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(92497, 5026, 'content', 'November 2014\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nThe new regulation is an attempt to control the content of tobacco products in the GCC market.\r\n\r\nIn the past, given that specific legislation on the topic was lacking, tobacco manufacturers had the option of using a wide range of additives in tobacco products. In recent times, the GSO board of directors has decided to take the initiative to regulate the market in order to address this issue. In this regard, the GOS approved technical standard number GSO 2390/2014 in their meeting no. 19 on 14 May, 2014. The technical regulation was initially drafted by the State of Qatar and is largely based on national and international standards and references.\r\n\r\nThe objective of this new technical regulation is to maintain quality of tobacco product, consumer protection and safety. The new technical regulation contains a list of permissible tobacco additives and a list of impermissible tobacco additives. The permissible list includesadditives such as:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Fruits, and dried fruits</li>\r\n 	<li>Spices</li>\r\n 	<li>Liquorice extract</li>\r\n 	<li>Coffee extract</li>\r\n 	<li>Tea and tea-like products</li>\r\n 	<li>Cocoa, and cocoa products</li>\r\n 	<li>Honey</li>\r\n 	<li>Maple syrup</li>\r\n 	<li>Sugars suitable for human consumption</li>\r\n 	<li>Menthol</li>\r\n 	<li>Molasses</li>\r\n 	<li>Water</li>\r\n 	<li>Cellulose</li>\r\n 	<li>Arabic Gum</li>\r\n 	<li>Citric acid</li>\r\n 	<li>Caramel</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nThe impermissible additives list includes:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Camphor</li>\r\n 	<li>Camphor oil</li>\r\n 	<li>Camphor wood</li>\r\n 	<li>Vanilla roots</li>\r\n 	<li>Poley mint (HerbaPulegii).</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nThe permissible tobacco additives are allowed to be used for specific purposes. For example, Glycerol is permissible as humectants for loose tobacco, cigar, cigarettes and reconstituted tobacco. Arabic Gum is permissible for use as glues, adhesives, and thickening agents and binders for cigars, cigarettes and loose tobacco including black tobacco. On the other hand, the impermissible tobacco additives are prohibited from use for some specific purposes. For example, the use of Camphor is prohibited in odorants or flavorings. Similarly, odorants or flavorings produced from Vanilla Roots are also prohibited.\r\n\r\nDespite the GSO’s initiatives to maintain good quality tobacco products, there are questions as to the additives that have not been mentioned in the regulation. The debate over this issue is whether the unnamed additives are permissible or impermissible. This is a grey area in the absence of clear answers from the GSO and requires further consideration from the GSO or the local standardization authorities such as Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) or Emirate Standardization and Metrology Authority (ESMA). The GCC states have yet to implement this technical regulation; it is expected to be implemented by the each individual State within the coming months as it needs to pass the legislation process of each country.'),
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(92520, 5027, 'content', 'November 2014\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\nOn 11 May 2014, two new laws nos. 35 &amp; 36 for the year 2014 were published in the official gazette no. 1183 ratifying the joining of the State of Kuwait to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, respectively.\r\n\r\nThe Berne Convention requires its signatories to recognize the copyright of works of authors from other signatory countries (members of the Berne Union) in the same way as it recognizes the copyright of its own nationals. Article 3 of the Convention covers the criteria of eligibility for protection which stipulates:\r\n\r\n1. The protection of this Convention shall apply to:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>authors who are nationals of one of the countries of the Union, for their works, whether published or not;</li>\r\n 	<li>authors who are not nationals of one of the countries of the Union, for their works first published in one of those countries, or simultaneously in a country outside the Union and in a country of the Union.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n2. Authors who are not nationals of one of the countries of the Union but who have their habitual residence in one of them shall, for the purposes of this Convention, be assimilated to nationals of that country.\r\n\r\n3. The expression “published works” means works published with the consent of their authors, whatever may be the means of manufacture of the copies, provided that the availability of such copies has been such as to satisfy the reasonable requirements of the public, having regard to the nature of the work. The performance of a dramatic, dramatico-musical, cinematographic or musical work, the public recitation of a literary work, the communication by wire or the broadcasting of literary or artistic works, the exhibition of a work of art and the construction of a work of architecture shall not constitute publication.\r\n\r\n4. A work shall be considered as having been published simultaneously in several countries if it has been published in two or more countries within thirty days of its first publication.\r\n\r\n5. The key points of the Paris Convention are: National treatment which is tackled by Articles 2 &amp; 3, and Priority right which is tackled by Article 4 to this treaty.\r\n\r\nArticles 2 &amp; 3 of the treaty stipulate:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>National treatment means that juristic and natural persons who are either nationals of or domiciled in a state that is a party to the Convention shall, as regards the protection of industrial property, enjoy in all the other countries of the Union, the advantages that their respective laws grant to nationals.</li>\r\n 	<li>Nationals of any country of the Union shall, as regards the protection of industrial property, enjoy in all the other countries of the Union the advantages that their respective laws now grant, or may hereafter grant, to nationals; all without prejudice to the rights specially provided for by this Convention.</li>\r\n 	<li>Consequently, they shall have the same protection as the latter, and the same legal remedy against any infringement of their rights, provided that the conditions and formalities imposed upon nationals are complied with.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nHowever, no requirement as to domicile or establishment in the country where protection is claimed may be imposed upon nationals of countries of the Union for the enjoyment of any industrial property rights.\r\n\r\nThe provisions of the laws of each of the countries of the Union relating to judicial and administrative procedure and to jurisdiction, and to the designation of an address for service or the appointment of an agent, which may be required by the laws on industrial property are expressly reserved.\r\n\r\nWhereby Article 3 stipulates:\r\n\r\nNationals of countries outside the Union who are domiciled or who have real and effective industrial or commercial establishments in the territory of one of the countries of the Union shall be treated in the same manner as nationals of the countries of the Union.\r\n\r\nPriority right means that an applicant from one contracting State shall be able to use its first filing date (in one of the contracting States) as the effective filing date in another contracting State, provided that the applicant files a subsequent application within 6 months (for industrial designs and trademarks) or 12 months (for patents and utility models) from the first filing.\r\n\r\nAs of September 2013, the Paris Convention had 175 contracting member countries, which makes it one of the most widely adopted treaties worldwide, and making the State of Kuwait the 176th member.'),
