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UAE: Now, submit pleadings to court remotely at any time

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Reuters

Reuters

Abu Dhabi - It allows the plaintiff to access the system and record his statements and requests in the lawsuit.

Published: Tue 10 Aug 2021, 5:12 PM

The UAE has rolled out a ‘virtual pleading’ initiative — a 24/7 service that allows all parties in a lawsuit to present their arguments, evidence and other requests remotely at any time.

The Ministry of Justice on Monday announced the launch of the “virtual digital pleading” initiative, which can be accessed through the smart justice system in its updated version.

It allows the plaintiff to access the system and record his statements and requests in the lawsuit, and at the same time, enables the defendant to respond to these requests under the supervision of the judge or case manager.

The two parties may exchange requests and responses throughout the day specified for the session.

Counsellor Dr Saeed Ali Bahbouh Al Naqbi, acting undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice, explained that the pleading is based on a give-and-take system between the two parties of the case. Each of them will present his defence, argument, evidence and requests through memoranda, documents, and previous judicial rulings.

The process used to happen directly — either by the presence of the litigants in court, or their virtual presence before the judge — and according to the schedule of pre-set sessions.

Now, the digital pleading can be viewed via smart phones or the website so the service remains available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This means lawsuit parties can add any new evidence or document whenever they want.

The initiative seeks to complete and resolve cases in the shortest time possible and give the parties sufficient time to write their requests and respond to them, under the supervision of specialists, whether the case manager or the competent judge.

“This initiative will accelerate litigants’ access to court sessions, from anywhere and at any time, enabling them to experience the best government services across the world, and contributing to saving time, effort and money,” Al Naqbi said.

The initiative comes in line with the Emirates Strategy for Government Services, which aim to raise the country’s competitiveness, facilitate digital transformation, and provide’s the best government services in the world.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com



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