Notes of Counselor Dr. Hisham Fawzi (Legal Counsel at the Federal National Council of the UAE) on the Federal Law Project concerning the National Center for Documents and Research:
Regarding the penalty for intentionally destroying public, historical, national, and private documents as stipulated in Federal Law No. 7 of 2008 concerning Archives and the National Library and its amendments:
- Anyone who intentionally destroys a document shall be punished with imprisonment for no less than eight months and a fine of not less than AED 40,000 and not more than AED 100,000, or with either of these penalties.
- Anyone who intentionally destroys a classified document, removes it from the country, duplicates it, or discloses its secret contents without the necessary authorization shall be punished with imprisonment for no less than one year and a fine of not less than AED 50,000 and not more than AED 1,000,000, or with either of these penalties.
- The same penalty as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article shall apply, depending on the classification of the document, to anyone who steals a document or prevents those responsible for implementing this law from accessing it.
The imposition of these penalties under this law shall not preclude the imposition of any more severe penalties stipulated in any other law.
Notes of Counselor Hisham Fawzi (Legal Counsel at the Federal National Council of the UAE) on this provision of Article 25 of the UAE Constitution:
“The person who intentionally destroys a classified document, removes it from the country, duplicates it, or discloses its secret contents without the necessary authorization shall be punished with imprisonment for no less than one year and a fine of not less than AED 50,000 and not more than AED 1,000,000.”
- This provision of Article (25) has been amended, adding the word “classified.”
President:
Are there any comments on paragraph (2)? The floor is to Mr. Ali Al Matroushi.
Excellency / Ali Majed Al Matroushi:
Mr. President, the paragraph referring to “removing it from the country” does not specify whether it refers to removing it from the Center for Documents and Research or from the country itself. The wording is ambiguous. What is meant by “removing it from the country”? Is it meant to be removed from the Center for Research or from the entire country? The paragraph needs clarification as it currently remains vague. Thank you.
President:
The floor to Counselor Excellency.
Dr. Hisham Mohamed Fawzi (Legal Counsel at the Federal National Council):
Mr. President, the concept of a document does not necessarily imply that it has been placed in the center. Even if a document is still in possession of the administrative body, if an employee attempts to remove it from the country, they will be punished. This applies whether the document is within the center or outside it. Thank you.
