Today I learned that when the Dubai Courts website/system is down, the appeal filing deadline can effectively pause, and those downtime days may not be counted against the appeal period.
But this raises a serious question from a victim’s perspective:
If legal deadlines are paused because the court system is unavailable, what happens to convicted criminals serving jail time during the same period? Is their sentence also paused or extended? Most likely not.
So in practice, the accused continues serving time normally, but victims are the ones stuck waiting longer for finality, enforcement, recovery of money, and closure.
Many victims already live under stress, financial loss, fear, uncertainty, and long legal delays while trying to follow the law properly. Meanwhile, some offenders may finish their sentence, get deported, or disappear before victims fully recover damages or see proper enforcement.
I understand courts need procedural fairness and technical downtime must be handled legally. But where is the balance for victims?
Justice should not only protect procedural rights of defendants. It should also address:
- the mental stress on victims,
- financial suffering,
- enforcement delays,
- and the fear that offenders may evade accountability after release or deportation.
I’m genuinely interested to hear from lawyers or people familiar with UAE legal procedure:
How does the system ensure victims are not disproportionately affected by these delays?