Request for Reinstatement

Article 190 of the UAE Civil Procedures Law governs the exceptional cases in which a request for reinstatement of a final judgment or decision may be filed. It also outlines the conditions and procedures for submitting such a request.

Reinstatement is a request submitted by one of the parties to the case, asking the court to correct or revoke its final judgment. This request is only allowed in exceptional cases, as the general rule is that final judgments cannot be changed.

Clause 1 of Article 190 of the same law sets out the conditions under which a request for reinstatement may be accepted.

1. If the judgment or decision includes a procedural error made by the court or one of its departments, and this error had a substantial impact on the outcome of the judgment.

2. If the court based its judgment on a law that is no longer in force (has been repealed), and applying the correct law would have led to a different judgment.

3. If the court issues a judgment that contradicts established legal principles previously determined by the court itself or by the competent judicial bodies, without referring the matter to them, reinstatement  of the judgment is permitted. 

Clause 2 of Article 190 of the same law outlines the procedures for submitting a request for reinstatement.

• A request for reinstatement may be submitted by any party to the case to the Case Management Office of the competent court, whether it is the Federal Supreme Court, the Court of Cassation, or the Court of Appeal, depending on the authority that issued the judgment.

• The petition must be signed by a lawyer authorized to plead before the court, in accordance with the jurisdiction of the court that issued the judgment.

• The applicant shall pay a security deposit of AED 20,000 (twenty thousand dirhams).

• The court retains the security deposit if the request is rejected.

• In case the request is accepted, the security deposit shall be refunded to the applicant.

• A request for reinstatement may be submitted only once.

• A request for reinstatement may not be submitted after one year 1 has passed from the date of the judgment in question.