2nd
December 1971 was a turning point in the history
of the Emirates. On this date a declaration
was issued renewing enforcement of the provisional
constitution of the UAE and the United Arab
Emirates was declared a sovereign Federal
State comprising Aim Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah,
Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and later Ras
Al Khaimah. The UAE is governed by five constitutional
and legislative bodies which include the following:
The
Supreme Council of the Federation, the President
and the. Vice-President, the Council of Ministers,
the Federal . National Council (FNC) and the
Federal Judiciary.
The Supreme
Council of the Federation is the highest political
authority in the country. It consists of all
the Rulers of the Emirates comprising the
Federation and represents collective leadership.
The President and the Vice-President of the
State are elected by the Supreme Council from
its members.
The, jurisdiction of the Supreme Council of
the Federation is confined to major political,
legislative and administrative issues of the
state.
The President
appoints the Prime Minister with the consent
of the Supreme Council. Deputy Premiers and
Federal Ministers are appointed as per decree
by the President upon a recommendation of
the Prime Minister. The Cabinet is the executive
body running domestic and foreign affairs
concerning the state as per the Federal Constitution,
laws and under the supervision of the President
and the Supreme Council of the Federation.
The Federal
National Council (FNC) is set up with 40 members
representing the Emirates forming the Federation.
The FNC is the legislative assembly (Parliament)
which is as4gned the authority of discussing
and approving all federal draft laws and then
referring them to the Supreme Council for
enactment, The FNC also exercises the power
of raising issues concerning. performance
of the government, discussing matters of interest
to the public and monitoring the conduct of
the federal government.
The judicial
authority is assumed by the Federal Court
which consists of the Federal High Court,
the Appeal Court and the Federal Courts of
First Instance. As per the constitution, the
judicial authority of each Emirate may handle
the judicial matters not assigned to the Federal
Court. However, it is possible as per a federal
decree issued upon the request of the respective
Emirate, to transfer whole or part of the
judicial authorities exercised by the respective
Emirate's judiciary to the Federal Court of
First Instance.
On the Arab
and international levels, the UAE is a member
of the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council (AGCC)
which comprises in addition to the IJAE, the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Bahrain,
The Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar
and the State of Kuwait. The AGCC was formed
in 1981. The United Arab Emirates is also
a member of the Arab League, the United Nations
and other international organizations and
agencies.
