign charge into a familiar legal label can miss important differences. Where a sentence is being enforced, the remaining sentence and its enforceability also require examination.
Article 11 requires specified identity information, legal provisions, the relevant judicial arrest warrant and documents describing the alleged acts or conviction. It also addresses Arabic translation and signature and seal requirements involving the requesting state's central authority.
Check names, dates, the alleged role and the connection between the documents. A genuine identity error is different from a disagreement about the allegations. Missing information is not necessarily a permanent bar: Article 12 allows the central authority to seek supplementary material and to close the request if the required material is not supplied.
Article 9 sets out circumstances in which extradition must not be granted. These include UAE nationality and UAE judicial jurisdiction over the relevant offence. Residence in Dubai is not equivalent to holding UAE nationality, and the jurisdiction question requires legal analysis of the alleged conduct.
The political offence ground has express exclusions, including terrorism, war crimes and genocide. Describing an allegation as political is therefore insufficient. A separate provision addresses serious grounds for believing that a request seeks persecution or punishment because of race, religion, nationality or political opinion, or would prejudice the person's position for those reasons.
The military ground concerns an offence confined to breach of military duties. Prior proceedings and judgments, and expiry of the criminal action or sentence through limitation, may also be relevant under the statutory conditions. Obtain the underlying judgments and procedural records rather than relying on a description of how an earlier case ended.
Article 9 also addresses torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, a harsh punishment disproportionate to the offence and absence of minimum criminal procedural guarantees. A submission should connect the claimed risk with reliable evidence and the person's circumstances. A general concern about another country's justice system does not explain every element of a particular objection.
UAE proceedings for the same offence fall within an Article 9 refusal ground. Proceedings for another offence are treated differently under Article 10, which provides for postponement while the local matter is concluded and, where applicable, the sentence is served. Temporary surrender may also be possible on the prescribed undertaking.
The defence should identify which situation applies. Confusing another local case with a permanent bar can produce unrealistic expectations. Counsel should obtain the local case number, relevant orders and current status, then explain their effect on the extradition process.
The legislation permits provisional detention in urgent cases and provides powers concerning arrest where flight is feared. Articles 15 and 16 also permit release subject to guarantees determined by the competent prosecutor. Release is a matter for the relevant authority and should not be promised simply because the person has a residence, employment or family in the UAE.
Article 15 includes a separate flight risk provision alongside its stated provisional periods. It should not be summarised as imposing a universal maximum detention period for every extradition case. The legal basis and current order must be checked.
Under Article 17, the person must be informed by the prosecution of the reason for arrest, the request and supporting material, and may have a lawyer present when statements are taken. The request is referred to the competent appellate court, which considers it in a private hearing and issues a reasoned decision on whether extradition is permissible.
Consent also requires care. Articles 13 and 14 provide a specific expedited route involving voluntary written consent with knowledge of its legal consequences. A person should understand that route before signing a document expressing agreement to surrender.
Article 22 allows the person sought and the competent prosecution authority to challenge the court's extradition decision, with a statutory period of 30 days from its issuance. Record that date immediately and obtain advice on the required filing. A pending discussion with another adviser should not be assumed to preserve the deadline.
Article 24 prevents execution of a decision permitting extradition until it is final and no longer open to challenge. Article 26 separately requires ministerial approval. The court decision, available challenge and implementation stage should therefore be distinguished.
A refusal also needs careful explanation. Article 25 permits a later request from the same state concerning the same offences where new grounds arise that were not previously presented. Counsel should explain precisely what was decided rather than describe every refusal as permanent immunity.
INTERPOL explains that a Red Notice requests location and provisional arrest pending extradition or similar action. It is based on a national judicial warrant or order, but is not itself an international arrest warrant. Member countries apply their own laws when deciding whether to arrest.
INTERPOL’s 2024 Annual Report records 223,641 valid notices of all types, with 17,612 shared publicly on its website. These are global figures across notice categories, not Red Notice-only figures or UAE extradition totals. The distinction helps explain why a public website search cannot establish a person’s complete position within INTERPOL’s systems.
The Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files can consider access, correction or deletion requests concerning data in INTERPOL's system. Its role does not include deciding national extradition proceedings, determining guilt or guaranteeing that someone may travel without arrest. A data challenge and a UAE extradition defence must therefore be coordinated without assuming that one automatically resolves the other.
For someone seeking the best criminal lawyer in Dubai for an extradition matter, relevant experience should include interpreting cooperation legislation, analysing treaties and coordinating foreign legal evidence. Ask who will prepare submissions, appear where authorised and communicate with lawyers in the requesting country.
The Dubai Legal Affairs Department directory can assist with checking registered advocates, legal consultants and licensed firms. It does not identify specialisations or endorse a provider. Confirm the proposed team's authority and relevant experience separately.
Bring the request, warrants, judgments, identity documents and a dated case chronology. Agree a written scope covering document review, detention applications where appropriate, court submissions and any challenge. Ask what further evidence is needed and how urgent decisions will be handled.
No. The outcome depends on the applicable law, any treaty, the request and the evidence. A useful assessment explains the available objections and their limitations rather than promising refusal.
No. INTERPOL data procedures do not decide the underlying criminal case or national extradition proceedings. Any foreign warrant and UAE proceedings require their own assessment.
Not necessarily. Proceedings concerning the same offence and proceedings concerning another offence have different statutory treatment. The local case records must be checked before relying on either refusal or postponement.
Collect the request, identity records, warrants, judgments, relevant foreign legal provisions and a dated chronology. Identify the person’s current UAE procedural status, any local case and all hearing or challenge dates, and explain gaps or inconsistencies to counsel.
No. The public website is not a complete record of INTERPOL notices. Obtain advice about the appropriate data-access procedure and assess any national warrant or UAE proceedings separately; a public search alone does not establish freedom to travel.
Dr. Hassan Elhais is a Senior Legal Consultant at Amal Al Rashedi Lawyers and Legal Consultants in Dubai. His work includes advising on criminal law matters involving physical violence, murder, cryptocurrency offences and drug offences. He is a member of the European Criminal Bar Association and the International Bar Association.
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