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(92539, 5028, 'content', 'November 2014\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">This article looks at a key part of the strategy, the National Health Insurance Scheme and examines what the regime means for participants and employees alike.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Background </em></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Launched in July 2013, Qatar’s health insurance scheme, Seha, is an integral part of the National Health Strategy.  The health insurance scheme is being rolled out in five stages with coverage initially applying to Qatari females aged 12 and above for gynecology, obstetrics, maternity and related women’s health conditions. The second and third stages allow for the roll out of comprehensive insurance coverage to all Qatari nationals for their basic health care needs.  Finally, stages four and five will provide cover for all white and blue collar expatriates as well as visitors to Qatar.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Legal basis</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The health insurance scheme was put in place pursuant to <em>Law No. 7 of 2013 on the Social Health Insurance System</em> (<strong>Law</strong>) which was followed by the release of the <em>Resolution of Minister of Public Health No. 22 of 2013 Regarding Issuing Executive Regulations of Law No. (7) of 2013 </em>(<strong>Regulations</strong>).  The Law and Regulations set out the role of the Supreme Council of Health, the concepts of basic and additional health services, the licensing of participants, the responsibilities for premium payment, the establishment of the National Company for Health Insurance (<strong>NCHI</strong>) and the applicable penalties regime for non-compliance.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Bodies responsible for oversight and management of the Scheme</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The health insurance scheme is to be implemented and managed by several bodies.  The Supreme Council of Health is the Qatari government body with overall responsibility for the rollout of the scheme.  It will also be responsible for the supervision and licensing of all regulated participants.  As part of this role, the Supreme Council of Health will act as a repository of all health-related information, including patients’ medical records (Article 4 of the Law).</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The Government has established the NCHI to be responsible for the actual management of the health insurance scheme including contracting with and supervising health care providers, promulgating patient care standards, managing the collection of premium and payment of fees for service providers and ensuring adequate data protection regulations are in place in respect of health information (Articles 19 and 20 of the Law).</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Importantly, the NCHI is solely responsible for issuing the basic health insurance benefits in Qatar with private insurers only being allowed to participate by offering prescribed additional benefits (Article 28 of the Regulations).</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">To act as its third party administrator for the health insurance scheme, the NCHI has appointed Qatari insurance company, Al Khaleej Takaful.  Al Khaleej will be responsible for all essential administrative functions of the NCHI and in turn has appointed two sub-contractors, Aetna and GlobeMed. Aetna will provide health management services and GlobeMed will undertake enrolment, claims administration and call center capabilities.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Licensing and requirements of scheme participants</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The Regulations prescribe the licensing requirements for health care providers wishing to contract with the NCHI.  In particular, healthcare providers need to have an existing licence authorising them to operate a medical facility and/or offer health care services in Qatar.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Providers also need to evidence that their information systems will meet the standards of the Supreme Council of Health so as to allow the transmission of health information to the Supreme Council of Health and the NCHI.  The Regulations also prescribe a range of terms that must be included in the agreement between the healthcare provider and the NCHI (Chapter III of the Regulations).</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Insurers wishing to offer the prescribed additional insurance benefits must also apply for and receive a licence before they can participate in the health insurance scheme.  Insurers must again already be licensed to practice health insurance in Qatar and cannot own or manage any health care provider.  As insurers can only be licensed to provide <em>‘additional health care benefits’ </em>they must cease offering any other benefits by 30 April 2015.  This requirement is pursuant to Supreme Council of Health Circular MA/5/2014 which allowed for a one year grace period from the original 1 April 2014 deadline.  The Regulations prescribe a number of terms that must be included in the insurer’s policy for provision of the additional benefits, including details of the limitations of the additional benefits, the claims and complaints processes, the applicable healthcare providers and the use and protection of policy holder information (Chapter IV of the Regulations).</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Coverage and payment of premium</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The health insurance scheme distinguishes between basic health benefits and additional health benefits.  The Regulations itemise the basic health benefits that apply for Qatari nationals and non-Qataris under the scheme as set out in Table 1 below.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">There is compulsory coverage for Qatari nationals, GCC nationals, residents and visitors (Article 2 of the Law).  Visitors are defined under the Law and Regulations as ‘<em>each non-citizen who enters the State or resides in the same, on a temporary basis, for purposes other than residence or work</em>.’</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The Minister of Health of Public Health, following the approval of the Supreme Council of Health, will set the premium amount for the basic health benefits based on generally accepted actuarial rules (Article 12 of the Law and Article 2 of the Regulations).</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Employers will be liable for the payment of premiums for their non-Qatari employees and employees’ families (Article 4 of the Regulations).  Sponsors will then be responsible for payment of premiums for non-Qatari residents to the extent any employer is not required to pay their premium in accordance with the Regulations (Article 5 of the Regulations).  