Dubai
7
Source #2: climatebase.ru (extremes, sun),, NOAA (humidity, 1974-1991)
Governance and politics
Main articles: Al Maktoum, Dubai Municipality and Politics of the United Arab Emirates
Dubai has been ruled by the Al Maktoum family since 1833; the emirate is a constitutional monarchy with no
elections (other than the few thousand Dubai citizens participating in the electoral college for the Federal National
Council of the UAE). The current ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is also the Vice
President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and member of the Supreme Council of the Union (SCU).
Dubai appoints eight members in two-term periods to the Federal National Council (FNC) of the UAE, the supreme
federal legislative body.
The Dubai Municipality (DM) was established by the then-ruler of Dubai, Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, in 1954
for purposes of city planning, citizen services and upkeep of local facilities.[20] DM is chaired by Hamdan bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai, and comprises several departments such as the Roads Department, Planning and
Survey Department, Environment and Public Health Department and Financial Affairs Department. In 2001, Dubai
Municipality embarked on an e-Government project with the intention of providing 40 of its city services through its
web portal, dubai.ae [21]. Thirteen such services were launched by October 2001, while several other services were
expected to be operational in the future. Dubai Municipality is also in charge of the city's sanitation and sewage
infrastructure.
Law enforcement
The Dubai Police Force, founded in 1956 in the locality of Naif, has law enforcement jurisdiction over the emirate;
the force is under direct command of Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai.
Dubai and Ras al Khaimah are the only emirates that do not conform to the federal judicial system of the United
Arab Emirates. The emirate's judicial courts comprise the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal, and the Court
of Cassation. The Court of First Instance consists of the Civil Court, which hears all civil claims; the Criminal Court,
which hears claims originating from police complaints; and Sharia Court, which is responsible for matters between
Muslims. Non-Muslims do not appear before the Sharia Court. The Court of Cassation is the supreme court of the
emirate and hears disputes on matters of law only.
To maintain traffic, the Road & Transport Authority of Dubai has put in place a well-defined system to ensure that
the population follows traffic rules. There are heavy fines and a complete list of these fines can be found on the
official website of Dubai Police. One can also check the fine imposed upon him and can also pay the fine online.
Human rights
Main article: Human rights in Dubai
Human rights organizations have complained about violations of human rights in Dubai. Most notably, some of the
250,000 foreign laborers in the city have been alleged to live in conditions described by Human Rights Watch as
being "less than humane."[22][23] The mistreatment of foreign workers was a subject of the disputed 2009
documentary, Slaves in Dubai. The Dubai government has denied any kind of labour injustices and has stated that
the watchdog's (Human Rights Watch) accusations were misguided. Towards the end of March 2006, the
government had announced steps to allow construction unions. UAE labour minister Ali al-Kaabi said: "Labourers
will be allowed to form unions."
In 2013, the Norway-based Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) released its annual International
Human Rights Indicator (IHRRI) report, which ranks the United Arab Emirates first among Arab countries and 14th
globally for respecting human rights. The next Arab country on the list, Tunisia, was ranked at 72. The UAE was