Q: Is it possible for a tourist to enter the UAE with personal ARV drugs?

Q: I am an attorney in the US and will be traveling on vacation from the US to India (via Dubai -- we will be in the UAE during the first 3 days of our 12-day vacation). I will be bringing my prescription medications for my personal use. I will be submitting online (through the UAE's website) a copy of the prescriptions for approval. My questions concern specific items on the UAE’s Online Application for Permission to Import Medicines for Personal Use. If you can help, please e-mail or call me. I am more than happy to pay for your services. Thanks!

Q: I was called from Emirates Post to pick up a delivery at the Customs. As the customs opened the package, it turned out that medication was inside. I didn't order or initiate the delivery of any medication and hence should've been asked to discard the delivery as no sender was mentioned. Instead, the Customs forwarded the item to the Ministry of Health for their assessment. Now, the Ministry of Health is requesting me to meet their doctor to evaluate why I need this medication. Again, I didn't order or initiate the delivery of medication and don't need any. Kindly advise what shall I do in this matter as I am afraid that the medication could contain banned substances.

Q: It's been 2 weeks since my husband was caught with 7 friends in a villa by CID and was detained at Bur Dubai police station till present. They tested positive (first-time offender) but because one of his friends who was caught carrying drugs included his name for selling it, the case file stated: "in possession of drugs with the intention of promoting it". I am humbly seeking legal advice on how to release him while the case is still under investigation. My 2-year-old baby boy misses his papa so much.

Q: I got an order of 6 months imprisonment and deportation for a judgment in absentia by the Sharjah court for selling medicine without a license. I was not involved in the case directly; my friend used my car, and he had my bank card. They made a confession that they were working for me and made a false claim that they had transferred money to me. As I am outside the country, I came to the UAE to solve my case. I got detained at the airport, and the CID asked me some questions. I mentioned they didn’t transfer me a single Dihram, so he let me go, as the case was already open for appeal. In the first instance court, they gave me the same verdict, then I appealed and attached documents like bank statements and my company details, which were not mentioned before. They gave a date for the judgment, but it was not issued, and they gave the next date. I have been suffering a lot for the last 3 months here in the UAE and for 6 months back home. So my question is that what will happen next? Will the case be open for retrial, and will the CID be convinced by my logic? Can they drop charges, or now the court decide only?

An interview-format article covering the topic of drug use and rehabilitation in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

A legal concept upheld by the Federal Supreme Court states that drug use is not prosecuted by UAE courts if the offense occurred abroad. A positive drug test is accepted as proof of drug use, but it does not reveal whether the drug use occurred domestically or abroad. It is necessary to establish the crime's location in order to decide if the UAE courts have the authority to investigate it or if foreign courts should have jurisdiction over it.

This Law promulgates the Federal Penal Code (Criminal Law) of the United Arab Emirates. Crimes and chastisement punishments shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other penal codes.

The provisions of this Federal Decree-Law No. (31) of 2021 Promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law, known as the "New UAE Penal Code", governs criminal actions in the United Arab Emirates. The New Penal Code repeals the previous UAE Penal Code (Federal Law No. (3) of 1987 Promulgating the Penal Code).