<p>The Agency Law (Federal Law no. 18 of 1981) as amended by Federal Law no. 2  of 2010 is the law regulating commercial agencies in the UAE. The new amendment  incorporated in Federal Law no. 2 of 2010 re-instated the Commercial Agency  Committee (&ldquo;The Committee&rdquo;); however it took some time before the Committee  became operational.<br /><br />Nowadays and in 10 April 2011, H.H Mohammad Bin  Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai issued  Decree No. 3 of 2011 (&ldquo;The Decree&rdquo;) Establishing the Committee of Commercial  Agency and its role is to review any dispute pertaining to any commercial agency  registered with the Ministry of Economy.<br /><br />This article will address the  establishment of this Committee, procedures to be followed before the committee  in the event of disputes regarding termination, de-registration of an agency  agreement and time prescribed to challenge the Committee&rsquo;s decision before the  courts. In the next edition of the Law Update we will address some noteworthy  and important issues which arise as a result of the creation of the  Committee<br /><br /><strong>Establishment, membership and meetings of the  Committee:</strong><br />According to The Decree, the Committee shall be chaired  by the Director General of the Ministry of Economy and shall be comprised of the  following members: Executive Director of Commercial Affairs at the Ministry,  Undersecretary of the Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi, Director  General of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce &amp; Industry, a member of the Board  of Directors of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce &amp; Industry to be nominated  by the Chamber, a representative of the Department of Legal Affairs at the  Ministry of Economy and the Director of the Agencies Department at the Ministry  or other person deputizing for him as member and  &lsquo;rapporteur&rsquo;.<br /><br /><strong>According to The Decree a member shall cease to  serve on the Committee in one the following case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>he is absent for 3 consecutive meetings of the Committee without an excuse  acceptable to the Chairman of the Committee;</li>
<li>his service terminates for the office he holds;</li>
<li>death or illness prevents him from performing his duties,</li>
<li>he is convicted of a crime involving breach of honor or trust or he is  removed by a decision from the Cabinet.</li>
</ul>
<p>Furthermore, the Decree states that should, for any reason, a member&rsquo;s seat  becomes vacant or his membership terminate, the Minister of Economy shall  nominate a replacement taking into account the member&rsquo;s official title, in  coordination with the body he used to represent and shall submit the matter to  the Cabinet for approval. <br /><br />The Decree further states that the Committee  shall meet upon the Chairman or Vice-chairman&rsquo;s invitation. The invitation shall  state the time and place of the meeting and shall be in writing. However, the  Decree permits at the discretion of the Chairman or Vice-Chairman to invite  Committee members by any other means of communication. The required quorum for  the Committee meeting shall be the majority of its members, including the  Chairman or Vice-Chairman.<br /><br />The Committee shall issue its decisions by  majority vote of members attending the meeting. In case votes are equal, the  Chairman shall have the casting vote. Voting may not be done by proxy or  correspondence<br /><br /><strong>Filing an application before the  Committee</strong><br />The Decree sets out the procedure for filing and recording  applications which are filed with the Committee.<br /><br />According to the Decree  any Application (standard form approved by the Committee) to be filed with the  Committee shall be filed directly with the rapporteur. The application shall  include the following documents and particulars:</p>
<ul>
<li>Name, details and address of the applicant,</li>
<li>Names, details and addresses of the disputed parties,</li>
<li>Summary of the dispute and the relief sought from the Committee along with  the supporting documents.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<p>At a later stage, the rapporteur registers the received Applications under  serial number on the &ldquo;Special Register&rdquo; and inserts the filing date and  particulars of the Application. A receipt shall than be issued confirming the  receipt and the recording of the Application. <br /><br />Once the Committee decide  on the Application such decision along with the number and date of notification  of the decision to the applicant are then entered on the Applications Register.  The applicant shall pay a fee of AED 6,000 to the Ministry of Economy for the  Application to be entered on the Applications  Register.<br /><br /><strong>Applicable Procedures by the Committee </strong><br />According to the Decree the Committee shall fix a date for the  hearing of the dispute within 60 days after the filing of the Application and  shall notify the date to the parties. The Committee may, at its own initiative  or at the request of the parties, allow the disputing parties to appear before  the Committee. If neither the applicant nor his opponent appears in person or  through an attorney, the Committee may decide on the dispute.<br /><br />The  Committee may allow a party to file any new documents that were not originally  filed with his Application provided that he presents a &ldquo;good cause&rdquo; in this  regard. <br /><br />When performing its duties the Committee may seek assistance  from experts and specialists. The Committee shall specify the amount that is to  be provisionally paid towards the expert&rsquo;s fees along with costs and determine  the party that shall bear these costs.&nbsp; <br /><br />In concluding, it is important  to note that the Committee is required to commence the examination of the  dispute within 60 days after the date of filing a complete Application. The  Committee&rsquo;s decision can be challenged before a competent court within 30 days  of the date of the Committee&rsquo;s decision, otherwise, the Committee&rsquo;s decision  shall be deemed final.<br /><br /><strong>The Award issued by the  Committee</strong><br />According to the decree the Committee shall issue a  decision on the merits of the case. Such award shall contain a summary of the  dispute and reasoning of the Committee&rsquo;s decision. <br /><br />However, The  Committee, at its discretion, may decide to refer the parties to the Court. Any  decision issued by the Committee must specify the party bearing the expert&rsquo;s  fees and costs. The Committee&rsquo;s decision shall be signed by the Chairman and  members and the parties shall be served with a copy of the decision within 15  days after issuance thereof.<br /><br /><strong>Rules for De-Registering the Agency  agreement</strong><br />With regard to Committees&rsquo; decisions to deregister  commercial agencies, the Decree stipulates that any Committee decision to  de-register a commercial agency is enforceable. However, if any party to the  dispute appeals/challenges the Committee&rsquo;s decision, within 30 days from the  issuance of this decision, the Ministry may not register the agency in the name  of another party before a final decision is rendered on the merits of the  dispute provided that the appellant, within one week after the expiration of the  30 days appeal period, furnish the Ministry with proof that he has appealed the  Committee&rsquo;s decision to the competent court.<br /><br />If parties failed to appeal  to the competent court the Committee&rsquo;s decision within 30 days after the  notification of such decision the latter shall be deemed final and  binding.<br /><br />Last but not least, the Decree also states that the Committee  shall submit to the Minister of Economy a semi-annual report showing the number  of disputes brought before it, the grounds of those disputes and the decisions  thereon, together with the Committee&rsquo;s recommendations on the best possible  solutions to minimize such disputes. <br /><br /><strong>Possible questions that  might rise with the establishment of this Committee</strong><br />In the next  edition we will discuss the possible issues which arise as a result of the  creation of the Committee. Stay tuned!</p>