Supreme Court rejects ministry's firing claim

Abu Dhabi // A ministry was ordered to reverse its dismissal of an employee who was jailed for more than three months after he was acquitted by an appeals court.

The Emirati man, who was not identified in court documents, was jailed between November 9, 2008, and February 25, 2009, on criminal charges but was acquitted by the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals.

Upon his release, he was sacked from his job at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs. He filed a lawsuit at the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of First Instance, asking for reversal of the dismissal and payment of his salary.

The court accepted his demands and on February 2 last year, ordered the ministry to comply with them. The ministry appealed, but the Federal Court of Appeals upheld the decision.

The ministry then appealed to the Supreme Court, claiming the dismissal was warranted and not arbitrary.

The ministry said the dismissal followed a long absence from work, which it argued allowed it to legally sack him.

The ministry also argued the firing came in the midst of a restructuring, which federal human resources law considered a valid reason for dismissal. The ministry said he was not eligible for any remaining jobs after the restructuring.

The Supreme Court rejected the ministry's claims, saying it did not illustrate any mistakes in previous rulings.

"The arguments must be clear, unambiguous and negate any possible misunderstanding," Dr Abdul Wahab Abdul, the chief justice and president of the Supreme Court wrote in the ruling, issued on February 2. "They must clarify the errors in the court decision that is appealed against and their significance."

The Supreme Court decision is final.

hhassan@thenational.ae