Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation (General Assembly), Request No. 2 of 2017 (Commercial), decision of 12 June 2017
Under Articles 178 and 225 of the Personal Status Law, a guardian or curator may not sue on behalf of a minor or a person under interdiction without prior permission of the personal status court; without it the proceedings are void as a matter of public order and the claim is inadmissible, unless urgency required filing to avoid harm or loss of the right, which the trial court assesses; permission obtained later cures the defect in an urgent case. A lawyer lodging a cassation appeal for a company must file, before the case is reserved for judgment, his own power of attorney and proof of the signatory's capacity to appoint him, failing which the appeal is inadmissible.
A son appointed as curator of his father, who had been left totally disabled after being run down by two cars in July 2014, sued the two drivers and their insurers in the Abu Dhabi Commercial Court for AED 3 million. Both drivers had been convicted by a final criminal judgment. The courts awarded AED 735,000 against each insurer and driver, and rejected the insurers' objection that the curator had sued without the permission of the personal status court required by Article 225 of the Personal Status Law. Both insurers appealed in cassation (Nos. 277 and 455 of 2017, commercial), and the chamber referred the question of the missing permission to the General Assembly.
The General Assembly adopted the principle that, under Articles 178 and 225 of Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 on Personal Status, a guardian or curator who sues on behalf of a minor or interdicted person without prior permission of the personal status court acts invalidly, as a matter of public order, unless urgency required the claim to be filed to avoid harm or loss of the right; whether such urgency existed is a question of fact for the trial court. Here the curator had obtained permission after filing and the claim was urgent, which cured the defect.
Deciding the appeals, it declared appeal 455 inadmissible because the lawyer who filed it lodged the company's board minutes and a chain of powers of attorney but never her own power of attorney, as Article 177(3) and (5) of the Civil Procedure Law required for a corporate appellant. It dismissed appeal 277: a civil court is bound by what a criminal judgment necessarily decided about the act, its characterisation and its author; apportionment of fault between the drivers was for the trial court; multiple diya awards for the loss of several bodily functions and a separate award of AED 350,000 for continuing pain and the need for lifelong care were lawful.
Two points matter for companies in litigation. Insurers and other defendants can challenge claims brought by guardians or curators who lack the personal status court's permission, though urgency may excuse it. And any company appealing in cassation must make sure its lawyer files his own power of attorney and proof of the signatory's authority before the case is reserved, or the appeal will be dismissed without a hearing on the merits.
| Articles 178 and 225 of Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 on Personal Status |
| Article 177(3) and (5) of Federal Law No. 11 of 1992 (former Civil Procedure Law), as amended Decided under this law; it has been replaced by Civil Procedure Code. |
“فإن كان الأخير شخصاً معنوياً تعين أن يودع فضلاً عن ذلك ما يثبت صفة الممثل القانوني للشخص المعنوي”Short quotation from the judgment as published by the court. The full judgment is on the court’s official service.
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