Sharjah Ruler issues law regulating the practice of court expertise before judicial authorities

His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has issued a law regulating the practice of court expertise before judicial authorities in the Emirate of Sharjah.

The law aims to:

1. Regulate the practice of court expertise before judicial authorities to ensure the proper administration of justice and integrity.

2. Support judicial authorities with qualified experts, thereby contributing to the accuracy of judicial decisions and judgments issued by them.

3. Develop the practice of court expertise and enhance practitioners' competence, with a view to expediting litigation procedures.

4. Enhance confidence in court experts by establishing professional, ethical, and conduct standards for the profession.

5. Develop and empower national talent and expertise to practise in the Emirate's courts.

Under the law, the Judicial Department shall establish registers for the registration of experts with the judicial authorities, as follows:

a. Register of Practising Experts.

b. Register of Non-Practising Experts.

c. Register of Experts in Government Entities.

d. Register of Trainee Experts.

e. Register of Practising Expert Houses.

Under the law, the Head of the Judicial Department may establish additional registers as required by operational needs. Registration in the registers shall be based on the technical specialisations specified by a decision of the Head of the Judicial Department, following the recommendation of the Judicial Inspection Department. Experts’ specialisations shall be determined by their academic qualifications and practical experience in the relevant field. The Implementing Regulations shall specify the form of the register, the requirements to be met, and the data and information to be entered therein.

The law also stipulates that no expert or expert house may practise as a court expert before the judicial authorities in the Emirate unless their name is registered in the relevant register. The following two cases are exempt from this requirement:

a. The parties may agree to appoint an expert or an expert house that is not registered to prepare a report on the dispute before the courts, or on part of it, provided that the judicial authority hearing the dispute approves their agreement.

b. The judicial authority may assign expert work in a case before it to a government entity or to experts not registered in the relevant register, in accordance with the rules and procedures set out in the Implementing Regulations.

The law sets out legal provisions covering all aspects of the regulation of the practice of court expertise, including the Experts Affairs Committee, requirements for the registration of experts and expert houses, requirements for the registration of international expert houses, licensing the practice of judicial expertise, experts’ rights, prohibited practices, experts’ obligations and responsibilities, procedural rules governing expert assignments, the Experts Accountability Council, disciplinary sanctions, and other related legal provisions.