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COURT RAISES BLOOD MONEY IN MANSLAUGHTER CASE

The Supreme Federal Court has partially annulled a verdict issued by the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal, raising the blood money (diya) from Dh150,000 to Dh200,000, despite the fact that the manslaughter case happened ...

before the date of amending the legal diya.

The public prosecution accused Mohamad Y. A. of causing the death of Salik A. D., who fell in a hall as a result of carelessness by the accused. The prosecution also accused Al Ghaya Contracting Company of hiring a worker who is sponsored by another company.

The prosecution demanded punishment of the company according to the Article 1/342 and 1,34 for the Decree 6/1973 amended by Decree 6/1996. The Al Rahba Criminal Court issued a verdict that considered Mohammad Y. responsible for the manslaughter and sentenced him to three years imprisonment, in addition to Dh150,000 for the heirs of the victim. The court also compelled Al Ghaya Contracting Company to pay a fine of Dh10,000 for each of its violating workers. Al Ghaya filed an appeal before the Abu Dhabi Criminal Appeal Court, which ordered the defendant (Mohammad Y.) to only pay one third of the diya amount (Dh50,000), while the rest of the amount will be paid by Al Ghaya Company in case the victim’s family demanded it.

The prosecution appealed against the verdict, claiming that the complete Shariah blood money is Dh 200,000 according to Article 9/2003, and not Dh150,000.

The Supreme Federal Court agreed with the reason for appeal. It stated that the blood money does not go to the state treasury, but to the heirs of the victim, and that it’s estimated upon the issuance of the final verdict according to the law, and not by the date of the incident on March 9, 2003.

The amended law was published in newspapers on November 13, 2003, and went into effect on that date. The Supreme Court thus ordered Mohammad Y. to pay one-third of the blood money, which is Dh66,666, instead of Dh50,000.