At the end of her mission, the UN expert shared a few "preliminary observations" at a press conference in Abu Dhabi. Her words included: "I wish to commend the recognition of the principle of the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in the Constitution of 1971... The United Arab Emirates have come a long way since their independence in 1971...the achievements should be acknowledged and commended." The Special Rapporteur also lauded the UAE's "very advanced computer-based systems" for the management of the courts and cases and "impressive applications for mobile phones which facilitate the work of judges, lawyers and court users alike."
Actually, the main feature of the UAE's judiciary is that court decisions are subject to review by the local rulers' offices, or "diwans". According to the 2012 State Department report on human rights situation in the UAE:
- "By tradition the local rulers' offices, or "diwans," maintained the practice of reviewing some criminal and civil offenses before they referred cases to prosecutors. They also reviewed sentences judges passed, returned cases to the court on appeal if they did not approve of the verdicts, and approved the release of every prisoner who had completed a sentence. The diwans' involvement...led to lengthy delays prior to and following the judicial process and lengthened the time defendants served in prison. A diwan's decision in any court case was considered final. If a judge and a diwan disagreed, the diwan's decision prevailed."
In fact, however, the inequality of women before the law in the United Arab Emirates has been well documented. The 2012 State Department Report, for example, highlights the following abuses:
- "The constitution does not prohibit discrimination based on gender... The penal code does not address spousal rape. The penal code allows men to use physical means, including violence, at their discretion against female and minor family members...There were reports that employers raped or sexually assaulted foreign domestic workers. These cases rarely made it to court, and those that did had a low conviction rate. In courts that applied Sharia, the extremely high burden of proof for a rape case contributed to a low conviction rate. In addition female victims of rape or sexual crimes faced the possibility of prosecution instead of assistance from government authorities... Fornication outside of marriage is a crime, and the government may imprison and deport noncitizen women if they bear children out of wedlock. Paternity denial was an emerging phenomenon in the courts...In the absence of an acknowledged father, the mothers of these children faced potential legal charges of adultery, for which the punishment can be lashing."