Provisions of Criminal Settlement in Misdemeanours under UAE Legislation: An Analytical Study

Abstract

The criminal settlement is a procedural system newly introduced into UAE legislation by Federal Decree-Law No. (38) of 2022 concerning criminal procedures. This system permits the Public Prosecution to propose a penalty to the defendant in certain crimes instead of referring the case to the competent court. The settlement proposal does not become binding on the parties or produce legal effects until the competent court ratifies it; the criminal settlement system contributes to reducing the congestion of cases before criminal courts. It is important to note that the criminal settlement agreement is contingent upon the defendant's consent, meaning that the defendant is not compelled to enter a settlement unless they believe it serves their best interest.

Through this study, we have elucidated the provisions of criminal settlement in misdemeanours under UAE legislation and adopted an analytical approach to achieving a deep and comprehensive understanding of this new procedural system, which will undoubtedly contribute to achieving swift consensual criminal justice and alleviate the burden on the judiciary due to the accumulation of cases before the courts. It will also help avoid imposing short-term custodial sentences and their associated drawbacks. We have reached a set of conclusions and recommendations that the legislature should adopt to achieve a comprehensive and regulated criminal settlement system.