Visitors to Qatar are responsible for payment of their own premium with the issue of temporary visas being subject to proof of payment of premiums (Article 7 of the Regulations).  Finally, the Qatari Government will be responsible for the payment of premium for all Qatari nationals under the scheme (Article 13 of the Law).</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Conclusion</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Qatar’s health insurance scheme is arguably the most fully formed of the recently arrived compulsory health insurance regimes in the GCC.  The five stage roll out has allowed an incremental on-boarding of information systems and has provided that the capability build-up was able to take place without undue pressure.  However, given the population of Qatar is heavily weighted towards its ex-pat community, the real test of the scheme is still to come with stages four and five yet to be implemented.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>Table 1</strong></p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"MsoTableGrid\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" width=\"387\">\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>Basic Health Services covered by the Health Insurance Scheme</strong><strong> </strong></p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"211\">\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Qatari Nationals</p>\r\n</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"176\">\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Non-Qatari Nationals</p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"211\">\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>General Medicine Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Preventive Care Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Emergency and Accidents Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Inpatient and Outpatient Hospital Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Lab, Radiology and Medical Analysis Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Maternity and Gynecology Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Pharmaceutical Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Basic Dental Services and Eye Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Neurological Diseases Treatment</li>\r\n 	<li>Home Heath and Home Nursing.</li>\r\n 	<li>Speech Therapy and Treatment of Vocational Diseases and Palliative Treatment</li>\r\n 	<li>Organs Transplantation</li>\r\n 	<li>End of Life Care</li>\r\n 	<li>Durable Medical Equipment</li>\r\n 	<li>Infertility Treatment and Family Planning</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"176\">\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>General Medicine Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Preventive Care Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Emergency and Accidents Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Inpatient and Outpatient Hospital Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Lab, Radiology and Medical Analysis Services</li>\r\n 	<li>Maternity and Gynecology Services</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"></p>\r\n</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>'),
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(100249, 5450, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Implementing Regulations clarifying the operation and effect of a number of the provisions of the new law have recently been through a consultation phase and are due to be issued in the coming months.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The renamed Ministry of Commerce and Investment (“MoCI”) and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (“SAGIA”) are having to get to grips with the significant changes under the new law affecting how entities in Saudi Arabia are formed and regulated, against a background where Saudi Arabia is seeking to encourage more foreign investment in line with the National Transformation Plan 2020 and the Saudi Vision 2030, which are Saudi Arabia’s roadmap to diversify its economy and address the challenges brought by low global energy prices.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">As with many new pieces of legislation it may take a while for the regulators and others to understand fully the new law and for it to be fully implemented in practice.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">This article highlights some key issues relating to the implementation of the new law, signposts some new and impending regulations that Saudi, GCC and foreign investors need to be aware of and some of the steps that existing companies and managers now need to be considering.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>The New Law</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The important changes in the new law from the position under the old Saudi Companies Law are listed in the tables below.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Interim Period</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Article 224 of the new law gives existing companies 12 months from the Effective Date to bring their affairs into compliance with the new law. However, this does not mean that existing entities do not have to comply with the new law until the end of the 12 months because penalties can be applied from the Effective Date. MoCI and the Capital Markets Authority (“CMA”) can also determine certain provisions of the new law which are effective during this interim period.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Template Constitutional Documents</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\">MoCI has recently published template articles of association (“AoA”) and bylaws for the different forms of entity including LLCs and joint stock companies (“JSCs”).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Whilst it is not mandatory for a company to have constitutional documents in this format, it is likely to be easier, certainly for any companies formed after the publication of these templates, to obtain MoCI approval using constitutional documents based on this format and they should also be considered when existing companies are considering changes to their constitutional documents.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The new template AoA for LLCs reflect , for example, the following changes under the new law:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Financial statements to be prepared within 3 months of year end and filed within a further 1 month (previously 4 months and 2 months);</li>\r\n 	<li>Suspension of set aside of statutory reserve when it reaches 30% of capital (previously 50%);</li>\r\n 	<li>Changes to statutory pre-emption process including added flexibility on valuation;</li>\r\n 	<li>New procedures and effects where losses reach 50% of capital.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>JSCs-MoCI and Capital Markets Authority Statements</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In April and May 2016 MoCI and the CMA issued two joint statements dealing with the implementation of the new law in relation to JSCs (and holding companies) and specifying certain provisions of the new law that must be implemented immediately and others which fall within the 12 month grace period.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Examples of provisions to be complied with are:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Article 90 - regulating shareholders meetings;</li>\r\n 	<li>Article 95 - cumulative voting for board elections and certain situations where directors are prohibited from voting.