Why Abu Dhabi's new tourism court matters now

The court will handle minor misdemeanours committed by tourists – and that can only be a good thing, argues Peter Hellyer

Behaviour common elsewhere can be misunderstood here, leading to a brush with the law. Mona Al Marzooqi/ The National

One afternoon, many years ago, an ambassador in Abu Dhabi was quietly pursuing his hobby of birdwatching at the Eastern Lagoon, studying the birds on the mudflats at low tide.

He was somewhat taken aback to be approached by a young policeman who ordered him to move on. “Mamnoua – forbidden,” he was told.

He gently expostulated, showed his binoculars, said that he was not doing any harm and that he wasn’t a security risk of any kind.

“Move on or I’ll arrest you,” came the response.

“OK,” said the envoy. “I’m an ambassador; go ahead.”

So the policeman, who was rather inexperienced, arrested him and took him to the nearest police station, where a senior officer found out who the envoy was, took a deep breath, apologised and released him on the spot.

For the rest of his time here, the ambassador happily related the tale to anyone who wished to hear it, including senior members of the ruling family, who were, I gather, rather amused.

The story offers an example, though, of how behaviour common elsewhere can be misunderstood here, leading to a brush with the law.

Visitors are most likely to be affected by such misunderstandings. Taking a photograph of a nice bridge, engaging in an overt, yet decent, display of affection, gesticulating in frustration with one or two fingers, making a rude remark on social media – all these and more are acceptable or normal behaviour in many countries, yet can be against the law here.

On occasion, visitors have been arrested and charged with breaking local laws for acts which would have been perfectly acceptable, and legal, in their countries of origin.

Ignorance of local laws, a clash of cultures and norms: these and other factors can lead to such arrests. Only rarely is there a deliberate intention to break the law.

Visitors who are arrested in such cases are often not only utterly bemused, since they have no knowledge of the laws, but they also may spend weeks, or even months, before being brought to court, at considerable personal inconvenience and cost. In most cases, acquittal or a minimal fine follows. By that time, however, there has often been publicity in their country of origin which can have a negative and lasting effect on foreign perceptions of the UAE.

I was, therefore, delighted to hear of the setting up of the new Tourism Court in Abu Dhabi, along with its own public prosecution section.

The new initiative is expected to allow for the development of specialist skills among prosecution staff, leading to more accurate investigations and the faster processing of cases, both being of crucial importance given the relatively short space of time tourists spend in the UAE.

The jurisdiction of the new court and its prosecution department is confined to minor violations and misdemeanours. That should, with luck, cover most cases where misunderstandings arise largely out of cultural and social differences. Indeed, the Attorney General has said that “this step will help in the creation of a clear database of legal issues that may face tourists during their stay in the country, in particular those resulting from differences in people’s cultures and the laws applicable in different countries”.

The development of tourism is a key component of long-term plans for our economic development. Yet the way in which some visitors have fallen foul of laws they don’t understand or of which they are not aware has had a negative effect on our image overseas, not just as a tourist destination but in other ways as well.

The establishment of the new court is a welcome initiative. It won’t prevent all misunderstandings, and certainly is not intended to give visitors a free pass for deliberate lawbreaking. It is, however, clear evidence of the Government’s determination to tackle this issue. If that helps to promote tourism and our image overseas, so much the better.

Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture