Cases of Reconsideration of Final Criminal Judgments

Sarah Abdullah

Legal Researcher at Zayed Al-Shamsi Law Firm and Legal Consultations 

Judicial judgments are, in principle, final and enforceable upon issuance. However, the UAE legislator has recognized that a judge may sometimes err, or new developments may emerge that were unknown at the time the judgment was issued. Therefore, the Federal Law on Criminal Procedures has allowed exceptional cases in which reconsideration of final judgments is possible, in order to safeguard justice and ensure the protection of individuals’ rights.

Reconsideration is not permitted in all cases, but only in specific situations stipulated by law, including:

1. If the judgment was issued based on documents or papers that were later proven to be forged.

2. If the judgment was based on the testimony of a witness who was later found to have given false testimony.

3. If the judgment was issued against a person, and it later became evident that the alleged victim is still alive.

4. If a person was convicted in a certain incident, and another judgment was later issued against another person for the same incident, and the second judgment contradicts the first in a way that proves the innocence of one of them.

5. If, after the judgment was issued, new facts or evidence emerged that could prove the innocence of the convicted person.

These cases have been carefully defined so that the door to review is not left open without limits, but only in circumstances where there is a clear error or manifest injustice.

Reconsideration of final judgments is therefore an important safeguard for achieving justice—it serves as a safety valve against any judicial error that may occur even after ordinary methods of appeal have been exhausted. Thus, the law strikes a balance between the stability of judgments on one hand, and the protection of rights and preservation of justice on the other.