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p7\">Examples of provisions where an extension can be granted are:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Article 68.1 - the number of directors;</li>\r\n 	<li>Article 76 - directors’ remuneration;</li>\r\n 	<li>Article 81.1 - the functions of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director;</li>\r\n 	<li>Articles 101 - 104-certain provisions relating to Audit Committees;</li>\r\n 	<li>Article 150 - dealing with losses of JSCs (although listed companies have to make a monthly announcement of their plans and actions to comply if losses incurred equal or exceed 50% of capital in the interim period);</li>\r\n 	<li>Articles 182 - 186-dealing with holding companies.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p7\">However the MoCI/CMA statements make clear that any new action intended by a JSC must comply with the new law eg on appointing a new director Article 68.1 must be complied with.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Accordingly as well as bringing their procedures and affairs into line with the new law, all existing Saudi companies will need to review their existing constitutional documents and consider the changes required to be consistent with the New Law.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Foreign Investment</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (“SAGIA”) announced in 2015 that international companies were being encouraged to establish 100% foreign owned trading companies. Shortly after the announcement of the Saudi Vision 2030, the Saudi Council of Ministers approved rules to implement this change in June 2016. Initial indications suggest that only very large international companies (who amongst other things will employ significant numbers of Saudi nationals) will qualify for 100% foreign ownership</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">On implementation of the new law, SAGIA has yet to clarify if, when and on what basis it will license foreign owned holding companies and foreign owned single shareholder LLCs.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">These clarifications are likely to have a significant impact on foreign investors structuring their investments in Saudi Arabia.<strong> </strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>New Implementing Regulations</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The draft implementing regulations (“Implementing Regulations”) for the new law have also been through a consultation phase which was completed in May 2016. The final version is expected in the next few months.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The draft Implementing Regulations cover areas such as:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Use of technology at JSC meetings;</li>\r\n 	<li>Buy-back of JSC shares;</li>\r\n 	<li>Pledge of JSC shares;</li>\r\n 	<li>Preference shares<strong> </strong></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Corporate Governance</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In April 2016 MoCI and the CMA issued a draft of proposed new Corporate Governance Regulations (“the CG Regulations”) which again have just been through a consultation phase. The CG Regulations will apply to both Saudi listed companies and on a best practice voluntary basis to closed JSCs (favoured by many Saudi Family owned groups). Once approved the CG Regulations will replace the existing CMA Corporate Governance regulations which apply to Saudi listed companies. Saudi family-owned groups will want to consider the CG Regulations and to adopt some or all of their provisions to reflect best practice, which as well as for family governance purposes may also be important in dealings with third parties.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">We will comment further on the CG Regulations and the new Implementing Regulations when they have been finally approved.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">With the numerous new and impending regulatory and procedural changes affecting Saudi companies it is vital that both existing companies and new investors make themselves fully aware of the changes made, review how they are conducting their procedures and affairs to bring them into line with the new law and review and make any changes required to their existing constitutional documents to be consistent with the new law.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Al Tamimi &amp; Co’s offices in Saudi Arabia are currently assisting many clients with these matters.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p9\"><em>If you wish to discuss any aspect of these changes please contact Hesham Al Homoud, Partner and Head of Corporate Structuring, Riyadh, h.hamoud@tamimi.com; Matthew Kelleher, Senior Associate, Corporate Structuring, Riyadh, m.kelleher@tamimi.com; Grahame Nelson, Partner and Head of Riyadh Office, g.nelson@tamimi.com; or Jonathan Reardon, Head of Al Khobar Office,,  j.reardon@tamimi.com.</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Table</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>JSCs-General Provisions</em></p>\r\n\r\n<table border=\"0\" align=\"left\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Article</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Topic</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>New</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Old</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>1</td>\r\n<td>Competent Authority</td>\r\n<td>MOCI, except for listed JSCs where it is CMA</td>\r\n<td>MOCI</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>13</td>\r\n<td>Electronic Publication</td>\r\n<td>Requirement to publish documents in Official Gazette replaced by electronic publication on MoCI website.</td>\r\n<td>Publication of AOA and changes to AoA etc. in Official Gazette</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>54</td>\r\n<td>Capital</td>\r\n<td>The capital of a JSC shall be sufficient to achieve its purpose and not less than SAR 500,000. The paid-in capital upon incorporation shall not be less than a quarter of the capital</td>\r\n<td>Used to be SAR 2m for closed JSC or SAR 10m for Public and paid in capital was minimum of one half</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>55</td>\r\n<td>Ownership</td>\r\n<td>A single shareholder closed-JSC can be established or owned by:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Saudi Government;</li>\r\n 	<li>Saudi Government establishments;</li>\r\n 	<li>entities wholly owned by the Saudi Government;</li>\r\n 	<li>Any company with a minimum SAR5m capital.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAll JSCs can now be formed with a minimum of 2 shareholders.</td>\r\n<td>A closed JSC had to have at least 5 members.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>-</td>\r\n<td>No feasibility study required</td>\r\n<td>No feasibility study required for incorporation. MoCI resolution still required.</td>\r\n<td>MoCI resolution and feasibility study required</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>-</td>\r\n<td>Guarantee  shares</td>\r\n<td>Guarantee shares no longer required from directors.</td>\r\n<td>Shares to value of SAR 10,000 must be deposited with Saudi bank as a guarantee of director’s liability.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>86-2</td>\r\n<td>Shareholder attendance</td>\r\n<td>Every shareholder can now attend shareholder meetings.