Afridi & Angell Legal Alert
October 2019
The Public Prosecutors’ Department in Dubai has the power to impose fines with respect to certain criminal misdemeanors and offences[i] without being required to refer the matter to a Court of Law. Such fines are issued under a Penal Order. This power stems from Dubai Law No. 1 of 2017, which authorises the Attorney General of Dubai to prescribe the offences and the corresponding fines which may be the subject of a Penal Order. On 1 October 2019 the Attorney General of Dubai issued Resolution No. 119 of 2019 (the Resolution) amending certain fines that could earlier be imposed under Penal Orders, and adding misdemeanors and offences which may be the subject of a Penal Order.
The following fines are amended:
| Misdemeanor or Offence | Previous Fine | Current Fine |
| Intentionally disturbing another through means of telecommunication | AED 5,000 | AED 3,000 |
| Publicly attributing to another person an incident susceptible of making the other person subject to punishment or exposing the other person to contempt | AED 2,000 | AED 5,000 |
| Publicly disgracing the honour of another person | AED 2,000 | AED 3,000 |
| Committing libel or slander over the telephone (which includes text, email, and other electronic messaging) | AED 2,000 | AED 3,000 |
The following misdemeanors and offences may now be punished under a Penal Order:
| Misdemeanor or Offence | Fine |
| Burning or causing to be burned any object belonging to a third party | AED 3,000 |
| Consuming food and beverages publicly during fasting hours of Ramadan | AED 2,000 |
| Compelling, inciting or assisting with publicly consuming food and beverages during the daytime of Ramadan | AED 2,000 with closure of shop (where applicable) |
| Violating an order for closure of shop | AED 3,000 |
| Causing physical injury to another by fault (i.e. not by accident) | AED 1,000 |
| Using a car or a motorcycle without the authorisation or consent of its owner | AED 1,000 |
| Destroying any movable or immovable property belonging to another person | AED 1,000 |
| Wrongfully destroying a tree, crops or any plants belonging to another person | AED 2,000 |
| Harassing or torturing a domestic or tamed animal belonging to another person | AED 1,000 |
| Wrongfully injuring any animal or cattle belonging to another person | AED 500 |
| Staying illegally in the country for up to 90 days | AED 1,000 |
| Not obtaining a residency visa for a child during the legally prescribed time period | AED 1,000 |
| Assisting another to illegally stay in the country | AED 1,000 |
| Driving a vehicle in violation of an order preventing the person from driving | AED 3,000 |
| Driving a vehicle without a valid license | AED 3,000 |
| Removing the number plate of a vehicle without permission to use it on another vehicle | AED 2,000 |
| Failure to stop after causing a vehicle accident | AED 2,000 |
| Refusing to provide name or address to a police officer | AED 1,000 |
[i] Under the UAE Penal Code, ‘Misdemeanors’ are crimes that are punishable by a fine, diyah and/or a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years. ’Offences’ are crimes that are punishable by a fine or by detention for a period not exceeding ten days.
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