The Economy
 

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The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 33% of GDP), and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. At present levels of production, (approx. two million barrels a day) oil and gas reserves should last for over 100 years.

The largest and wealthiest of these emirates, Abu Dhabi, covers 87% of the UAE's total area and accounts for 90% of the federation's oil and gas production and 60% of the UAE's Gross Domestic Product. 

Since the oil and gas reserves are much smaller than Abu Dhabi's, Dubai has worked to become a regional commercial and transportation center. 

Sharjah, too, has oil and gas deposits, but it has focused on light manufacturing and port facilities. The rest of the emirates -- Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah and Umm al- Qaiwain (collectively known as the northern emirates) -- are considerably poorer than the other UAE emirates, and together accounted for only 6.6% of the UAE's GDP in 1996.

According to various *reports, the UAE has not found any permanent solutions to its principal internal challenges: demographics, the dominance of oil in the state, and the paucity of water supplies.  In addition, Abu Dhabi's inability to achieve progress in reaching its goals through its economic, military or political policies. 

The UAE cannot guarantee its security on its own. It is a small state surrounded by very large states and it has *weak military forces. (The UAE signed a defense pact with France in 1995 and Britain in 1996 and Turkey in 1997.)

Despite an enormous investment in arms, for instance, the UAE's armed services -- either on their own or in combination with the GCC -- cannot provide an effective deterrent against Iran. Nor have the defense treaties with Britain and France decreased the federation's dependence on American force projection capabilities. 
 
The Judiciary

{CAUTION ! Article 94 and other provisions of the UAE constitution guarantees the independence of the judicial branch under the Supreme Court of the Union. But unfortunately under the UAE system the Executive without an implied or express power would interfere even in a clear case of acquittal by the Courts there, leading in unlawful punishments etc. Testimony }

The federal system

The UAE has two networks of civil court systems: the federal system and the local systems. While most (but not all) emirates have ceded civil jurisdiction from the local to the federal level, a network of the Sharia courts still functions in each emirate. 

The federal court system consists of three levels: primary courts, appeals courts, and the Supreme Court. Unusually, this system was established on a framework proposed by the judiciary itself. 

The provisions of the UAE constitution did not make clear how the federal system could establish a structure of federal courts beyond the Federal Supreme Court. The Ministry of Justice therefore sought guidance from the Federal Supreme Court on how the constitution was to be interpreted; the resulting interpretation helped form the basis for the three-tier federal system. 

The local system

The local systems are far older, dating back to the pre-independence era and sometimes well before. Local systems generally consisted of two kinds of courts: shari‘a courts and rulers’ courts. 

Shari‘a courts generally operate on the presumption that they have general jurisdiction in a manner similar to the Saudi courts. The courts of the rulers of the member emirates originated out of the view that settling disputes was an integral part of governing. These courts formalized to varying degrees, some staffed with professional judges and operating on the basis of codified law. 

With the creation of the federal system, all but two emirates (Dubai and Ras al-Khayma) opted to cede their jurisdiction over civil, criminal, and administrative cases. Shari‘a courts continue to operate however, throughout the UAE. 
 
Prosecution system 

The UAE operates according to a' niyaba' system in which investigation and prosecution of crimes is a judicial function. The 'niyaba' is headed by the Attorney General and overseen by the Ministry of Justice. Qualifications for a niyaba position are similar to those for a judgeship. As with judges, the Attorney General and members of the niyaba are appointed by the UAE president after nomination by the minister of justice. The two emirates retaining jurisdiction over local criminal cases have their own prosecution systems. 

        More about the UAE Judiciary, click the following links:

                     THE JUDICIARY  -  UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

                            THE APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES

                              DEATH PENALTY IN THE UAE

* Notes:

Geoffrey Kemp and Robert E. Harkavy, Strategic Geography and the Changing Middle East. Washington: Carnegie Endowment/Brookings, 1997, 252. 

The Gulf Protection Racket", Foreign Report, 18 December 1997. 

Ed Blanche, "Offset Industry to Gain from UAE programs", Jane's Defense Weekly, 29 January 1997. 

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