</td>\r\n<td>Shareholders with less than 20 shares did not have right to attend shareholder meetings.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>91 to 94</td>\r\n<td>Shareholder meetings</td>\r\n<td>Minimum notice period for OGMs reduced to 10 days. New meeting can be held 1 hour after inquorate meeting. New quorum requirements for OGM of 25% of capital, or higher percentage provided by AoA (capped at 50% of capital) Quorum for EGM remains at 50% unless AoA prescribe a higher percentage but capped at two thirds of capital.</td>\r\n<td>25 days. Reconvened meeting within 30 days. Minimum quorum of 50% of capital or higher percentage (not capped) prescribed in AoA.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td> 108</td>\r\n<td>Founder Lock-up</td>\r\n<td>Founder lock-up period remains at publication of 2 sets of financial statements but can be reduced by the CMA for listed or prospective listed companies</td>\r\n<td>2 sets of financial statements.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>112</td>\r\n<td>Purchase/pledge of own shares</td>\r\n<td>JSC may purchase or pledge its own shares</td>\r\n<td>Only limited and restricted rights to purchase own shares and pledge of own shares by JSC generally prohibited.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>114</td>\r\n<td>Preference shares</td>\r\n<td> Additional provisions around issue of preference shares.</td>\r\n<td>Limited clarity resulted in no use of preference shares.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>121-125</td>\r\n<td>Debt  and sukuk instruments</td>\r\n<td>Confirms that all issues must observe Sharia principles. Additional clarification around issues of convertible debt instruments.</td>\r\n<td>New law amplifies existing law.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td> 129</td>\r\n<td>Statutory reserve</td>\r\n<td>The general assembly may suspend the assignment of 10% of net profits to statutory reserves once the reserve  reaches 30% of paid capital.</td>\r\n<td>Statutory reserves used to be 50% of paid capital.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td> 133-1</td>\r\n<td>External Auditor</td>\r\n<td>The external auditors may not be appointed for more than 5 continuous years with minimum 2 years before re-appointment.</td>\r\n<td>No restriction on length of appointment or on re-appointment.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td> 150</td>\r\n<td>Dissolution by operation of law.</td>\r\n<td>if a JSC’s losses are 50% or more of capital and prescribed requirements (as specified) not followed deemed dissolution occurs by operation of law if EGM is not held within 45 days or EGM fails to pass resolution or re-capitalisation not implemented within 90 days of resolution.</td>\r\n<td>75% of capital. No automatic dissolution by operation of law. Less procedural requirements. No provisions on failure to complete a re-capitalisation.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>JSCs-Board of Directors “(BoD”)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<table border=\"0\" align=\"left\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Article</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Topic</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>New</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Old</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>68-1</td>\r\n<td>BoD size</td>\r\n<td>Size of the Board is a maximum of 11 members (3-11).</td>\r\n<td>Only minimum size was mentioned.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>68-2</td>\r\n<td>BoD nomination</td>\r\n<td>Every shareholder may nominate himself or any other person(s) within the percentage of his ownership</td>\r\n<td>No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>70-1</td>\r\n<td>BoD succession planning</td>\r\n<td>Specifies how succession to BoD membership will take place in the event that a position is vacant. Allows BoD to temporarily appoint another member as per the order of the number of obtained votes subject to such member having the experience and efficiency and subsequent OGM ratification.</td>\r\n<td>If the position of a member becomes vacant, the BoD may appoint a temporary member to fill the vacancy, provided that such appointment shall be laid before the first meeting of the Ordinary General Assembly.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>71-2</td>\r\n<td>Conflict of Interest</td>\r\n<td>If the director fails to disclose his interest, the JSC or any interested party may request the competent judicial authority to invalidate the contract and oblige the director to refund any profit or benefits earned as a result of such interest.</td>\r\n<td>This liability was not specifically mentioned in Old Law.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>76-2</td>\r\n<td>Remuneration</td>\r\n<td>Board remuneration should be commensurate to the number of meetings attended by the BoD members.</td>\r\n<td>No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>95-1</td>\r\n<td>Cumulative voting</td>\r\n<td>Cumulative voting shall be used by shareholders in BoD elections</td>\r\n<td>No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>76-3</td>\r\n<td>Remuneration cap</td>\r\n<td>The maximum remuneration for BoD members is SAR 500,000.</td>\r\n<td>A circular had capped it at SAR 200,000.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>81-1</td>\r\n<td>Non-exec chairman</td>\r\n<td>Chairman must be non-executive and cannot hold an executive role with the JSC.</td>\r\n<td>No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>83-1</td>\r\n<td>Board Meetings</td>\r\n<td>Minimum number of Board meetings is 2 per year.</td>\r\n<td>There was no minimum.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>83-3</td>\r\n<td>Minutes</td>\r\n<td>The minutes of board meetings shall be signed by the chairman, the board members, and the secretary of the board.</td>\r\n<td>The minutes of board meetings shall be signed by the chairman and the secretary of the board.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>JSCs-Audit Committee</em></p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"MsoNormalTable\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\"><strong>Article</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"73\"><strong>Topic</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"254\"><strong>New</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"96\"><strong>Old</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">101</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"73\">Composition</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"254\">\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Audit committee members shall be non-executives</li>\r\n 	<li>The size of the Audit Committee shall be 3-5 members</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"96\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">102</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"73\">Quorum</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"254\">\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Majority attendance constitutes a quorum</li>\r\n 	<li>Resolutions are made by majority vote, and chairman has casting vote in case of a tie.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"96\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">103-104</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"73\">Authorities</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"254\">Set out authorities and internal control duties of the Audit Committee.