Procedures of the UAE to Deliver a Suspect of Extradition
- If there is a convention between UAE and another country for extradition, this will take priority to the UAE International Judicial Corporation Law. Where neither of these applies, the National Criminal Law of the UAE will be enforced. The procedures of extradition are applied through diplomatic processes.
- The documents you need to attach to the request for extradition to get the suspect back to their own country are set out below. These must be submitted in Arabic and authenticated by the authorities.
- The details of the suspect e.g. I.D, passport, features
- The relevant law to be applied for the crime committed by the suspect
- Where the suspect already has investigations against him for the crime, a copy of the investigations and the crime should be submitted e.g., where the crime happened, what the crime consisted of, how the crime was committed, including any warrant of arrest issued by the foreign judicial authority.
- where there is already a judgment against the suspect, details of the judgment, including the penalty imposed and proof that the judgment is enforceable.
Procedures the Public Prosecution of the UAE will take where the suspect is required urgently:
Where the suspect is required urgently, the UAE can temporarily keep the suspect in custody.
The conditions that apply are:
- The nature of the crime. The crime must be serious, it can be a felony or misdemeanour as both punishments are charged by a sentence of imprisonment. The seriousness of the crime is based on the discretion of the Public Prosecution.
- The duration of custody. The period of custody is 15 days however, this can be renewed. Nevertheless, where there is a personal convention between two countries the period of custody would be as per the treaty between the countries.
Releasing of the suspect
The releasing of the suspect usually takes place where;
- Investigations have been carried out, the custody period ends and the requesting country fails to ask for the suspect back.
- The suspect requests to be released from custody. The Public Prosecutor under his discretionary power can decide that the crime committed is not that severe, in this situation the Public Prosecutor can decide to release the suspect provided the suspect produces either a;
- A security deposit (this can be a certain amount of money or an asset owned by the suspect)
- Personal Guarantee (this is usually given by someone who provides a guarantee on behalf of the suspect)
Where the UAE has a suspect in custody and informs the requesting country that they have the suspect, the UAE can notify the requesting country to provide a proposal as soon as possible to get the accused back. If the requesting country does not provide this, they will release the suspect, provided he offers a security deposit, personal guarantee or the custody period ends.
Re-Arresting
Where a suspect is released and the request for surrender is issued by the requesting party after release, the Public Prosecution can inform the suspect to return for investigations or the suspect can be directly arrested. Moreover, how the suspect is released does not matter e.g. by the security deposit, personal guarantee etc.
During the investigations the suspect should be made aware of the crime he is alleged to have committed, the law that is going to be applied for the crime, the suspect should be provided with a lawyer, and should have a right to defend himself against the crime he is being accused of.
The investigations are commonly carried out by the head of Public Prosecution, however, he can delegate the duty to a Public Prosecutor of any ranking to carry out the necessary investigations to determine whether to release the suspect or keep him under custody. Nevertheless, the Public Prosecutor does not have the authority to transfer the suspect to the other courts, such authority is only given to the head of the Public Prosecution.
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About the Author
Dr. Hassan Elhais publishes analysis of UAE criminal law matters, including extradition requests, cross-border criminal matters and international legal cooperation. For readers researching an extradition lawyer in Dubai, his writing offers insight into the legal questions surrounding these topics. Explore his published work and practice-area information for further context.
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