His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, May Allah protect him, issued a decree by Federal Law No. 31 of 2021 issuing the Crimes and Penal Law, whose provisions are effective as of January 02, 2022, which repealed “Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 issuing the Penal Code and its amendments.” As of the date of entry into force of the decree-law.
Below we summarize the main points of the decree-law:
Article (7) Public Fund:
It was in the old law corresponding to Article (6) redundant 2:
In the provision of this law, it is considered Public Fund :
1 -...
2 -...
The following paragraph (3) was added to the previous wording:
3- The money owned by any other party; the law stipulates that money is considered a public fund.
Article (21) Applicability of the Law Outside the State:
The following fourth paragraph was added to the wording of the corresponding article in the old law in Article 20:
4- The crime of premeditated murder against a citizen of the country. And it became the number of Article (21) in the new law.
Article (27) Types of Crimes:
The phrase “crimes are divided into
1- Legal boundaries crimes.
2- Retribution and Blood Money crimes.
3- Punishment crimes. , have been deleted from the corresponding article in the old law. The text of the article of the new law was interpreted as follows:
Article (27):
1.Crimes are divided into three types:
A. Felonies
B. Misdemeanors
C. Irregularities.
The type of crime is determined by the type of punishment prescribed for it in the law, and if the crime is punishable by a fine or blood money along with another punishment, its type is determined according to the other punishment.
Article (30) Amount of Blood Money for the deceased:
Two Clauses have been added to the wording of Article (29) in the old law, and the wording of the text of the article in the new law is as follows:
Article 30:
A misdemeanor is a crime punishable by one or more of the following penalties:
1- Imprisonment.
2- A fine in excess of one thousand dirhams.
3- The blood money.
The amount of the blood money for the erroneously deceased person, male or female, is set at (200,000) Two hundred thousand Dirhams.
By a decision of the Council of Ministers based on a proposal from the Minister of Justice, the amount of blood money provided for in the previous paragraph may be modified by an increase or decrease it.
Article (72) Abolition of the
Punishment of Flogging:
The wording of the two corresponding articles in the old law (70),(71) was amended by abolishing the punishment of flogging as a disciplinary measure with a whip, raising the maximum fine to ten million dirhams in felonies and five million dirhams in misdemeanors, and adding the phrase “unless the law provides otherwise” to b a part of the text for the article in the new law is as follows:
Article (72): Penalty of fine: It is the obligation of the convict to pay the treasury the adjudged amount, and the fine may not be less than (1,000) One Thousand Dirhams, and its maximum limit should not exceed (10,000,000) Ten million Dirhams in felonies and (5,000,000) Five million Dirhams in misdemeanors. All unless the law provides otherwise.
Article (83) Supplementary Penalties:
The wording of the text of the corresponding article in the old law (82) has been amended by adding the definition of the word “confiscation” so
that the text of the article (83) in the new law is as follows:
Article (83):
1- Confiscation is the ruling devolving private money to the property of the state without consideration or compensation.
2- In cases other than where the law requires a judgment of confiscation, the court may, upon conviction, order the confiscation of the seize
d items and funds that were used in the crime, were intended to be used in the crime or were obtained from it, all without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties.
Article (406) Offenses of honor: Rape, Indecent assault, and Consensual Sexual Intercourse:
The text of the old law, Article (355), was amended to become in the new law:
Article (406):
Whoever has sexual intercourse with a female without her consent shall be punished with life imprisonment.
The penalty shall be the death penalty if the victim’s age is not more than (18) Eighteen years old, or her will is not recognized for any reason, or she suffers from a physical disability or suffers from a health condition that renders her unable to resist, or the offender is one of the victim’s ascendants or one of her male relative, or one of those responsible for her upbringing or care, or those who have authority over her, or if he was a servant to her or with those mentioned above, or if the perpetrators were two or more persons.
Article (407) Offenses of honor: Rape, Indecent assault, and Consensual Sexual Intercourse:
The text of the corresponding article in the old law, Article (356), was amended in the new law as follows: Article (407): Shall be punished by imprisonment and a fine of no less than (10,000) Ten thousand or one of these two penalties, whoever indecently assaults another person, whether male or female.
