The civil ruling was issued to compensate the plaintiff following a final and conclusive criminal ruling convicting the accused of assaulting a female in a manner that offends her modesty by word or deed on a public road or frequented place, as well as assaulting another person's bodily safety, resulting in illness or inability to perform personal work for less than 20 days.

In particular, an Arab employee at a satellite station sought AED 51,000 in compensation for moral and ethical damages, as well as 5% legal interest from the date of the claim until full payment, with the defendant required to pay costs, expenditures, and attorney fees.

She stated in her lawsuit statement that the defendant assaulted her in a manner that offended her modesty at their workplace in the institution to which they belong, noting that the assault consisted of placing his hands on her cheeks for up to 10 seconds when the office was empty of their colleagues, after which he left and she continued her work feeling angry and upset.

She went on to explain that she told her company about what happened, and they initiated an internal inquiry in which the defendant admitted to what he had done, defending his actions by claiming that this was standard behavior in his country and that the employee was the same age as his daughter.

She stated that she filed a criminal report against him, and the Public Prosecution charged him with assaulting a female in a manner that offended her modesty by word or deed on a public road or frequented place, as well as assaulting the physical safety of others, resulting in illness or inability to perform personal work for less than 20 days.

The Court of First Instance found him guilty and fined him 2,000 dirhams. He filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal, which accepted it in form and upheld the initial verdict. He did not appeal to the Court of Cassation, therefore the decision became final.

The plaintiff verified in a legal note that what her colleague did was a blatant breach of her safety and caused her harm in a way that violated her modesty, necessitating compensation. She presented a document portfolio with a copy of the final criminal ruling as evidence.

According to the laws of evidence, criminal procedures, and established jurisprudence in the Dubai Court of Cassation, the civil court's commitment to the ruling issued in the criminal case is limited to what the criminal ruling necessarily decided on the occurrence of the act that serves as the common ground between the civil and criminal lawsuits.

If the criminal court finally decides on the legal description and attribution to the perpetrator, the civil court must abide by it and refrain from re-examining it, because this would result in a violation of the conclusiveness of the previous criminal judgment, which is conclusiveness that applies to all even if they are not parties.

She stated that it is proven to her that the defendant was convicted before the criminal court, and there is no doubt that the plaintiff suffered damages as a result of the violation of her modesty and dignity by touching parts of her body, and in light of the foregoing, the court estimates compensation for moral damages in the amount of 10,000 dirhams, plus interest at a rate of 5% from the date the judgment is final.

UAE: Man ordered to pay Dh10,000 for touching female colleague’s face

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