Q: If a fight takes place in your home and someone present who is not involved calls the police, are the police allowed to enter your home? Also, do you have the right to prevent them from entering?
A: Fighting inside a home or the assault of a party by another are considered illegal acts that are prohibited. If police arrive and the fight is still ongoing, they have the right to enter the house to arrest those involved. If the fight is over by the time the police reach the house and there is no evidence of a dangerous situation, the owner may ask them to leave in the absence of danger if it was a simple disagreement that is now over and the owner does not wish to file a complaint. However, if police believe the report was not a serious matter, they have the right to accuse the person who reported it of wasting police time.
Q: Is there a punishment for collecting donations despite not being a member of a charity? Do you need police authorisation to collect donations?
A: No person is entitled to collect donations under Federal Law No 20 of 2008, which bans any unlicensed entity from raising funds or accepting gifts or bequests or subsidies from any person or entity outside the UAE. If this law is breached, the person will face a maximum fine of Dh10,000. The same provision is applicable in Dubai under Law No 2 of 2011. No person in the UAE is allowed to collect donations without first obtaining a licence and approval from the concerned body. This is to ensure that benevolent people are not taken advantage of and to make sure that raised funds will go to no party other than the one announced. If someone fraudulently obtains money by using the name of an existing or fake charity, they will face charges of forgery and also of fraud, which are punishable by imprisonment and, sometimes, deportation.
Q: What are my rights as a Canadian if I am held by police?
A: It does not matter what your nationality is because rights are for all people regardless of where they are from. Everyone in a situation with police has the right to know the charge is against them, why they have been arrested, questioned or even asked to give testimony. You also have the right to know who filed the complaint against you if you are being accused of something and everyone has the right to a phone call. Someone arrested also has the right to be released on bail.
* If you have a question for our lawyer, please email it to newsdesk@thenational.ae with the subject line "Know the law".
