Crime in the United Arab Emirates
- The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates confers equality, liberty, rule of law, presumption of innocence in legal procedures, inviolability of the home, freedom of movement, freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of communication, freedom of religion, freedom of council and association, freedom of occupation, freedom to be elected to office and others onto all citizens, within the limit of the law.
- A constitutionally independent judiciary includes the Federal Supreme Court, but Dubai and Ras al-Khaimah do not belong to the national judiciary.
- All emirates have their own secular and Islamic law for civil, criminal, and high courts.
- The court system comprises Sharia courts and civil courts.
- The Personal Status Law, which is based on Sharia and was enacted in 2005, regulates matters such as marriage, divorce and child custody.
- . In criminal matters a woman’s testimony is worth half of that of a man before a court.
- Sharia courts have exclusive jurisdiction to hear family disputes, including matters involving divorce, inheritances, child custody, child abuse and guardianship of minors.
- Sharia courts may, at the federal level only, also hear appeals of certain criminal cases including rape, robbery, driving under the influence of alcohol and related crimes.
- Homosexual relationships are illegal: article 80 of the Abu Dhabi Penal Code makes sodomy punishable with imprisonment of up to 14 years, while article 177 of the Penal Code of Dubai imposes imprisonment of up to 10 years on consensual sodomy.