The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department Discusses Mediation and Settlement in Penal Reconciliation

 15 June 2023

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department organized a workshop entitled "Mediation and Settlement in light of the legislative developments introduced in Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2022 regarding the issuance of the Code of Criminal Procedures", with the aim of discussing the unification of judicial trends in line with legislative developments in the application of the mediation system in criminal reconciliation and the regulating its procedures which entered into force on March 1, 2023.

          The organization of this workshop comes within the framework of the Judicial Department's efforts to consolidate judicial principles that support the achievement of prompt justice in implementation of the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidential Court, and Head of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, to establish a pioneering judicial system that keeps pace with all developments and changes, in line with government directives aimed at enhancing competitiveness and global leadership. 

          The workshop reviewed the provisions of mediation in penal reconciliation which were introduced by the UAE legislator with the aim of conducting the reconciliation process in criminal cases, and facilitating reaching an amicable settlement between the accused and the victim, by involving a third party to try to narrow the differences and bridge the rift between them in order to avoid referring the dispute to court, based on an agreement that satisfies both parties.

          The speakers also dealt with mediation procedures in conciliation that fall within the discretionary power of the Public Prosecution, and this is in the crimes that expire by conciliation or waiver and take place before referring the case to the criminal court while mediation takes place between the accused and the victim in order to achieve reconciliation between them through a mediator under the supervision of the Public Prosecution if it appears to it from the conditions and circumstances of the case, that the settlement can guarantee redress for the harm suffered by the victim or end the consequences of the crime.

The discussion also touched on the impact of the settlement agreement and the consequences thereof, including the termination of the criminal case or suspending the execution of the judgment issued thereon, as the case may be. The agreement is not subject to appeal after its approval by the Public Prosecution, and it is not permissible to withdraw from it by the accused or the victim, and the minutes of the approval of the reconciliation shall have the power of the writ of execution, while reconciliation has no effect on the civil rights of the victim or the person injured by the crime, or on his right to resort to civil justice to claim final compensation for the injury incurred, unless he waives it or is covered by the reconciliation agreement.

          It is noteworthy that the Decree-Law on Criminal Procedures has allowed the competent judicial authorities to issue decisions related to regulating the mediator's work in criminal mediation, the conditions that he must fulfill, the criteria for his selection, his role, and his obligations, while defining the referral procedures for mediation and its sessions.