Powers of the National Assembly

Powers of the National Assembly


In so far as this does not conflict with the provisions of Article 110, Union Bills, including financial bills, shall be submitted to the National Assembly of the Union before their submission to the President of the Union for presentation to the Supreme Council for ratification.
The National Assembly shall discuss these bills and may pass them, amend or reject them.

Article 90
The Assembly shall examine during its ordinary. Session the Annual General Budget draft law of the Union and the draft law of the final accounts, in accordance with the provisions in Chapter Eight of this Constitution.

Article 91
The Government shall inform the Union Assembly of international treaties and agreements concluded with other states and the various international organisations, together with appropriate explanations.

Article 92
The Union National Assembly may discuss any general subject pertaining to the affairs of the Union unless the Council of Ministers Informs the Union National Assembly that such discussion is contrary to the highest interests of the Union. The Prime Minister or the Minister concerned shall attend the debates. The Union National Assembly may express its recommendations and may define the subjects for debate. If the Council of Ministers does not approve of these recommendations, it shall notify the Union National Assembly of its reasons.

Article 93
The Government of the Union shall be represented at sessions of the Union National Assembly by the Prime Minister or his deputy or one member of the Union Cabinet at least. The Prime Minister or his deputy or the competent Minister, shall answer questions put to them by any member of the Assembly requesting explanation of any matters within their jurisdiction, in conformity with the procedures prescribed in the standing orders of the Assembly.

Chapter V
THE JUDICIARY IN THE UNION AND THE EMIRATES

Article 94
Justice is the basis of rule. In performing their duties, judges shall be independent and shall not be subject to any authority but the law and their own conscience.

Article 95
The Union shall have a Union Supreme Court and Union Primary Tribunals as explained hereinafter.

Article 96
The Union Supreme Court shall consist of a President and a number of judges, not exceeding five in all, who shall be appointed by decree, issued by the President of the Union after approval by the Supreme Council. The law shall prescribe the number of the chambers in the Court, their order and procedures, conditions of service and retirement for its members and the preconditions and qualifications required of them.



Article 97
The President and the Judges of the Union Supreme Court shall not be removed while they administer justice. Their tenure of office shall not be terminated except for one of the following reasons: -
1. Death.
2. Resignation.
3. Expiration of term of contract for those who are appointed by fixed term contract or completion of term of secondment.
4. Reaching retirement age.
5. Permanent incapacity to carry the burdens of their duties by reasons of ill health.
6. Disciplinary discharge on the basis of the reasons and proceedings stipulated in the law.
7. Appointment to other offices with their consent.

Article 98
The President and the Judges of the Union Supreme Court shall, before holding office, swear on oath before the President of the Union and in the presence of the Union Minister of Justice, that they will render justice without fear or favour and that they will be loyal to the Constitution and the laws of the Union.

Article 99
The Union Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction in the following matters: -
1. Various disputes between member Emirates in the Union, or between any one Emirate or more and the Union Government, whenever such disputes are submitted to the Court on the request of any of the interested parties.
2. Examination of the constitutionality of Union laws, if they are challenged by one or more of the Emirates on the grounds of violating the Constitution of the Union. Examination of the constitutionality of legislations promulgated by one of the Emirates, if they are challenged by one of the Union authorities on the grounds of violation of the Constitution of the Union or of Union laws.
3. Examination of the constitutionality of laws, legislations and regulations in general, if such request is referred to it by any Court in the country during a pending case before it. The aforesaid Court shall be bound to accept the ruling of the Union Supreme Court rendered in this connection.
4. Interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution, when so requested by any Union authority or by the Government of any Emirate. Any such interpretation shall be considered binding on all.
5. Trial of Ministers and senior officials of the Union appointed by decree regarding their actions in carrying out their official duties on tile demand of the Supreme Council and in accordance with the relevant law.
6. Crimes directly affecting the interests of the Union, such as crimes relating to its internal or external security, forgery of the official records or seals of any of the Union authorities and counterfeiting of currency.
7. Conflict of jurisdiction between the Union judicial authorities and the local judicial authorities in the Emirates.
8. Conflict of jurisdiction between the judicial authority in one Emirate and the judicial authority in another Emirate. The rules relating thereof shall be regulated by a Union Law.
9. Any other jurisdiction stipulated in this Constitution, or which may be assigned to it by a Union law.


Article 100
The Union Supreme Court shall hold its sittings in the capital of the Union. It may, exceptionally, assemble when necessary in the capital of any one of the Emirates.

