Dr. Ghassan Arnous
Legal Advisor at Zayed Al Shamsi Advocates and Legal Consultants.

A crime represents an attack on the security of society and the rights of its members, which are protected by criminal law. The commission of a crime entitles the public prosecution – as the representative of the society and the state – to file a criminal lawsuit against the perpetrator, so that the criminal may face the penalty prescribed by law for their crime.

Although the public prosecution has the right to file a criminal lawsuit, there are certain crimes for which the legislator has conditioned the filing of the lawsuit on the submission of a complaint from the victim or their legal representative. This means that the public prosecution cannot initiate the lawsuit unless the complaint is submitted. The legislator stated in Article 11 of the Federal Criminal Procedure Law issued by Decree-Law No. (38) of 2022:

“A criminal lawsuit may not be filed in the following crimes except based on a complaint submitted by the victim, their legal representative, or their special agent:

1. Theft, fraud, breach of trust, and concealment of stolen items if the victim is the spouse of the offender or one of the offender’s ancestors or descendants, and if those items have not been judicially or administratively seized or encumbered with a third-party right.
2. Failure to deliver a minor to the person entitled to claim custody or taking the minor away from the person who has custody or guardianship over them.
3. Refusal to pay alimony, child support, breastfeeding costs, or housing costs as ordered by a court.
4. Defamation and slander of individuals.
5. Other crimes as specified by law.”

The complaint must be filed within three months from the victim’s knowledge of the crime and the perpetrator, unless the law specifies otherwise.

The complaint is submitted to the public prosecution or to any of the judicial officers. In the case of a crime being committed in flagrante delicto, the complaint may be submitted to the present public authorities.

If the victim withdraws the complaint before a final judgment is issued in the case, the lawsuit is considered dismissed due to the withdrawal. However, if the complaint is withdrawn after the judgment has become final, the public prosecution is required to suspend the execution of the penalty and release the convicted person.