1. DEFINITIONS
1.1. The constitution in state
1.1.1. includes the legal rules (determine structure of government )
1.1.2. defines the relationships and functions of its authorities
1.1.3. reflects nation mindset
1.1.4. changes/evolves with country
1.1.5. issued during transitory stages/ new era
1.1.6. recognizes that Islam shall be the official religion of the Union. + the Islamic Shari’a shall be a principal source or legislation in the Union.
1.2. Federal state
2. GENERAL KEY IDEAS
2.1. CH 3.
2.1.1. The first written constitution of the UAE was issued on December 2, 1971. (declared federal state) four preceding decades, the UAE has achieved unequal presence on regional and international maps.
2.1.2. In the pre-constitution era, systems of government were based on tribal law.
2.1.3. The UAE interim constitution has been effective for twenty-five years.
2.1.4. May 1996, the Federal Supreme Council of the UAE convened, changing the status of the interim constitution.
2.1.5. The UAE’s constitution encompasses 152 articles divided into ten parts and eight chapters.
2.1.6. The Union may not surrender its sovereignty or cede any part of its territories or waters.
2.1.7. Islam shall be the official religion of the Union.
2.1.8. The citizens of the UAE federation shall have one citizenship, determined by law + protected abroad by fed government
2.1.9. 2 constitutional texts created a balance between two essential issues (1. unified state for interest of UAE citizens, 2. autonomous entities of emirates exercising law)
2.1.10. The rights and duties of the UAE’s citizens are determined by the UAE constitution.
2.1.11. Rights + obligations : Right to Life/Right to work/Combating Human Trafficking/Personal Freedom/ Duties Towards the State
2.1.12. 200 islands IN THE UAE
3. Development+ emergence of state
3.1. On December 2, 1971, the UAE was declared a federal state.
4. Membership in the Political Community (people's rights + duties + obligations
4.1. The rights and duties of the UAE’s citizens determined by the UAE constitution
4.1.1. 1. all persons shall be equal before the law. No discrimination shall be practiced between citizens of the Union by reason of race, nationality, religious belief or social position.
4.1.2. 2. Personal freedom shall be guaranteed to all citizens.
4.1.3. 3. No person may be arrested, searched, detained or imprisoned except in accordance with the provisions of the law.
4.1.4. 4. No man shall be subjected to torture or other indignity.
4.1.5. 5. freedom to hold religious ceremonies in accordance with established custom shall be safeguarded, provided such ceremonies are consistent with public order and with public morals.
4.2. Rights + obligations in the UAE constitution
4.2.1. Right to Life
4.2.1.1. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICEAFRD)
4.2.1.2. international forums as platforms to call for the prevention of racial discrimination.
4.2.1.3. right to life for all human beings regardless of their ethnicity, sex, color, genealogy and national origin.
4.2.1.4. protection of human rights + (ICEAFRD) are articulated by the principles of the UAE constitution.
4.2.1.5. freedom of assembly+ freedom to hold meetings guaranteed within the limits of the law
4.2.1.6. freedom to form associations within the confines of the law.
4.2.2. Right to work
4.2.2.1. Every citizen shall be free to choose his occupation, trade or profession within the limits of the law
4.2.2.2. No forced labor, except in exceptional circumstances provided for by the law and in return for compensation
4.2.3. Combating Human Trafficking
4.2.3.1. In 2006 the UAE issued a decree to combat human trafficking. The provisions of the law comprise 16 articles.
4.2.4. Personal Freedom
4.2.4.1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and the International Covenants on Civil and Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. States that...
4.2.4.1.1. Citizens may not be deported or banished from their countries. the UAE constitution took into account items which prohibit the exile or removal of citizens outside the border of the union.
4.2.4.1.2. The extradition of citizens and political refugees is prohibited by the constitution. the general confiscation of possessions is prohibited.
4.2.4.1.3. Confiscation of an individual’s possessions as a punishment may be executed only on the basis of a legal ruling, and in circumstances provided for in the law.
4.2.4.1.4. prohibits the violation of the privacy of homes. They may not be entered without permission from their inhabitants except in accordance with the provisions of the law, and in circumstances laid down therein.
