Press releases
U.S. 8th Circuit Judge Myron Bright Visits UAE Legal Institutions
In a September 21 – 25 visit to the United Arab Emirates, Appellate Judge Myron H. Bright met with representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, the Dubai Courts, the Abu Dhabi Institute of Training and Judicial Studies, the Dubai Institute of Advanced Legal and Judicial Studies, and the deans and students of the University of Sharjah College of Law and UAE University College of Shari’a and Law. Judge Bright was accompanied by the Director of the Office of International Judicial Relations, Mrs. Mira Gur-Arie, of the Federal Judicial Center. The visit underscored the importance of legal and judicial cooperation and exchanges between the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates. The visit was coordinated through the Department of State’s International Information Programs Office and the U.S Consulate General Dubai’s Public Affairs Officer, Marion Ram.
In a meeting with the Assistant Under Secretary for Legal Opinions, Legislation and State Law Suits Affairs at the Ministry of Justice, Judge Bright spoke about the importance of understanding each others’ legal systems in an increasingly inter-connected, global world. He noted that especially in the area of commercial arbitration it was essential to have an understanding of each others’ legal systems. Noting that the U.S. courts are infinitely busier than the courts in the UAE, Judge Bright explained the U.S. system of judicial clerkships, in which young lawyers work at courts doing research and writing to assist judges handling massive case loads. He said this system might become of increasing importance as the UAE legal system grew. Mrs. Gur-Arie talked about judicial exchanges and assistance programs offered by the Federal Judicial Center.
Judge Bright and Mrs. Gur-Arie also met with the Director of the Dubai Courts, the Court’s Director of Strategic Planning, the Legal Advisor to HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Executive Counsel, and lawyers, prosecutors and judges. Commenting on the Courts advanced information technology systems; Judge Bright noted that in this field the U.S. could learn something from the UAE. Judge Bright was interested to hear about the Department of Judicial Inspections, which monitors judicial performance for each judge in the UAE. Explaining the system of an independent judiciary in the U.S., Judge Bright noted that judges in the U.S. dislike having a record of overturned decisions, an indirect system that required judges to carefully adhere to judicial precedent. The group at the Dubai Courts also discussed the writing of judicial briefs and the comprehensiveness of written opinions, noting differences in the two systems.
During his visit to the UAE, Judge Bright and Mrs. Gur-Arie also had the opportunity to visit the University of Sharjah’s College of Law to lecture on the constitutional protections and guarantees afforded criminal defendants in the United States. Judge Bright lectured on a case in which the lower court’s verdict of guilty was overturned on appeal, saving the life of the criminal defendant. About 100 law students from the University of Sharjah College of Law, UAE University College of Shari’a and Law, and Sharjah Academy attended the lecture.
Judge Bright and Mrs. Gur-Arie also met with the directors and staff of the judicial training institutes in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to discuss methods of judicial training in the United States.