Article 101
The judgements of the Union Supreme Court shall be final and binding upon all.
If the Court, in ruling on the constitutionality of laws, legislations and regulations, decides that a Union legislation is inconsistent with the Union Constitution, or that local legislations or regulations under consideration contain provisions which are inconsistent with the Union Constitution or with a Union law, the authority concerned in the Union or in the Emirate, accordingly, shall be obliged to hasten to take the necessary measures to remove or rectify the constitutional inconsistency.

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Article 108
No sentence of death imposed finally by a Union judicial authority shall be carried out until the President of the Union has confirmed the sentence. He may substitute it by an attenuate sentence in accordance with the procedure stipulated in the preceding Article.

Article 109
There shall be no general amnesty for a crime or for specified crimes except by law.
The promulgation of the law of amnesty shall consider such crimes being deemed non avenue, and shall remit the execution of the sentence or the remaining part of it.

PART FIVE UNION LEGISLATIONS AND DECREES AND THE AUTHORITIES HAVING JURISDICTION THEREIN

Chapter 1
UNION LAWS

Article 110
1. Union laws shall be promulgated in accordance with the provisions of this Article and other appropriate provisions of the Constitution.
2. A draft law shall become a law after the adoption of the following procedure :-
a. The Council of Ministers shall prepare a bill and submit it to the Union National Assembly.
b. The Council of Ministers shall submit the bill to the president of the Union for his approval and presentation to the Supreme Council for ratification.
c. The President of the Union shall sign the bill after ratification by the Supreme Council and shall promulgate it.
3.
a. If the Union National Assembly inserts any amendment to the bill and this amendment is not acceptable to the President of the Union or the Supreme Council, or if the Union National Assembly rejects the bill, the President of the Union or the Supreme Council may refer it back to the National Assembly. If the Union National Assembly introduces an amendment on that occasion which is not acceptable to the President of the Union or the Supreme Council, or if the Union National Assembly decides to reject the bill, the President of the Union may promulgate the law after ratification by the Supreme Council.
b. The term "bill" in this clause shall mean the draft which is submitted to the President of the Union by the Council of Ministers including the amendments, if any, made to it by the Union National Assembly.
4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the situation requires the promulgation of Union laws when the National Assembly is not in session, the Council of Ministers of the Union may issue them through the Supreme Council and the President of the Union, provided that the Union Assembly is notified at its next meeting.

Article 111
Laws shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Union within a maximum of two weeks from the date of their signature and promulgation by the President of the Union after the Supreme Council has ratified them. Such laws shall become in force one month after the date of their publication in the said Gazette, unless another date is specified in the said law.

Article 112
No laws may be applied except on what occurs as from the date they become in force and no retroactive effect shall result in such laws. The law may, however, stipulate the contrary in matters other than criminal, if necessity so requires.

Chapter 11
LAWS ISSUED BY DECREES

Article 113
Should necessity arise for urgent promulgation of Union laws between sessions of the Supreme Council, the President of the Union together with the Council of Ministers may promulgate the necessary laws in the from of decrees which shall have the force of law, provided that they are not inconsistent with the Constitution.
Such decree-laws must be referred to the Supreme Council within a week at the maximum for assent or rejection. If they are approved, they shall have the force of law and the Union National Assembly shall be notified at its next meeting.
However, if the Supreme Council does not approve them, they shall cease to have the force of law unless that it has decided to sanction their effectiveness during the preceding period, or to settle in some other way the effects arising therefrom.

Chapter 12
ORDINARY DECREES

Article 114
No decree may be issued unless the Council of Ministers has confirmed it and the President of the Union or the Supreme Council, according to their powers, has ratified it. Decrees shall be published in the Official Gazette after signature by the President of the Union.

Article 115
While the Supreme Council is out of session and if necessity arises, it may authorise the President of the Union and the Council of Ministers collectively to promulgate decrees whose ratification is within the power of the Supreme Council, provided that such authority shall not include ratification of international agreements and treaties or declaration or remission of martial law or declaration of a defensive war or appointment of the President or Judges of the Union Supreme Court.

PART SIX THE EMIRATES

Article 116
The Emirates shall exercise all powers not assigned to the Union by this Constitution. The Emirates shall all participate in the establishment of the Union and shall benefit from its existence, services and protection.

Article 117
The exercise of rule in each Emirate shall aim in particular at the maintenance of security and order within its territories, the provision of public utilities for its inhabitants and the raising of social and economic standards.

Article 118
The member Emirates of the Union shall all work for the co-ordination of their legislations in various fields with the intention of unifying such legislations as far as possible.
Two or more Emirates may, after obtaining the approval of the Supreme Council, agglomerate in a political or administrative unit, or unify all or part of their public services or establish a single or joint administration to run any such service.