4.2.4.1.5. mandates that every person has the right to submit complaints to the competent authorities, including the judicial authorities, concerning the abuse or infringement of the rights and freedoms stipulated in the provisions of the constitution.
4.2.5. Duties Towards the State
4.2.5.1. The defense of the Union and the performance of obligatory military service constitute a sacred duty for every citizen and an honor regulated by law.
4.2.5.2. The respect of the Constitution and the laws and orders issued by public authorities, are also among these duties. It shall be the duty of all inhabitants of the Union to respect the Constitution and the laws and regulations issued by the public authorities in execution thereof, to protect public order and to respect public morality.
4.2.5.3. The UAE constitution does not exclude foreigners. In accordance with the constitution, foreigners enjoy, within the Union, the rights and freedoms stipulated in international charters which are in force, or in treaties and agreements to which the Union is party. Thus, they shall be subject to the equivalent obligations. The UAE has established the Supreme Committee for the Management of Labor Crises “in order to consider the workers’ complaints,” as well as the establishment of shelters to house workers who lost their jobs, their work permits and places of residence.
4.2.5.4. Each citizen who is an affiliated member of his society and state is required to participate in different fields of societal service.
5. What type of state is the UAE? Federal state
5.1. Federal state results in:
5.1.1. 1. Individual Emirates not independent entities (considered as political units within the new federal state.)
5.1.2. 2. Federal government represents the state in the international arena, + responsible for the international commitments state.
5.1.3. 3. a) federal state authority to enter into relations with other countries/international organizations. b) sign treaties in times of peace and war. c) entitled to send and receive diplomatic missions, join organizations + coalitions + declare war if the security of the country is jeopardized. d) policies of the federal state are fully recognized and adhered to by the Emirates which comprise the federation
5.1.4. 4. Unlike the local governments, the federal government is responsible commitments on the international scale.
5.1.5. 5. All the citizens of the seven Emirates encompassing the federal state hold only one citizenship. (of their emirate)
5.1.6. 6. The UAE federal constitution regulates the relations among the seven Emirates. + also coordinates the relationships between the seven Emirates and the federal authority.
6. Basic Constitutional principals
6.1. The UAE interim constitution (25 yrs)
6.1.1. UAE’s leaders concentrated on laying foundations of the federal state, establishing institutions + consolidating the pillars of its progress + renaissance in the economic/social/ educational fields.
6.1.2. witnessed a major shift in the construction (new national identity through evolving relationship between the Emirates + the central government + between the citizen + the emerging federation)
6.1.3. In May of 1996, the Federal Supreme Council of the UAE convened, changing the status of the interim constitution.
6.2. The foundation and declaration of the UAE federation under the constitution
6.2.1. approved by all governors of the Emirates, resulting in the evolution of the UAE as a new legal political entity recognized on the international level. According to the text of Article 1 of the UAE constitution
6.2.2. The United Arab Emirates is an ____ state
6.2.2.1. independent
6.2.2.2. sovereign
6.2.2.3. referred to hereafter in this Constitution as The Union.
6.2.2.3.1. The union shall exercise sovereignty in matters assigned to it ( in accordance with this Constitution over all territory and territorial waters lying within the international bounderies of the member Emirates.)
6.2.2.3.2. member Emirates exercise sovereignty over their own territories and territorial waters in all matters not within the jurisdiction of the Union as assigned in this constitution.
6.2.2.3.3. The Union may not surrender its sovereignty or cede any part of its territories or waters.
6.2.2.3.4. Islam shall be the official religion of the Union. Likewise, the Islamic Shari’a shall be a principal source or legislation in the Union
6.2.2.3.5. The citizens of the UAE federation shall have one citizenship, determined by law, and are protected abroad by the federal government according to related international protocols.
6.2.2.4. federal state
6.3. The 2 constitutional texts that created a balance between two essential issues
6.3.1. 1. The foundation of a unified state whose central government has all the constitutional authorities required for achieving the joint interests of the UAE’s citizens.
6.3.2. 2. Maintaining the autonomous entities of the member Emirates by allowing them to exercise the constitutional authorities required for accomplishing local interests within the general agenda of the Federal government