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"96\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>JSCs– Accounts and other filings</em></p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"MsoNormalTable\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\"><strong>Article</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\"><strong>Topic</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\"><strong>New</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"195\"><strong>Old</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">122-3</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\">Increase in capital</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\">The BoD must publish any increase in capital.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"195\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">126-2</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\">Financial Statements and annual report</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\">The BoD shall prepare financial statements, a report on its business and financial position, and suggestion for dividends and make this available to auditors at least 45 days prior to general assembly.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"195\">Same as under ‘New’ but with 55 day period.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">126-3</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\">Signature on Financial Statements etc.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\">Detailed signature requirements.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"195\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">126-4</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\">Disclosure to Shareholders</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\">The chairman must provide the company shareholders with financial statements, Board report, and auditors’ report unless they are published in a daily newspaper and a  copy must be sent to MOCI and other authorities at least 15 days before the  general assembly</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"195\">Same as under ‘New’ but with 25 day period and with less detail.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">128</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\">Details of what to disclose</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"114\">Within thirty days from the date of the general assembly filing with MOCI, and CMA in case of listed companies, of the financial statements, board report, auditor’s report and the  audit committee report.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"195\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Single Shareholder LLCs</em></p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"MsoNormalTable\" border=\"1\" width=\"100%\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"9%\"><strong>Article</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"16%\"><strong>Topic</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"38%\"><strong>New</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"35%\"><strong>Old</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"9%\">154-1</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"16%\">Ownership</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"38%\">LLCs can be owned by a single shareholder.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"35%\">Minimum of two shareholders.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"9%\">154-1</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"16%\">Management</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"38%\">\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Single shareholder has all powers of the General Assembly and the Board of Managers.</li>\r\n 	<li>Single shareholder can appoint directors/managers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"35%\">N/A</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"9%\">154-2</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"16%\">Limitations</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"38%\">\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Individuals can only establish or own one single shareholder LLC.</li>\r\n 	<li>A single shareholder LLC  ( whether owned by an individual or a company ) may not  establish or own another  single shareholder LLC</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"35%\">N/A</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>LLCs-Shareholder Liability</em></p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"MsoNormalTable\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"44\"><strong>Article</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"69\"><strong>Topic</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"185\"><strong>New</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"168\"><strong>Old</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"44\">155</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"69\">Shareholder liability</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"185\">A  Shareholder is personally liable for LLC liabilities to third parties if in bad faith he liquidates the LLC or suspends its business before expiry of its term or achievement of its purpose; or\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>If he doesn’t separate his own business from LLC business; or</li>\r\n 	<li>If he conducts business in the LLC name before it is established.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"168\">N/A</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"44\">181</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"69\">Shareholder liability</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"185\">Potential personal liability for LLC shareholders where losses reach 50% or more of capital abolished.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"168\">Shareholders were jointly liable under old Article 180 if the company continued in operation where losses were 50% or more of capital without re-capitalization.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"44\">181</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"69\">Shareholder liability</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"185\">If losses reach 50% or more of capital then within 90 days:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Directors must publish in commercial register at MoCI;</li>\r\n 	<li>Convene a shareholders’ meeting to decide whether to continue or liquidate the LLC.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe shareholders resolution must be published on the MoCI website. Automatic dissolution by operation of law if the directors do not convene shareholder meeting or shareholders fail to pass resolution.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"168\">Managers must convene shareholder meeting within 30 days; no provision for publication of position on losses (only publication in Official Gazette of passing of shareholder resolution). Shareholder/interested party could apply to court to liquidate company.