ABU DHABI // The trial of a former labour minister accused of wrongly directing more than Dh450million of public funds to his ministry is unconstitutional, a court has decided.
The Constitutional Court said on Wednesday that to put ministers and top federal officials on trial, there had to be a request by the supreme council.
No such order had been issued and as there was no article in UAE law regarding putting ministers on trial, the trial must be unconstitutional.
Advice from the Constitutional Court was sought by the Federal Court, which is yet to announce its own decision in the case.
In 2005, the former minister decided that study certificates should be accredited through Emirates Post, rather than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The decision resulted in the imposition of a Dh500 fee payable to the labour ministry for each certificate.
Prosecutors said the introduction of this fee needed cabinet approval, which it did not have, so the funds - a total of Dh450,480,155 - were therefore not properly the labour ministry's
Prosecutors said the decision meant that funds belonging to the foreign ministry were funnelled to the labour ministry.
The general manager of Emirates Post is one of five other defendants in the case.
hdajani@thenational.ae
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP
Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan
Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
