Dubai Courts has provided free legal advice to 600 litigants, the equivalent of 950-hour via its pro bono ‘Sure’ service, in co-operation with the law firms in Dubai.

The ‘Sure’ initiative aims to enhance community confidence in the judicial system by offering free legal advice on a wide variety of cases and lawsuits. It is supported by a raft of volunteer lawyers, and ran from October 2012 to June 2013.

“The design of the pro bono legal consultation programme, ‘Sure’, resulted from the partnership that combines the Dubai Courts and all law firms in Dubai. The intention of the programme was to provide initial aid for litigants and enable them to properly handle proceedings and lawsuits,” said Dr Ahmed Saeed Bin Hazim, director general of Dubai Courts.

It aims to highlight the role of Dubai Courts and lawyers in the provision of community services, and to strengthen their partnership. This will help distribute legal knowledge among the community at large, and to facilitate litigation proceedings for all members of society, said Dr Hazim.

In future, legal consultations will be offered for free on a wide array of cases and lawsuits, including civil, real estate, labour, and personal status, he added.

Shamsaldean Abdulmonem Albadawi, head of Litigants Guidance Unit, Dubai Courts, said that the programme has achieved a satisfaction rate in excess of 96 per cent during the first half of the year. It has provided many benefits to both the public and the Dubai Courts, including exempting customers from the expense of counselling; limiting exploitation that certain persons might be exposed to by some brokers; saving the customer time and effort caused by incorrect procedures being carried out.

About 55 law firms supported the programme, with the participation of 60 lawyers offering free legal consultations to litigants who cannot afford the costs of counselling, as well as low-income individuals, the elderly, and some special cases in which individuals have had unsuccessful experiences with lawyers, Albadawi added. - TradeArabia News Service