Guide · updated 08.09.2026 · 11 min read · Lucent Legal team

How to Close a Criminal Case in the UAE: Reconciliation and Waiver

A criminal case is open against you — or someone you know — the other side is willing to settle, or you're ready to pay and make it go away. So people search "how to close a criminal case in the UAE" or "withdraw case from Dubai court." The honest answer: sometimes it's genuinely possible, but not with one phone call and not for every charge. The system draws a hard line between cases that reconciliation between the parties can close and cases the state keeps prosecuting whatever the victim wants. Below are the mechanisms that actually exist, where that line sits, and at which stages a case can still be stopped.

Waiver (tanazul): what it is and what it doesn't guarantee

A waiver is a written statement from the victim dropping their claim against the accused, filed with the police, the Public Prosecution, or the court depending on the case's stage. It's often signed alongside a receipt for compensation paid, or a formal apology.

One limitation trips people up most: a signed waiver on its own is not an automatic case closure. The reconciliation has to be formally accepted and approved by the Public Prosecution or the court. Even after both sides sign a paper and shake hands, the case technically exists until the competent authority terminates it — which is exactly why people end up holding a signed waiver and still can't leave the country, because the case hasn't been officially closed.

Check exactly what your waiver covers, too. Giving up a compensation or financial claim is not the same as consenting to end the criminal proceedings. These are different documents, and mixing one up for the other is a common source of disappointment.

Sulh: the formal reconciliation procedure

Separate from an informal waiver, the law describes a structured process: penal reconciliation (sulh). Under Article 349 of the Criminal Procedure Law, if the victim (or their heirs) hasn't already started reconciliation, the prosecutor can offer the parties a chance to settle before the case goes to court, giving them 15 days with one possible extension. The reconciliation agreement is drawn up in writing before the Public Prosecution or the court.

A successful sulh ends criminal proceedings. According to several legal sources, for charges on the reconciliation list, this procedure is available at any stage — including after a verdict has been handed down and become final. Tread carefully here: sources describe the boundaries of "after verdict" differently, so whether it applies to your specific charge and stage needs confirmation from a practicing lawyer, not a general article online.

Public right vs. private right: which charges can be closed, and which can't

This distinction decides whether there's any chance of closing a case at all:

• Private right (haq al-khaas) — the harm is done to a specific person, and the law lets that person decide whether prosecution continues. Sources place theft, fraud, breach of trust, defamation and insult, and child-custody disputes in this category. For these charges, a victim's waiver followed by formal reconciliation can genuinely end the case.
• Public right (haq al-aam) — the state treats the harm as reaching beyond one person to public order, safety, or morals generally. This covers serious violent crimes, drug offences, and crimes against state security and public order, among others. On these charges the Public Prosecution must keep prosecuting regardless of the victim's forgiveness — a waiver might, at best, count with the court as a mitigating factor at sentencing, but it doesn't close the case.

The practical takeaway: before negotiating compensation on the assumption "the case will get closed," find out from a lawyer which category your charge falls into. It isn't always obvious from the name of the offence, and even the list of charges eligible under Article 349 is described inconsistently across legal reviews.

Cheque cases: usually it's paying the debt, not a waiver, that closes it

The most common case in practice stands apart: a bounced cheque. Since 2 January 2022, following the cheque reform (Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2020 and Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022 — the Commercial Transactions Law), a cheque that bounces purely for insufficient funds is by default an execution deed, not a criminal matter — the same standing as a court judgment. The holder goes to the Execution Court, not the police, and this kind of case is closed by paying off the debt, not by withdrawing a criminal complaint. The process, plus the exceptions where criminal liability still applies to a cheque — a closed account, forgery, deliberate acts to avoid payment — sit in a separate guide: bounced cheque in the UAE: criminal or civil?.

If a cheque case shows signs of fraud or forgery, it moves into the general fraud provisions of the Penal Code, and the public right/private right logic above applies — paying the debt no longer closes it automatically. For how to report fraud and the real chances of recovering money, see scammed in Dubai: how to report fraud.

At which stage can a case still be closed

The case's stage sets exactly where a waiver or reconciliation request gets filed:

1. Police case — the earliest stage, before the file goes to the prosecutor. A withdrawal is filed at the police station or online; the chance of closure is highest here, if the charge allows reconciliation at all.
2. Public Prosecution — once police refer the file, a waiver or sulh agreement goes to the prosecutor, who decides whether to close the case, give the parties 15 days to reconcile (under Article 349), or send the case to court regardless of any agreement.
3. Criminal court — the case is already in trial. Reconciliation on eligible charges is formalised before the court, which approves the agreement and ends proceedings.
4. After the verdict — according to some sources, reconciliation on eligible charges stays possible even here, up to sentence enforcement, but this is the least settled area: practice and interpretation differ across sources, and it isn't something to navigate without a lawyer.

You can check which stage a case sits at right now yourself, through Dubai Police or Estafser's official services — the step-by-step is in how to check a case in the UAE.

Practical steps to close a case

1. Pin down the exact stage of the case (police / prosecution / court) and the specific charge.
2. Confirm with a lawyer whether the charge falls under private right (potentially closeable through reconciliation) or public right.
3. Agree on compensation and terms with the other side — in writing, not a verbal deal.
4. File the waiver or sulh agreement before the competent authority (police / prosecution / court) — a private receipt between the two of you isn't enough.
5. Wait for official confirmation that the case is closed, and — if a travel ban was in place — get it lifted separately; that doesn't happen automatically the moment the case closes.

When a case almost certainly won't close

A case will almost certainly proceed regardless of any reconciliation if the charge falls under public right (public safety, drugs, serious violent crime), the Public Prosecution decides the public interest outweighs a private deal, or the case involves a cheque with signs of fraud or forgery rather than a simple shortfall of funds. In these situations, compensation and an apology may still count as mitigating factors at sentencing, but they don't cancel the prosecution itself.

Topic: UAE Criminal Law 2026

This material is for information only and is not legal advice. UAE law changes — a lawyer will assess how it applies to your situation.