Legal Study of Insults in Public and Private Messages
This study examines a commercial dispute that ended with a judgment requiring the company to pay the debt without imposing personal liability on its director. The dispute then developed into a confrontation through private messages containing reciprocal statements deemed insulting, turning the disagreement into a separate criminal case.
It explains that legal classification does not depend solely on the severity of the statement or the use of an electronic medium, but on the nature of the communication and the extent to which it was accessible to others. A private message differs from a public post or circulated content and may be subject to the rules governing insult in private correspondence rather than those governing public insult or cybercrimes, depending on the circumstances of each incident.
The study also emphasizes the importance of reviewing the entire conversation, identifying who initiated the communication, determining the account holder’s identity, and connecting the messages to the context of the prior dispute, while recognizing the court’s authority to reclassify the charge legally.
It concludes that the best legal protection lies in using professional channels, avoiding the personalization of corporate debts, preserving complete correspondence, and avoiding emotional responses that could turn a concluded commercial dispute into a new criminal case.
Work sample date
September 2026
Jurisdiction
United Arab Emirates
Work type
Public and Private-Message Insults
Document language
Arabic
Client type
Company Director
The matter
Legal Issue
Determining the proper legal characterization of insulting statements made in a private electronic communication arising from a commercial dispute that had previously been resolved by a court: did the statements constitute public insult, insult directed at the victim through a private message, or a cybercrime merely because a communication application was used?
Legal Challenge
Distinguishing between proving that the statement was made and legally characterizing it by analyzing the privacy of the conversation, the extent to which third parties could access it, the identity of the account holder, the sequence of messages, and the effect of the prior commercial judgment, while preparing for the possibility that the court might recharacterize the charge in accordance with the facts established before it.
Work performed
We prepared a comprehensive analytical legal study concerning the transition of the commercial dispute into a personal confrontation through private messages. Our work included:
• Examining the facts of the commercial dispute and the judgment requiring the company to pay, without imposing personal liability on its director.
• Analyzing the electronic conversation and its complete context, and identifying the party who initiated the communication.
• Examining the distinction between public insult and insult made through a private message under UAE law.
• Studying whether the Anti-Rumors and Cybercrimes Law applied to private correspondence.
• Relying on UAE judicial principles concerning insults through communication applications.
• Explaining the effect of the prior commercial judgment on interpreting the messages and determining the nature of the confrontation between the parties.
• Analyzing the effect of not knowing the account holder’s true identity at the time of the conversation.
• Assessing digital evidence and highlighting the risks of presenting messages in an excerpted form.
• Studying the court’s authority to amend the legal description and recharacterize the charge.
• Preparing a clear assessment of the legal risks, strengths, and potential challenges.
• Drawing practical recommendations to help individuals and companies prevent commercial disputes from developing into criminal cases.
• Supporting the study with official UAE sources and legislation while maintaining the confidentiality of the parties and data.
Our work did not merely address whether the statements were made; it focused on developing an integrated legal framework distinguishing between proof of the incident, the nature of the communication method, the existence of publicity, and the correct legal characterization.
Outcome or value delivered
Value Delivered
CounselO’s team provided legal analysis that went beyond the apparent wording of the statements to address the substance of the dispute by:
Reconstructing the incident within its complete context rather than viewing the insulting message in isolation.
Identifying the most accurate legal characterization of private correspondence and distinguishing it from public dissemination and cybercrimes.
Connecting the criminal dispute to the prior commercial judgment to demonstrate the distinction between the company’s liability and the director’s personal liability.
Analyzing digital evidence and assessing risks, including the account’s identity, the sequence of messages, and the scope of access to them.
Developing a multi-track legal view that accounted for the possibility of the court changing the legal description and did not rely on a single argument.
Converting legal experience into practical preventive recommendations to help companies and individuals protect their legal positions and avoid escalating disputes.
Our core value lay in converting a complex digital incident into a clear legal strategy that balanced accurate legal characterization, evidentiary strength, and risk management, enabling the client to make a more informed and confident legal decision.
This sample demonstrates professional experience only. Details may be modified or withheld to protect confidentiality, and past work or outcomes do not guarantee the result of another matter.