Questions/Answers

Based on its Vision to provide judicial services as per international standards, transform public services into smart services that operate 24/7, and serve the community members in their places, ADJD created the e-marriage contract that enables different community groups to conclude the marriage by the marriage registrar who moves to their location without having to come to ADJD. This initiative, launched in 2015, relies on modern technologies to enable the completion of the marriage contract outside ADJD premises in the Abu Dhabi and turn the same into a smart service that meets the parties’ needs and aspirations, using tablets, ID readers, e-payment, and wireless connection to ADJD judicial systems. This service made a radical change in marriage contracts registration, cancelling the previous procedures; a party had to book an appointment with the marriage officer who would enter the data using paper in the marriage location and would then upload the data into ADJD System. Moreover, one of the parties had to come again to pay the fees and collect the contract. This service also reduces errors during data transfer, saves time, and more importantly, the parties to the contract no longer need to come to ADJD.

The e-marriage service is a leading example of digital transformation in public institutions because it is an innovative practice in judicial services, as it harnesses modern technology to meet the needs of the marriage parties. It also promotes integration among government entities by utilizing UAE ID’s data to insert the required information automatically in the marriage contract, in addition to being equally available to all citizens and residents of the Abu Dhabi Emirate. This initiative has greatly improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of the marriage registrar and the Marriage Contracts Section as detailed in the results.

This initiative contributes mainly to achieving the objectives of the 16th goal of sustainable development "Peace, justice and strong institutions" by strengthening the rule of law and ensuring access to judicial services by all community members in the easiest and least expensive way. It also promotes the legal identity through the registration of marriage contracts and subsequent registration of all births. This initiative contributes to increased transparency in the Marriage Contract Section work, making follow-up and accountability possible when needed through the System's features plus the ability to monitor achievement in a timely and detailed manner for each service.

Given the nature of the e-marriage initiative, any Abu Dhabi resident may benefit from this service, naturally, the greatest benefit will be to community groups with special needs, the elderly and those located in distant locations and find it difficult to come to ADJD Offices to avail the service in the traditional way. The effect of this initiative is rooted in the fact that the wife’s guardian must attend the marriage procedure in ordinary cases. This initiative has also helped improve the quality and the governance of the marriage service, in several ways, such as: • Save the time needed to conclude the marriage contract in distant areas significantly. • Increase public satisfaction with the smart marriage services as reflected in the results of the questionnaires. • Reduce errors that used to be made when transferring the data from paper to ADJD e-records. • Raising the productivity of the marriage registrars through their use of the new system, which enabled them to provide more services in less time.

This initiative comes in the context of innovation in the development of services to the public and the provision of access to judicial services by all society segments. Given that ADJD has the competence to register marriage contracts in the Abu Dhabi Emirate, the e-marriage contract is an unprecedented innovative service in the UAE and globally. Moreover, this service meets the needs of the local community and complies with the conditions of completion of marriage contracts according to the laws in force in the Abu Dhabi Emirate. This renders the innovated electronic marriage contract unique and outstanding.

This initiative is an original innovation not only in the UAE but also abroad as concluded by the comparison and analysis conducted by the Marriage Section when it proposed to upgrade the service into its new form. ADJD showcased this service’s excellence and originality in several conferences and specialized forums, such as Gitex, the Government Achievements Exhibition and through information shared by visiting delegations to the Judicial Department, which were introduced to the service and its provision mechanism. ADJD media survey reports did not contain any press releases or articles about similar services provided by other institutions.

Since its launch, ADJD and its Marriage Contracts Section have promoted this service in its new form, through an aggressive media complain using various channels. Apart from the aforementioned external participations and the feedback of delegations when introduced to this experience, ADJD does not have any specific information on entities that have copied or used this innovation to suit their specific needs.

This initiative has been innovative in terms of design. It has been fully developed internally whether in respect of human resources or financial costs. There has been cooperation and teamwork among the Marriage Contracts Section and the IT Division. The relevant team has presented the idea in the form of an initiative, after obtaining the initial approval, the IT Division team determined the technical requirements and proposed a mechanism for implementation and comparison. Thereafter, the initiative has been developed and tested according to the prescribed action plan. The working team has used creative solutions for implementation, including the design of a card reader for iPads, that was not available in the market.

This e-marriage contract initiative is sustainable from several aspects. In terms of social sustainability, the initiative directly helps maintenance of rights and blood affiliations for the present and future generations, as well as it seeks to achieve social stability. In the economic field, this innovation will alleviate costs and burdens off parties, as they do not need to approach ADJD marriage branches. In terms of environmental sustainability, this service will save large quantities of paper compared to the traditional applications, as they will be replaced by electronic communication only. Needless to say, there will be reduction of carbon emissions since people do not need to approach ADJD premises in person. On the other hand, the new service is sustainable, as the initiative will lessen the risks of loss of any transactions as they are electronically stored and backed up in accordance with best international practices.

Yes

ADJD initiatives are evaluated at several stages. Firstly, before the phase of implementation for the purpose of study and approval, then during the implementation phase to ensure progression of work according to the set action plan, timeframe, and percentage of completion. Lastly, at the phase of completion for the purpose of testing, delivery and comparing output with the approved plan. In coordination with the Marriage Contracts Section, specific measures, indicators, and statistical reports are adopted to indicate the initiative’s impact, output, and contribution to work development, and then incorporated in their annual work plan, according to the nature and classification of the initiative.

• Average time needed to obtain the service: The average time required for parties to receive the original marriage contracts, counted by days, on the basis of 8 workings hours a day. • Average time taken to enter data: Average time required to enter the data required by the marriage registrar for solemnizing the contract, in the presence of parties, counted by minutes. • Ratio of digital transactions to the total transactions of marriage contracts: the percentage of transactions in which the new technology was used out of the total transactions executed in the Judiciary Department, considering that some parties wish to come in person to ADJD for solemnizing marriage contracts. • Rate of customers satisfaction with the service: The general result of the customers satisfaction questionnaire filled by recipients of this service.

Average time required for obtaining the service (working days) 2015 (2.2 Days) 2016 (0.88 Days) 2017 (0.45 Days) Average time required for data entry (minutes) 2015 (17 Minutes) 2016 ( 7 Minutes) 2017 ( 4 Minutes) Ratio of digital transactions to the total transactions of marriage contracts 2015 (22.3%) 2016 (78%) 2017 (94%) Rate of customers satisfaction with the service 2015 (97%) 2016 (98.5%) 2017 (99%)

The e-marriage contract initiative has been characterized by active participation of stakeholders both internally and externally throughout the different stages of implementation. Briefly, such participation included: • ADJD higher management: study and approve the proposal, with the directives to allocate the necessary resources for implementation. • Public: Get feedback from the public and use their comments as an input to the development process. • Marriage Contract Section staff: brainstorming sessions to develop the service of marriage contracts. • IT Division: analyze requirements, determine required technical specifications, and agree on the proposed solution and then implementation with the provision of support and maintenance. • Strategic Planning and Organizational Development Division: Evaluation and collaboration in the development of the performance indicators related to the Initiative. • Corporate Communication and International Cooperation Sector: Develop and implement an information media plan to introduce the new service and encourage the public to use it.

Following its launch two years ago, the initiative has been subject to several developments: • The use of advanced marriage contract templates with high security specifications against counterfeiting. • The handing over of marriage contracts to the parties by hand or by express courier companies. • Possibility to book an appointment with the marriage registrar electronically via ADJD website available 24/7. Through the analysis of the indicators and measurements adopted for the initiative, and the feedback received from stakeholders, the work team seeks to complete the continuous development work likely to increase the quality of the services provided to the public.