Judge requirements and ethical issues in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

Abstract

This paper examines the core sources governing judicial ethics in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), primarily in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), taking into account mixed nature of its legal system, comparing to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with its more religious approach and the State of Qatar with a manifested democratic one. On grounds of the analysis and systematization of the regulatory framework, a study was conducted in accordance with the current state of affairs regarding qādī qualifications in Arab countries and summarized in a table. The ideological differences in Islam are also taken into account through the study of the opinions of authoritative mujtahids and the works of foreign scholars. The authors have analyzed Islamic doctrine and compared it with the current Emirati, Saudi and Qatari legislation regarding the requirements for judge (qādī). The United Arab Emirates federal laws and decrees more precisely elaborate teachings and modify specific evaluative concepts. They also provide more lenient rules, despite the predominance of Mālikī and Hanafī madhabs. The authors also note the more detailed regulation of the disciplinary and criminal responsibility of judges and slight changes in relation to the observations indicated in the Reports of the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers No. A/HRC/29/26 2015 in UAE and Qatar. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar has more similar, but rigid regulation due to one madhab domination (Hanbali). The issue calls for the revision of a number of laws that are examined in detail, since the implementation of them causes inequality that deems to be fought against.