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<em>General LLC Provisions</em>\r\n<table class=\"MsoNormalTable\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\"><strong>Article</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"84\"><strong>Topic</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"202\"><strong>New</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"138\"><strong>Old</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">157-2</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"84\">Contribution in kind</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"202\">All in kind contributions must be valued by an independent valuer ( like JSCs)</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"138\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">158</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"84\">Electronic publication</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"202\">Requirement to publish documents in the Official Gazette replaced by electronic publication on MOCI website.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"138\">Publication of changes to AoA etc. in Official Gazette.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">160</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"84\">Capital</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"202\">No minimum requirement) but capital must be sufficient to achieve the LLC’s purpose.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"138\">No minimum requirement. No statutory capital sufficiency requirement.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">161</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"84\">Pre-emption</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"202\">Statutory pre-emption retained on share transfer with fair value and 30 day time period but AoA may provide for different method of valuation and time period.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"138\">Statutory pre-emption on transfer with fair value basis with stipulated 30 day time period.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">173-4</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"84\">Confidentiality</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"202\">LLC shareholders are subject to a duty of confidentiality on information received as shareholders.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"138\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">175</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"84\">Financial statements</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"202\">Financial statements must be prepared within 3 months of year end and filed within 1 month of preparation.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"138\">4 months to prepare and filing within further 2 months of preparation.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">176</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"84\">Statutory reserve</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"202\">The general assembly may suspend the assignment of 10% of net profits to statutory reserves once the latter reach 30% of paid capital.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"138\">Statutory reserves used to be 50% of paid capital.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Holding Companies</em></p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"MsoNormalTable\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\"><strong>Article</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"66\"><strong>Topic</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"275\"><strong>New</strong></td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"83\"><strong>Old</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">182-1</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"66\">Holding Company</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"275\">The concept of a holding company is recognised for the first time. Defined as a JSC or an LLC controlling other JSCs or LLCs by holding a majority of their shares or controlling the formation of their boards of directors.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"83\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">182-2</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"66\">Holding Company</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"275\">Must include word “holding” in its name.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"83\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">183</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"66\">Holding Company</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"275\">Prescribed objects are to manage affiliates; invest in stocks/securities; provide loans/guarantees/ finance to affiliates; own/ hold IP and other property and licence to affiliates /third parties; and anything else relevant to a holding company.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"83\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">184</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"66\">Holding Company</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"275\">Subsidiary cannot hold shares in holding company.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"83\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"42\">185</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"66\">Holding Company</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"275\">Required to prepare annual consolidated financial statements.</td>\r\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"83\">No equivalent provision</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>'),
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(100236, 5449, 'pageSummary', 'Opposing a trademark application is one of the most important and effective actions that can be taken to prevent the registration of an identical or a confusingly similar trademark, and it has particular importance in Bahrain. Opposing a trademark application is much cheaper and less time consuming than trying to remove a trademark once registered in the name of another party. This article looks at the process of opposing trademark applications in Bahrain, which is a process governed by GCC Law No.6 of 2014.'),
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(100229, 5448, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'Bahrain is currently undertaking changes in relation to its companies law framework. Al Tamimi & Company provides a general overview of some of the key changes.'),
(100230, 5449, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">An opposition action may be filed against a trademark application by any third party within a period of 60 days from the date of publication in the online Trademarks Special Publications Gazette. The 60 days deadline is not extendable, and once it has expired no opposition action can be taken. The opposition action must be submitted in two copies on the official form, in addition to any supporting evidence such as prior registration certificates in Bahrain and worldwide; evidence of prior use; evidence proving fame; and evidence of any prior relationship between the applicant and the opposing party to prove bad faith. The 2014 law significantly increased the fees of filing such an application to BHD 200 from BHD 20, in addition to BHD 100 for requesting a hearing session if needed (see below).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> A legalized and notarized Power of Attorney should be presented with the opposition action if the opposing party is not a resident in Bahrain, and a notarized Power of Attorney if the opposing party is a resident in Bahrain. The law does not provide the possibility of presenting the original Power of Attorney after the 60 day period, however the common practice of the trademark office is to accept the opposition based on soft copies, and to request the original within a specific period. Furthermore, the decisions of the Court of Cassation confirm that the relationship between a party and its attorney cannot be discussed by either party or by the court unless denied by the party alleged to have instructed the attorney. