?DUBAI // The courts issued rulings in 99 per cent of criminal cases put before them last year.
Only 1 per cent of cases had to be carried over to this year, according to the 2012 Annual Report of the Dubai Courts and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts.
The adjudication rate for civil cases last year was 91 per cent.
Dr Ahmed bin Hazeem, the director general of Dubai Courts, said there had been a decline in the number of civil cases from 55,311 in 2011 to 52,829.
“The decrease in civil cases can be attributed to the stability of economic activities in the emirate as well as to the efforts made by the section of amicable settlement of disputes,” said Mr bin Hazeem.
The number of criminal cases rose from 33,432 in 2011 to 37,816 last year.
The increase in criminal cases reflected a larger number of tourists in the emirate, he added.
The report also noted that work on the Family Court building in Al Garhoud should be completed by the end of this year.
Mark Beer, the registrar of the DIFC Courts, said the judicial authority continued to grow.
“The decisions of the DIFC courts are 100 per cent enforceable in Dubai, the UAE and the region,” said Mr Beer. “Ninety-five per cent of our cases are settled before they come in front of a judge.”
