Witnesses should dress conservatively, have an official form of ID - passport, driving licence or Emirates ID - and arrive at the courtroom on time.
Do not leave the room for long periods or you risk missing the case and being fined.
When taking the oath, make it loud and clear.
Keep thoughts in order before testifying. Answers should be short, to the point and truthful. Do not be nervous - you are a witness, not a suspect. Wait for the judge to finish his question before answering.
Witnesses should further respect the court by controlling their body language, says Yousuf Al Bahar, a lawyer.
Unless you are a legal professional, refrain from trying to use legal terms, otherwise you risk misusing the term and giving an answer you did not intend. If you do not understand the question, do not be afraid to ask for it to be explained further.
If a witness feels the full truth has not been told, they may ask for permission from the court to add to their statements.
"Don't add anything until after the approval of the court," Mr Al Bahar says.
If you cannot attend the hearing, make sure you send a written apology to the court with someone. Resist the temptation to give false testimony in favour of friends or relatives.
"I have seen many people do this unaware of consequences," says Mr Al Bahar.
For more information, visit www.dubaicourts.gov.ae or www.dxbpp.gov.ae/default.aspx
salamir@thenational.ae
For more of our How To series, click here.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
'Cheb%20Khaled'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKhaled%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBelieve%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