The penalty shall be imprisonment for a period no less than (5) five years and not exceeding (20) twenty years if the act or attempt is accompanied by force or threat.
The penalty shall be imprisonment for a period of no less than (10) Ten years and not exceeding (25) Twenty-five years if the age of the victim was not more than (18) Eighteen years of age, or if his will was not considered for any reason, or he was suffering from a disability. Physically, or suffers from a health condition that renders him unable to resist, or the offender is one of the victim’s ascendants, or one of his relatives, or one of those responsible for his upbringing or care, or those who have authority over him, or if he was a servant to her or to those mentioned above, or the crime occurred in a place of work or study, accommodation or care.
Article (409) Offenses of honor: Rape, Indecent assault, and Consensual Sexual Intercourse:
The text of the corresponding article in the old law, Article (354), was amended in the new law as follows: Article (409):
Whoever has intercourse with a female or sodomite with a male who has completed (18) Eighteen years of age with his consent shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of no less than (6) six months.
A criminal case for the crime stipulated in the previous paragraph shall not be instituted except on the basis of a complaint from the husband or guardian.
In all cases, the husband or guardian has the right to waive the complaint, and the waiver entails the expiration of the criminal case or the suspension of the execution of the penalty, as the case may be.
Article (410) Children born out of wedlock:
A new article was introduced on "children born out of wedlock" as follows:
Article (410): Anyone who has sexual intercourse with a female who has completed (18) Eighteen years of age and gives birth to an incestuous child shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of no less than (2) years. The female shall be punished with the same penalty.
In all cases, a criminal case is not instituted against them if a man marries a woman or one or both acknowledge the paternity of the newborn child, and identification papers and travel documents have been extracted for him in accordance with the laws of the country to which either of them belongs by nationality, taking into account the legislation in force in the country, and this marriage or acknowledgment and the extraction of Identification papers and travel documents for the child The termination of the criminal case or the suspension of the execution of the penalty, as the case may be.
Article (413) Sexual Harassment:
A new article has been introduced in the new law on “sexual harassment” as follows:
Article (413): Whoever commits a crime of sexual harassment shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of no less than one year and a fine of no less than (10,000) Ten thousand dirhams, or by one of these two penalties.
It is considered sexual harassment, any persistence in harassing the victim by repeating actions, words or signs that would offend his modesty with the intention of making him respond to his sexual desires or the sexual desires of others.
The penalty shall be imprisonment for a period of no less than (2) Two years and a fine of no less than (50,000) Fifty thousand dirhams, or either of these two penalties, if the perpetrators are multiple, or the offender carries a weapon, or if the victim is a child who has not completed (18) Eighteen years of age. His age or the offender was one of the victim’s ascendants, or one of his relatives, or one of those responsible for his upbringing or care, or those who have authority over him, or if he was a servant to her or to those mentioned above.
Article (458) Lending with Interest:
The title of the chapter in the old law was “usury” have been amended in Article (409) to become in the new law under the name “interest-based lending” as follows:
Article (458): A penalty of imprisonment for a period of no less than one year and a fine of no less than (50,000) Fifty thousand dirhams shall be imposed on every natural person who lends interest to another natural person in return for deferring the response, in any kind of civil and commercial transactions, and it is considered as hidden interest.
Any commission or benefit of any kind required by the creditor, if proven that a legitimate benefit or service does not match this commission or benefit that the creditor has paid.
It is permissible to prove the truth of the origin of the debt and the hidden interest by all means.
If the offender takes advantage of the debtor’s need, weakness, or whims to commit the crime stipulated in this article, this shall be considered an aggravating circumstance.
Article (475) Beggary:
Chapter Nine was introduced in the new law on “beggary”, and the legislator singled out articles (475), (476), (477) and (478) to combat ordinary or organized beggary, which punished beggary with imprisonment for a period of no less than (3) months and a fine which is not less than (5,000) Five thousand dirhams, confiscation of items and seized funds, and a final article (479) concerning beggars from among citizens.