Dubai Court of Cassation (General Assembly), Resolution No. 2 of 2024, 31 January 2024
An expert report prepared in another case, even one heard by a court without territorial jurisdiction or between different parties on a different subject, may be relied on by the trial court once the report or a copy has been filed in the case. It then becomes one of the papers of the case that each party can argue about, and the court may accept it in whole or in part, or reject it, as one element of evidence within its discretion. The General Assembly abandoned the contrary principle of Appeal No. 421 of 2019 (civil) and adopted that of Appeal No. 158 of 2021 (civil).
Two judgments of the Court of Cassation conflicted. In Appeal No. 421 of 2019 (civil) the Court applied Article 38(1) of the former Civil Procedure Law (Federal Law No. 11 of 1992), under which requests for interim or urgent measures go to the competent court of first instance for the defendant's domicile or for the place where the measure is to be carried out. The claimant had obtained from the Sharjah urgent-matters court an order appointing a forensic doctor to examine his injuries from a traffic accident in Dubai. As there was no evidence of the defendant's domicile and the harmful act had occurred in Dubai, the Dubai courts were the competent court, and the forensic report was held void. By contrast, in Appeal No. 158 of 2021 (civil) the Court held that the trial court may draw evidence from any source, including an expert report filed in another case, even one brought before an incompetent court or between different parties on a different subject, once a copy is filed and becomes part of the case papers.
After reviewing the report of its secretariat, the General Assembly held that a medical expert report from another case attached to the file is one of the case papers, and the trial court may rely on it, even if the other court lacked territorial jurisdiction, if it is satisfied by it. The report will be debated by the parties and remains subject to the trial court's assessment, which may adopt all or part of it or set it aside, since the court decides only on what persuades it as an element of proof. The Assembly therefore departed from the earlier principle and adopted that of Appeal No. 158 of 2021.
Technical evidence obtained in earlier proceedings, such as medical reports in accident cases, inspection reports in construction disputes or reports from proof-of-condition actions, can be used in later litigation without starting again. The opposing party keeps the right to contest the report's findings, and the court is not bound by it.
| Article 38(1) of Federal Law No. 11 of 1992 (former Civil Procedure Law), applied in the abandoned judgment Decided under this law; it has been replaced by Civil Procedure Code. |
“لمحكمة الموضوع أن تستقي الدليل من تقرير خبرة مودع في دعوى أخرى ولو كانت مرفوعة أمام محكمة غير مختصة”Short quotation from the judgment as published by the court. The full judgment is on the court’s official service.
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