Page 402 - UAE Truncal States_Neat
P. 402

The Formation of the Federation

        the nascent central government with ample funds to assert itself and
        eventually to prevail over regional tendencies in many aspects of the
        new Slate’s political life.
          Compared with the constitutions of other federations such as
        Switzerland or the Federal Republic of Germany, the constitution of
        the UAE neglects, deliberately, some principles which are most
        carefully worded and jealously guarded by these federations. In the
        UAE’s constitution one cannot detect a deliberate determination to
        safeguard federalistic elements vis-a-vis the centralists trends. It
        was deemed that individual shaikhdoms possessed enough of their
        original determination for self-assertion to be retained even without
        particular definition in the constitution.

        The division of powers—legislative, executive and
        judicial
        The five central authorities which share political power are listed in
        Article 45:1. The Supreme Council of the Union, 2. The President of
        the Union and his Deputy, 3. The Council of Ministers of the Union,
        4. The National Assembly of the Union, 5. The Judiciary of the
        Union.
          The Supreme Council is the highest authority in the country; its
        members are the Rulers of the seven Emirates. It is vested with
        legislative as well as executive powers. Laws and decrees of the
        Union are ratified by the Supreme Council;130 this may not always be
        a formality, since Article 110, paragraph 3(a), enables the Supreme
        Council to ratify a law which has been rejected or amended twice by
        the National Assembly. The Supreme Council’s executive power is to
        exercise “supreme control over the affairs of the Union in general’’.
        (Article 47, paragraph 7). The constitution stipulates (Article 49) that
        procedural matters of the Council shall be decided by a majority vote,
        with the qualification that “on substantive matters (decisions) shall
         be by a majority of five of its members provided that this majority
         includes the votes of the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.’’ No
         catalogue of these “substantive matters” is given in the constitution,
         leaving the door open for discussion and compromise. Should most
         members of the Supreme Council feel strongly about a particular
         issue, no decision would be taken without the agreement of the
         Rulers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
           In that the constitution does not stipulate how frequently the
         Supreme Council shall meet,131 its legislative and executive powers

                                                                375
   397   398   399   400   401   402   403   404   405   406   407