Time for the law to catch up to reality

The Scorpion's drummer has felt the sting of the UAE's laws, including one which seems out of touch with the modern tourism industry in the Emirates and ought to be revised.

The case of Scorpions drummer James Kottak, who was sentenced to one month in prison for acting offensively after drinking heavily on an international flight, raises questions about the UAE liquor licence law. There is no issue about Kottak being prosecuted for his behaviour in Dubai airport because acting offensively under the influence of alcohol would warrant criminal charges in any airport, anywhere in the world.

Nobody should have any sympathy for someone who insults the religion of the country in which he finds himself – and we don't. It is the ancillary charge of drinking alcohol without a licence that deserves a second look. As The National reported yesterday, experts have urged the authorities to update the law, particularly regarding tourists or transit passengers. This group of people find themselves caught in a catch-22: you cannot drink in the UAE without a liquor licence, but you cannot get a liquor licence without being a resident, yet you can drink freely without a licence in the country's hotels and venues.

Every tourist who drinks here – or even, in this case, those who drink on the plane before the flight even reaches the UAE – is technically committing an offence for which they can be arrested and prosecuted. Tourists will not find much solace from being advised that experience shows only those who do something to bring themselves to the attention of the authorities, usually through anti­social behaviour related to their alcohol consumption as Kottak did, will face prosecution.

The danger with laws that fail to keep up with changes in society is that they are held up to ridicule, with the effect of denigrating the legal process as a whole. The law for liquor licences was drafted in the 1980s, when the UAE was a very different place and without an established tourism industry. Now millions of tourists are drawn to the UAE, part of the appeal of which is the country’s welcoming attitude and liberal views.

The growth of the tourism industry is partly put at risk by this quirk in the licensing laws. Fixing the problem would be relatively simple. One Emirati lawyer, Yousef Al Bahar, suggested tourists could obtain a temporary liquor licence either when they buy their tickets or at the airport when they get their visitor’s visa. The law on alcohol consumption for non-Muslims is clear: a licence is required. But where and how that licence is obtained could be scrutinised and simplified.