Adi Al Bitar () (7 December 1924 – 4 March 1973) was a Palestinian-Jordanian judge, a legal advisor and lawyer who worked all over the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. He was the author of the

Constitution of the United Arab Emirates The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates provides a legal and political framework for the operation of the United Arab Emirates as a federation of seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, emirates. The Constitution came into effect on 2 D ...

Early years

Adi was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

on December 7, 1924. His father, Sheikh Nasib Al Bitar’s continuous relocation around

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

forced him to enroll at the Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem as a boarder. He graduated school with honors.

King David Hotel bombing

To help pay for his college fees Bitar worked as a clerk at the Chief Secretary's office in Jerusalem. The British had chosen the King David Hotel as their headquarters in a secure zone, thus requiring a pass to enter. On July 22, 1946, the King David Hotel was bombed by members of

Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...

— a Zionist organization. Adi was in the building when the bomb exploded and was saved only because his elder brother Bahij; who also worked there, insisted that Adi was buried alive under the rubble. It took two hours to reach him and he was found alive with two broken arms and two broken ribs and with many bruises all over his face and body. It took several weeks for his injuries to heal.

Jerusalem

He then was accepted by the Jerusalem Law Classes. These were established by the British mandate as a college of law to create a workforce of lawyers who understood the new laws that were being implemented in the region, replacing the existing Ottoman Laws. He graduated on April 26, 1948 and was registered as a lawyer on June 16, 1949. He joined the district attorney's office in Jerusalem until his resignation August 18, 1956, to work in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

as a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. During his time with the district attorney's office, Adi took part in the initial hearings of the murder of King Abdullah I of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

that occurred on July 20, 1951, in

Sudan

In 1956, he was appointed as the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major Tributary, tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the wa ...

District Judge in Sudan at Wad Medani, first as a deputy, and then with a full appointment a year later. In late 1959 he returned to Jerusalem where he established his own law firm.

Dubai

In 1964 he was appointed as the Legal Advisor to the Government of

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

. There he established the first Civil Laws and the Civil Courts Dubai Courts Gateway
and was appointed as Chief Justice. He helped establish the

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Dubai Chambers is a non-profit organisation that serves the needs of the business community in Dubai. Dubai Chambers’ key responsibilities include delivering value-added services to the business community, driving effective advocacy to enhance ...

and many other projects.

The Trucial States

Bitar was appointed as the Secretary General to the Trucial States Council in 1967, and served until it closed in 1971 when the federation was created and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

emerged as a new Arab State.

The United Arab Emirates

He took a very active and strategic role in the formation of the UAE. It was decided by Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum during their meeting at the "Abu Dhabi - Dubai" border point at Sumaih, now known as the "Sumaih Meeting", that Adi Bitar should write the constitution. It was approved and signed by the Rulers of six Emirates in the Dubai Guesthouse Palace on December 2, 1971, the date now celebrated as the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

National Day. The Emirate of Ras Al Khaima joined a few months later.

UAE & Jordan

Adi helped build good relations between UAE and

. He managed to create strong relations between Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum and King Hussein Bin Talal of

. He received two medals from the Jordanian monarch.

Death

Two years after the formation of the UAE he died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

, and was buried in Dubai on March 4, 1973. Adi was buried next to his 10-year-old son Issa who had died three months earlier of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bitar 1924 births 1973 deaths Deaths from colorectal cancer Emirati judges Palestinian emigrants to the United Arab Emirates Palestinian judges 20th-century Palestinian lawyers People from Dubai 20th-century Emirati lawyers Lawyers from Jerusalem Terra Sancta College (Jerusalem) alumni