The Sharjah Consultative Council has approved a draft law for the year 2026 on regulating the profession of expert testimony before judicial bodies in the emirate, following the introduction of a number of amendments. The draft was discussed at the council's 18th and final session within its third ordinary session of the 11th legislative term, held at its headquarters under the chairmanship of Halima Hamid Al Owais, president of the council.
The session was attended by Legal Adviser Dr Mansour Mohammed bin Nassar, head of the Legal Department of the Sharjah Government, accompanied by members of the department, as well as Sheikh Faisal bin Ali bin Abdullah Al Mualla, secretary-general of the Judicial Council of the Emirate of Sharjah.
During the session, council members reviewed the articles of the draft law, its strategic objectives, and its legislative significance, given that expert testimony is a specialised work upon which a decisive technical opinion is rendered — whether verbally or in writing — on the basis of a judicial assignment or an agreement between parties.
Members' interventions focused on how to support the judicial system with qualified and certified competent experts in a manner that ensures the integrity of justice and contributes to the accuracy of judicial rulings and decisions. Discussions also addressed the development of the quality of performance of those practising this profession in the emirate, the conditions for licensing the practice of expert work, the rights of experts, and the details of registration schedules covering national and non-national experts as well as government employees. Members also discussed the requirements for registering local and international expert firms, alongside the regulation of the legal oath procedures carried out by an expert before commencing official duties.
Members put forward a number of opinions on the articles of the draft law during their interventions, and government representatives responded to queries by clarifying the legal interpretation of the draft law's articles as well as practical aspects of its application in accordance with the stated provisions.
The closing ceremony of the third ordinary session of the 11th legislative term of the Sharjah Consultative Council then began with an address delivered by Halima Hamid Al Owais, in which she reviewed a record of achievement spanning 9 months of dedicated work, during which the council successfully held 18 plenary sessions that translated into a comprehensive parliamentary and legislative movement resulting in the discussion of government department policies.