SUBSTANTIVE CRIMINAL PROTECTION FOR THE RIGHT TO IMAGE IN THE DIGITAL ERA UNDER UAE AND FRENCH LEGISLATION

 Background:
The right to image is considered one of the most important personal rights related to the person, simply because the image does recognise its owner from his or her peers, thus constituting a vital element of one's private life. Accordingly, legal protection of the right to image is highly required on both civil and criminal levels. There is no doubt that such a requirement can be attributed to the notable developments in the field of information technology, and what has been produced by digital devices and misused by people has led to the rapid spread of images in the virtual space, where any individuals have become subject to the violation of their private life. Based on this, the legal provisions of both Emirati and French legislators have adopted legal provisions that would ensure full and substantive criminal protection of the right to image, confirming the criminalisation of all forms of assault on this right, in addition to defining the controls and penalties that shall be applied against these attacks.
Methods:
To thoroughly tackle our research issue and its consequences, we will employ a descriptive, analytical, and comparative method. This approach is structured to meticulously explore every aspect of the research subject, albeit succinctly, and integrate jurisprudential principles with current judicial precedents.
Results and Conclusions:
The current research results show that comparative legislation lacks a precise definition concerning the violation of the right to image, thus leaving its interpretation to be determined by jurisprudence and the judiciary. In Emirati and French legal frameworks, this offence is not explicitly delineated but is rather encompassed within regulations safeguarding private life. The right to image is not absolute, with exceptions permitting capturing photographs for public interest. Protection of images is deemed essential within the context of private life rights. While UAE legislation mandates the use of devices for such violations, French law offers flexibility, allowing for various means of perpetration. Both legal systems stipulate that the act must occur in a private, unauthorised context and prohibit alterations to photographs without consent. Unlike UAE law, French legislation imposes penalties for the dissemination of sexually explicit images. Finally, the infringement upon the right to image is categorised as an intentional offence in both legal systems

 Abdulaziz Alhassan
Dr.Sc. (Law), Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates a.alhassan@ajman.ac.ae
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5514-672X
Corresponding author, responsible for research methodology, data collection, writing, and supervising.

Hamoud Tannar
Dr.Sc. (Law), Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates htannar@sharjah.ac.ae
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0934-5374
Co-author, responsible for conceptualization, writing, and data collection.

Raed S A Faqir
Dr.Sc. (Law), Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, American University in the Emirates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates r.faqir@cuca.ae
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6102-0983
Co-author, responsible for conceptualization, writing, and data collection.

Alaeldin Mahsour Maghaireh
Dr.Sc. (Law), Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates a.maghaireh@ajman.ac.ae
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9248-1195
Co-author, responsible for conceptualization, writing, and data collection.

Habis Mshhour Al Fawara
Dr.Sc. (Law), Department of Criminal Law, Faculty of Law, Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia halfawara@nauss.edu.sa
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0298-7562
Co-author, responsible for conceptualization, writing, and data collection.

Competing interests: No competing interests were disclosed.

Disclaimer: The authors declare that their opinions and views expressed in this manuscript are free of any impact of any organizations.

Copyright: © 2024 Abdulaziz Alhassan, Hamoud Tannar, Raed S A Faqir, Alaeldin Mansour Maghaireh and Habis Mshhour Al Fawara. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.