In Cooperation with Dubai Police, The Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department Holds Training Workshop on the Working Mechanism for Dealing with Bounced Cheques in Government Claims

The Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department, in liaison with the General Department of Human Rights, held a training workshop for a number of cadets of Dubai Police General Headquarters, on the working mechanism for dealing with bounced cheques in the Government Disputes and Claims Directorate of the Legal Affairs Department, in light of the amendment to the Federal Commercial Transactions Law No. (18) of 1993, in Article 635 bis, which was added pursuant to Federal Decree Law No. (14) of 2020. The amendment gives the cheque the force of writ of execution in solely two cases whereby the bearer may resort to the execution judge directly seeking execution on all or the remaining balance of a cheque as a writ of execution, without having to follow the conventional litigation process by seeking the issuance of a petition order against the debtor (drawer), which was a time- consuming process, as the creditor will have to give notice of no less than five days to the debtor demanding payment of a cheque. In the event the five-day notice lapses without the debtor paying the cheque, a petition order will be served on the debtor. Such petition order, however, will not be deemed as a writ of execution until it goes through all grievance and appeal stages as prescribed by law, which causes delay for the beneficiary to cash the cheque and affects the trust in the cheque as a negotiable instrument payable on demand.

The workshop, which was chaired by Dr. Juma Obaid AlFalasi, Director of the Advocates and Legal Consultants Affairs Directorate, and Lt. Col. Dr. Dr. Abdurrahman Yusuf Al Obaidli, Head of the Legal Affairs Department of the General Department of Human Rights, included presentations by legal counsel Tariq Fayek Saeed of the Government Disputes and Claims Directorate, legal counsel Ahmed Fawzyi, Head of the Execution Section, and legal counsel Ali Elberry, Assistant Head of the Execution Section.

During the workshop, presenters discussed instances where a cheque is evidenced by the drawee to be with no sufficient funds or no funds at all. In these instances, the cheque is deemed a writ of execution, pursuant to Federal Decree Law No. (14) of 2020, and the bearer may demand that execution be enforced on the cheque in whole or in part, in accordance with the procedures and rules stipulated by the Executive Regulations of the Civil Procedures Law.

The speakers pointed out that the legislative amendments aim to achieve expeditious administration of justice, given that these amendments decriminalised issuance of a cheque with no sufficient funds or no funds at all, and developed new alternatives and mechanisms to ensure that cheques are collected in the fastest and simplest possible way, by eliminating any judicial and procedural restrictions, whether criminal or civil. In addition, the amendments aim to reassure customers and enhance their trust in the cheque as negotiable instrument payable on demand, in an easy and convenient way.

The workshop was attended by a number of officers and non-commissioned officers of Dubai Police, whose job duties involve dealing with cheques, as well as a number of legal counsel of the Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department.


In Cooperation with Dubai Police, The Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department Holds Training Workshop on the Working Mechanism for Dealing with Bounced Cheques in Government Claims
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