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.
