New Updates and Procedures for Bail in the UAE

Bail is a provisional release of an accused and may be granted by the public prosecution for a felony or a misdemeanor, at any time whether on its own decision or upon request of the accused unless the accused has been referred to the competent court for trial, in which case his release falls within the jurisdiction of the said court.

What is the applicable law?

The procedure of bail has been set out in the Criminal Procedural Law of the UAE, which is the Federal Law No. 35 of 1992 Concerning the Criminal Procedural Law. The Criminal Procedural Law applies to procedures regarding the crimes which are punishable under the UAE Penal Code (Federal Decree Law No. 31 of 2021 On the Issuance of the Crimes and Penalties Law.

According to Article 111, bail may not be granted to a person who is convicted of a crime having a death penalty or life imprisonment. That said, the public prosecution or the court, as the case may be, may order a provisional release of the accused in matters of misdemeanor or felonies.

What are the conditions of bail?

The release of an individual on bail is typically conditioned on acceptance of security for bail. Security for the bail could be personal security or financial security.

Personal Security:

In this case, the passport of the accused or of a third person is surrendered as guarantee.

Financial Security:

It refers to the submission of a financial bond as a guarantee for bail.

In some cases, release of a person on bail may be accepted on submission of all of the above documents. This is determined by the public prosecution or the judge, as the case may be, in accordance with Article 112 of the Criminal Procedural Law.

What is the bail amount in cases of bail?

While the Criminal Procedural Law does not lay down a specific sum of amount which is to be paid as bail amount, it is generally left to the discretion of the public prosecution or the court, as the case may be. That said, Article 112 of the Criminal Procedural Law states that the bail amount should act as an incentive for the accused to perform all duties imposed on him, as well as adequate penalty from absconding and not appearing during investigation or trial as well as remedy against his evasion of the judgment.

Article 113 of the Criminal Procedural Law further states that the amount of bail will be paid by the accused or others, by depositing the amount with the court treasury.

Revocation of Bail

It is crucial to note that the order of bail is not irrevocable. The public prosecution has the right to revoke the bail in certain situations and issue another order for arresting the accused under Article 115 of the Criminal Procedural Law.

The circumstances in which bail can be revoked include: (a) if the evidence against the accused becomes stronger; (b) if the accused fails to fulfil his duties or breaches the bail provisions; or (c) if there are circumstances that require such a measure.

If the bail order had been issued by the court, the order to arrest the accused will have to be issued by the same court based on the request of the public prosecution.