Abu Dhabi includes Hindi as third official court language
Dubai : In a landmark decision, Abu Dhabi has included Hindi as the third official language used in its courts, alongside Arabic and English, as part of a move designed to improve access to justice.
The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department on Saturday said it has extended the adoption of interactive forms of statement of claims filed before courts by including the Hindi language alongside Arabic and English in labour cases.
This is aimed at helping Hindi speakers to learn about litigation procedures, their rights and duties without a language barrier, in addition to facilitating registration procedures via unified forms available through the ADJD website, the judicial body said.
According to official figures, the UAE population is estimated to be around five million of which 2/3rd are immigrants from foreign countries.
The Indian community in the UAE, numbering 2.6 million, constitutes 30 per cent of the total population and is the largest expatriate community in the country.
Yousef Saeed Al Abri, undersecretary of the ADJD, said the adoption of multilingual interactive forms for claim sheets, grievances and requests, aims to promote judicial services in line with the plan Tomorrow 2021, and increase the transparency of litigation procedures.
"This is in addition to facilitating registration procedures to the public through simplified and easy forms and raising litigants' legal awareness via interactive forms of the statements of claims, to ensure access to the legal materials related to the subject of the dispute," Al Abri was quoted as saying by the Khaleej Times.
He indicated that the extension of the adoption of interactive forms in several languages comes under the directives of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and ADJD Chairman.
Al Abri explained that the adoption of new languages comes as part of the bilingual litigation system, the first phase of which was launched in November 2018, through the adoption of procedures requiring the plaintiffs to translate the case documents in civil and commercial lawsuits into English, if the defendant is a foreigner.
"The foreign investor receives the case files translated, thus contributing to the provision of a global judicial service that meets the requirements of residents in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi," he added.
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Pollution: Delhi Transport Department mandates colour-coded fuel for vehicles
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Transport Department has mandated vehicle owners in the National Capital Territory to affix colour-coded stickers on their vehicles to help identify fuel types to combat rising pollution levels.
According to a public notice issued by the department, the directive is in line with the Supreme Court's order dated August 12, 2018, and subsequent amendments to Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.
The vehicle owners in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi will now be required to install chromium-based hologram stickers, the notice read.
The colour-coded stickers are designed to assist enforcement personnel in visually identifying a vehicle's fuel type during road checks.
The rule applies to both new vehicles, effective from April 1, 2019, and old vehicles, registered before March 31, 2019. Vehicle owners must ensure the stickers are affixed on their windscreens to comply with legal requirements, it said.
Owners of older vehicles are advised to contact their respective vehicle dealers for sticker installation, it read.
Additionally, an online booking facility is available for home installation of High-Security Registration Plates (HSRP) along with the fuel-based colour-coded stickers through the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) website or via the Transport Department's portal, the statement said.
Non-compliance will attract penalties under the Motor Vehicles Act and Rules, and vehicle owners are urged to act promptly to avoid prosecution and ensure their vehicles meet the regulatory standards, it added.
The stickers contain details like the registration number, registering authority, a laser-branded PIN, and the engine and chassis numbers of the vehicles.
