First Female Judge Appointed in UAE

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 000731

SIPDIS

STATE FOR DRL, NEA/ARP, NEA/PI, NEA/PPD, R, ECA, L

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SCUL KDEM KWMN KMPI AE
SUBJECT: First Female Judge Appointed in UAE


1. Summary: On March 26, 2008, UAE President and Abu Dhabi Ruler
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan appointed the first female judge
in the UAE. This landmark decision to break the gender gap in the
judiciary was received matter-of-factly in the UAE, and the idea
seems to have sufficient traction to suggest that more such
appointments can be expected. End summary.


2. Kholoud Ahmad Jouaan Al-Dhaheri, appointed as a primary judge at
the Abu Dhabi Judiciary Department by President Khalifa (in his
capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi Emirate),is the first Emirati female
judge in the UAE. At present, UAE federal judiciary law states that
only a Muslim man is entitled to assume the position of a judge.
However, according to April 1 press sources, Justice Minister Hadef
bin Jouaan Al-Dhaheri said the following at the opening session of a
conference on "Women and the Judiciary": "the Ministry of Justice
is determined through its strategic plan to give women their
opportunity in the judicial sector by amending the law to allow
women to sit on the bench. This will open the judiciary door before
women at the federal level, following the emirate of Abu Dhabi."
The conference was organized jointly by the General Women's Union
(GWU) and the Judicial Training Institute, under the patronage of
Sheikha Fatima, widow of UAE founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al
Nahyan.


3. Judge Kholoud Al-Dhaheri, who comes from a well known and
respected family in the inland city of Al-Ain in Abu Dhabi emirate,
happens to be the Justice Minister's niece. An Associate Professor
at UAE University and a human rights activist, told Pol Specialist
that Kholoud was a "very polite" student. Born in 1977, she
graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Sharia and Law from UAE
University in 2000, and worked in Abu Dhabi for eight years as a
lawyer arguing civil, commercial, criminal, Sharia and Supreme court
cases. She had been preparing to get her Master's degree in Law
from UAE University.


4. A Legal Advisor at the Ministry of Justice told Pol Specialist
there are three interpretations of Sharia regarding this issue: 1)
the one voiced by the majority of Sharia scholars argues against
having female judges, 2) the second is completely in favor of female
judges, and 3) the third one, which UAE officials and law
practitioners seem to favor, accepts female judges but with certain
reservations. While women might handle all types of civil and
commercial law cases, argued the Legal Advisor, criminal cases will
remain an exclusively male domain. According to another judge from
the Ministry of Justice, there will be other female judges in the
future; he said this appointment did not stem from a mere hasty
political decision, but rather as a natural solution to satisfy a
need for more Emirati judges (in a judiciary with a significant
number of non-nationals serving as judges).


5. The head of the UAE General Women's Union told Pol Section Chief
and Pol Specialist on June 16 that the first female judge has faced
many challenges, the most difficult of which stem from the
conservative mentalities of Muslim clerics and heads of tribes, not
to mention other judges, who refuse the idea of a female colleague.
However, she insisted that the new appointee is doing a good job in
spite of some adversity. As a further endorsement, June 18 press
sources report that the Federal National Council welcomed an
amendment to the judicial law to allow women to sit on the bench.


6. Comment: An amendment to UAE Federal Law allowing women to become
federal judges is expected soon. However, total equality between
male and female judges in terms of the type of cases they handle is
not likely to follow immediately, not due to any perceived lack of
capability on the part of female judges, but rather due to the
perception that criminal cases (such as rape cases) contain
embarrassing and distressful details for a woman. Full equality
will be an evolutionary process. End comment.

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08Cable- First Female Judge Appointed in UAE (3).doc
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