Article 119
Union law shall regulate with utmost ease matters pertaining to the execution of judgements. requests for commissions of rogation, serving legal documents and surrender of fugitives between member Emirates of the Union.
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Article 121
Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding Article. The Union shall have exclusive legislative jurisdiction in the following matters:
Labour relations and social security? real estate and expropriation in the public interest? extradition of criminals, banks, insurance of all kinds; protection of agricultural and animal wealth? major legislations relating to penal law, civil and commercial transactions and company law, procedures before the civil and criminal courts? protection of cultural, technical and industrial property and copyright, printing and publishing, import of arms and ammunitions except for use by the armed forces or the security forces belonging to any Emirate, other aviation affairs which are not within the executive jurisdiction of the Union, delimitation of territorial waters and regulation of navigation on the high seas.

Article 122
The Emirates shall have jurisdiction in all matters not assigned to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Union in accordance with the provisions of the two preceding Articles.

Article 123
As an exception to paragraph 1 of Article 120 concerning the exclusive jurisdiction of the Union in matters of foreign policy and international relations, the member Emirates of the Union may conclude limited agreements of a local and administrative nature with the neighbouring states or regions, save that such agreements are not inconsistent with the interests of the Union or with Union laws and provided that the Supreme Council of the Union is informed in advance. If the Council objects to the conclusion of such agreements, it shall be obligatory to suspend the matter until the Union Court has ruled on that objection as early as possible.
The Emirates may retain their membership in the OPEC organisation and the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or may join them.
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PART SEVEN

Please refer to the official web site of the Government of United Arab Emirates for Part Seven.
-Editor

PART EIGHT FINANCIAL AFFAIRS OF THE UNION

Article 126
The general revenues of the Union shall consist of the income from the following resources:
1. Taxes, fees and duties imposed under a Union law in matters within the legislative and executive jurisdiction of the Union.
2. Fees and rates received by the Union in return for services provided.
3. Contribution made by member Emirates of the Union in the Annual Budget of the Union in accordance with the article herein coming after.
4. Union income from its own properties.

Article 127
The member Emirates of the Union shall contribute a specified proportion of their annual revenues to cover the annual general budget expenditure of the Union, in the manner and on the scale to be prescribed in the Budget Law.

Article 128
The law shall prescribe the method of preparing the general budget of the Union and the final accounts. The law shall also define the beginning of the financial year.

Article 129
The draft annual budget of the Union, comprising estimates of revenues and expenditure, shall be referred to the Union National Assembly at least two months before the beginning of the financial year, for discussion and submission of comments thereon, before the draft budget is submitted to the Supreme Council of tile Union, together with those comments, for assent.

Article 130
The annual general budget shall be issued by a law. In all cases, where the budget law has not been promulgated before the beginning of the Financial year. Temporary monthly funds may be made by Union decree on the basis of one twelfth of the funds of the previous financial year. Revenues shall be collected and expenditure disbursed in accordance with the laws in force at the end of the preceding financial year.


Article 131
All expenditure not provided for in the budget, all expenditure in excess of the budget estimates and all transfers of sums from one part to another of the Budget must be covered by a law.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in cases of extreme urgency, such expenditure or transfer may be arranged by decree-law in conformity with the provisions of Article 113 of this Constitution.

Article 132
The Union shall allocate in its annual budget a sum from its revenue to be expended on building, and constriction projects, internal security and social affairs according to the urgent needs of some of the Emirates.
The execution of these projects and the disbursement thereon shall be drawn from these funds. Accomplished by means of and under the supervision of the competent Union bodies with the agreement of authorities of the Emirates concerned. The Union may establish a special fund for this purpose.

Article 133
No Union tax may be imposed, amended or abolished except by virtue of law. No person may be exempted from payment of such taxes except in the cases specified by law.
Union taxes, duties and fees may not be levied on any person except within the limits of the law and in accordance with its provisions.
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PART NINE ARMED FORCES AND SECURITY FORCES

Article 137
Every attack upon any member Emirates of the Union shall be considered an attack upon all the Emirates and upon the existence of the Union itself, which all Union and local forces will co-operate to repel by all means possible.

Article 138
The Union shall have army, navy and air forces with unified training and command. The Commander in Chief of these forces and the Chief of the General Staff shall be appointed and dismissed by means of a Union decree. The Union may have A Union Security Forces. The Union Council of Ministers shall be responsible directly to the President of the Union and the Supreme Council of the Union for the affairs of all these forces.

