Legal Rights of Indian Nationals in the UAE

EMBASSY OF INDIA, ABU DHABI

LEGAL RIGHTS OF INDIAN NATIONALS IN THE UAE

The Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, wishes to bring to the attention of all Indian nationals residing in or visiting the United Arab Emirates the following provisions under UAE Federal Law No. 38 of 2022, promulgating the Criminal Procedures Law (CPL), UAE Federal Law No. (34) of 2024 on Penal and Correctional Institutions (Penal Institution Law) and Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963.

• Consular Assistance: Any Indian national arrested or detained in the UAE has the right to contact the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, or the Consulate General of India, Dubai and the same can be informed to the detaining authority (Article 36(1) of Vienna Convention on Consular Relations). However, it may be noted that Consular notification is not automatic. An arrested Indian national must specifically request the UAE authorities to inform the Embassy of India / Consulate General of India of their detention in writing in a form which is presented to them during/after the arrest/detention. Without such a request, the Embassy/Consulate will not be automatically notified. 
  
  
• Language Assistance: All fact-finding, investigation and trial procedures will be conducted in Arabic. If the Accused, the witness, or other parties do not speak Arabic, the Judicial Police Officer, the prosecutor or the competent court's judge, as the case may be, may either engage an interpreter or use any technical means approved by the Ministry of Justice or by the Local Judicial Authority(Article 8 of CPL).  Detainees shall not sign any document without understanding its contents owing to language barriers and may request for an interpreter as per the above law.
  
  
• Right to Preserve Personal Freedom: Physical or moral harm, torture, or degrading treatment is expressly prohibited under UAE laws. Evidence obtained by such means is null and void(Article 2, CPL). Further, all detainees have the right to remain silent. (Article 48, CPL). Detention beyond 48 hours without production before the Public Prosecution is also not permitted under UAE law (Article 48, CPL).
  
  
• You have the right to contact your relatives or whomever you wish to inform of your whereabouts upon entering a penal/correctional institution (Article 13(6), Penal Institution Law).
  
  
• Right to Legal Representation: A person accused of a felony (i.e. a crime punishable by imprisonment of at least 3 years or any higher punishment) has the right to be represented by an attorney during the trial stage. If the felony is punishable by death or life imprisonment and if the accused does not appoint an attorney, the court will appoint one to defend him or her (Article 4 of CPL).

A detailed note on Criminal procedures in UAE can be seen at Annexure I.