UAE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE LAUNCHES ONLINE POWER OF ATTORNEY

25 August 2023

Manasi Dicholkar

UAE is considered as a major player in the economy of the GCC area and it has been considered as the pioneer in developing a very efficient e-services justice and legal services system for its citizens and ex-pats.

Dubai: As Part of its continuous enhancement of the qualities of the legal system in the UAE, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) launches Phase 2 of Digital Power of Attorney Issuance Service.

In a Power of Attorney, one person grants another person the authority to act on their behalf in situations involving real estate, banking, legal matters, and other matters for a variety of reasons, including absence from the country, growing age, or inability to manage one's responsibilities in those areas, among others.

Power of attorney in UAE has been made accessible for authorization via video call. If the individual is outside the UAE, it could be done remotely through video conference by presenting the officer his ID on call.

The Ministry of Justice has introduced an electronic Power of Attorney Issuance service on its digital platform, www.moj.gov.ae, in an effort to increase the attractiveness of the UAE in business processing. This service encourages UAE nationals to pursue employment in the private sector and improves the ease of conducting business in the nation. Since the start of 2023, statistics show a 33% rise in the ratio of private notaries to public notaries.

As part of Phase 2 - The MOJ Digital Power of Attorney Issuance includes eight categories of Power of Attorneys (POA) issuance to include: (i) Attorneys representation (ii) Powers attributed to lawyers in legal cases (iii) Real Estate (iv) Rental Dispute (v) Licensing (vi) Vehicles (vii) Stocks /Equities and (viii) Company Management.

The MOJ has aligned this launch along with the UAE government's vision of creating a paperless future, saving time and resources. In simple terms, it is possible for customers to create digitally ratified POA documents using the system in less than 10 minutes without having to go to a notary public's office. They can also securely store these documents using a blockchain system and a digital wallet, share them with others, and submit them to the relevant authorities.

During the COVID-19 epidemic-related closure period, the public notaries associated with Dubai Courts have developed an online method that may make the execution of Powers of Attorney easier. The current notarization procedure is as follows:

Step 1: Applicant has to send an email requesting notarization and attaching essential documents. The information that requires to be in the email are:

1.      Applicant’s Name

2.      Applicant’s Phone Number

3.      Applicant’s Address

4.      Documents to be notarized (should be signed)

5.      Emirates ID

6.      Any other essential documents

Step 2: The POA assigned to the transaction will review the documents.

Step 3: When transaction is approved, the representative will contact the applicant for verification of their eligibility and confirming the transaction, and the documents will be submitted for notarization.

Step 4: After the identification process, the applicant has to follow the payment accordingly.

Step 5: The notary will complete the transaction and print the notarized documents after payment. These documents will be forwarded to the applicant’s address through a Dubai Courts approved courier.

Step 6: The applicant will receive the notarized documents within 2 business days. It is to be noted that Originals are no longer provided to the applicant by courier. All paperwork is completed as electronically issued documents and emailed to the applicants.

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