Article 139
The law shall regulate military service, general or partial mobilisation, the rights and duties of members of the Armed Forces, their disciplinary procedures and similarly the special regulations of the Union Security Forces.

Article 140
The declaration of defensive war shall be declared by a Union decree issued by the President of the Union after its approval by the Supreme Council. Offensive war shall be prohibited in accordance with the provisions of international charters.
Council of Ministers of the Union, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Interior, the Commander in Chief and the Chief of the General Staff. It shall advise and offer views on all matters pertaining to defence maintenance of the peace and security of the Union. Forming of the armed forces, their equipment and development and the determination of their posts and camps.
The Council may invite any military adviser or expert or other persons it wishes to attend its meetings but they shall have no decisive say in its deliberations. All matters pertaining to this Council shall be regulated by means of a law.

Article 142
The member Emirates shall have the right to set up local security forces ready and equipped to join the defensive machinery of the Union to defend, if need arises, the Union against any external aggression.

Article 143
Any Emirate shall have the right to request the assistance of the Armed Forces or the Security Forces of the Union in order to maintain security and order within its territories whenever it is exposed to danger. Such a request shall be submitted immediately to the Supreme Council of the Union for decision.
The Supreme Council may call upon the aid of the local armed forces belonging to any Emirate for this purpose provided that the Emirate requesting assistance and the Emirate to whom the forces belong agree.
The President of the Union and the Council of Ministers of the Union collectively, may, if the Supreme Council is not in session, take any immediate measure which cannot be delayed and considered necessary and may call the Supreme Council into immediate session.

PART TEN FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Article 144
1. Subject to the provisions of the following paragraphs, the provisions of this Constitution shall apply for a transitional period of five Gregorian years beginning from the date of its entry into force in accordance with provisions of Article 152.
2.
a. If the Supreme Council considers that the topmost interests of the Union require the amendment of this Constitution, it shall submit a draft constitutional amendment to the Union National Assembly.
b. The procedure for approving the constitutional amendment shall be the same as the procedure for approving laws.
c. The approval of the Union National Assembly for a draft constitutional amendment shall require the agreement of two-thirds of the votes of members present. The President of the Union shall sign the constitutional amendment in the name of the Supreme Council and as its representative and shall promulgate the amendment.
3. During the transitional period, the Supreme Council shall adopt the necessary measures to prepare a draft permanent Constitution to take the place of this temporary constitution. It shall submit the draft permanent Constitution to the Union National Assembly for debate before promulgating it.
4. The Supreme Council shall call the Union National Assembly into extraordinary session at a time not more than six months before the end of the period of validity of this temporary Constitution. The permanent Constitution shall be presented at this session. It shall be promulgated according to the procedure laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article.



Article 145
Under no circumstances, may any of the provisions of this Constitution be suspended, except when Martial Law is in force and within the limits specified by this law.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, sessions of the National Assembly of the Union may not be suspended during that period nor may the immunity of its members be violated.

Article 146
In case of necessity defined by law, Martial law shall be declared by a decree promulgated with the approval of the Supreme Council on the basis of a proposal made by the President of the Union with the consent of the Council of Ministers of the Union. Such decree shall be notified to the Union National Assembly at its next meeting.
Martial law shall be similarly lifted by decree issued with the approval of the Supreme Council when the need, for which it was imposed, no longer exists.

Article 147
Nothing in the application of this Constitution shall affect treaties or agreements concluded by member Emirates with states or international organisations unless such treaties or agreements are amended or abrogated by agreement between the parties concerned.

Article 148
All matters established by laws, regulations, decrees, orders and decisions in the various member Emirates of the Union in effect upon the coming into force of this Constitution, shall continue to be applicable unless amended or replaced in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
Similarly, the measures and organisations existing in the member Emirates shall continue to be effective until the promulgation of laws amending them in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Article 149
As an exception to the provisions of Article 121 of this Constitution, the Emirates may promulgate legislations necessary for the regulation of the matters set out in the said Article without violation of the provisions of Article 151 of this Constitution.

Article 150
The Union authorities shall strive to issue the laws referred to in this Constitution as quickly as possible so as to replace the existing legislations and systems, particularly those which are not consistent with the provisions of the Constitution.

Article 151
The provisions of this Constitution shall prevail over the Constitutions of the member Emirates of the Union and the Union laws which are issued in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution shall have priority over the legislations, regulations and decisions issued by the authorities of the Emirates.
In case of conflict, that part of the inferior legislation which is inconsistent with the superior legislation shall be rendered null and void to the extent that removes the inconsistency. In case of dispute, the matter shall be referred to the Union Supreme Court for its ruling.
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