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The applicant must be notified with the opposition action within 30 days, and must respond within 60 days. If no counter opposition is submitted the application will be considered abandoned. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> If the trademark is contested, either party can request a hearing session to take place to allow an opportunity for the parties to provide more clarification in relation to the submitted arguments before a decision is made. However it is for the trademark office at its sole discretion to allow such a hearing to take place. The decision must be issued within 90 days from the date of the hearing session. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> If the trademark is published without any third party opposition, the trademark passes to registration. Once registered, the only possible action to invalidate the registration of a trademark is filing a cancelation action before the court within five years of the registration date, unless the basis of the cancelation action is nonuse for a period not less than five years. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The cost and time it takes to cancel a trademark once registered is not the only problem avoided when the trademark is challenged prior to registration. Any canceled trademark can only be registered in the name of another party after three years from the cancelation date, unless the court which made the cancelation decision determines a shorter period.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> It is worth mentioning that the three years period also applies to trade names. If a trade name identical or confusingly similar to a registered or a well-known trademark is unlawfully registered, a cancelation action may be filed before the court. However, in this case, the relevant law (Law No. 18 of 2012) does not provide the option of enforcing a period shorter than three years for the trade name to be registered in the name of another party based on the court’s decision. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> Filing an application and obtaining a registration, preventing others from registering an identical or a  confusingly similar trademark through opposition actions, and enforcing intellectual property rights as a whole should not be determined only based on the cost and the official fees, as taking the right decision in the right time can save a lot.</span></p>'),
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(100221, 5448, 'pageSummary', 'Bahrain is currently undertaking changes in relation to its companies law framework. A series of new laws and amendments to existing laws have been implemented over the last 12 months or so with the principle aim to promote enterprise in Bahrain and encourage investors to choose Bahrain as its destination of choice when doing business in the Middle East. This article provides a general overview of some of the key changes.'),
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(100219, 5448, 'content_description', 'Bahrain is currently undertaking changes in relation to its companies law framework. A series of new laws and amendments to existing laws have been implemented over the last 12 months or so with the principle aim to promote enterprise in Bahrain and encourage investors to choose Bahrain as its destination of choice when doing business in the Middle East. This article provides a general overview of some of the key changes.    '),
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(100214, 5447, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'In an ongoing bid to promote a shift from an oil to a knowledge based economy, it is not surprising that education was targeted as a key area of importance within the Bahraini Vision 2030. The Kingdom is working to raise standards and performance in its schools, vocational institutions and universities through casting a lens on the regions education system, and measuring its relative successes against the backdrop of an increasingly competitive global market. This has been translated into the legislative system, including establishing the National Authority for Qualifications and Quality Assurance of Education and Training in 2008, monitoring and evaluating the performance of schools and universities in Bahrain, and setting the National Exams for all students in both public and private schools in the third, sixth , ninth and twelfth grades.');
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(100215, 5448, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Business Licensing Integrated System (‘BLIS’)</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">A few years ago, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (‘MOIC’) embarked on implementing BLIS. The aims of BLIS are to simplify the process of business registration, streamline licensing requirements, and ensure full transparency of procedures and coordination between relevant organisations. The BLIS project is now fully operational and accessible through an online portal in coordination with the e-government. As a result, all applications for commercial registrations and licences are required to be submitted online through an automated process. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">When looking to incorporate an entity in Bahrain with the MOIC, relevant commercial activities need to be selected. Depending on the types of activities chosen, certain conditions may apply or approvals may be required. In conjunction with implementing BLIS, Bahrain has recently streamlined the list of commercial activities from over 600 to approximately 400 by consolidating various activities.  The changes are a result of Bahrain adopting the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (‘ISIC’) Rev. 4. These standards have been developed by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. On the face of it, various foreign ownership restrictions have now been lifted allowing for greater investment and competition.<strong> </strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>The Commercial Register Law, Decree No.27 of 2015 (‘CR Law’)  </strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The CR Law generally applies to all businesses carrying out commercial activities in Bahrain including those branches of foreign companies and most businesses governed by the Commercial Companies Law. The definition of commercial activities relates to the definition contained in the Law of Commerce (Decree no. 7 of 1987) which is generally very broad and all encompassing. All such businesses are required to be registered with the MOIC and appropriately licensed by the relevant regulated body in relation to carrying out particular activities. The CR Law states that relevant details of a business will be kept on the Commercial Register which is available online.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Of particular note in relation to the CR Law is that the practice of carrying out any commercial activity in Bahrain without obtaining a license and being registered is now a criminal offence. Without prejudice to any severer penalty set out in any other law, an offender can expect to face imprisonment of up to five years and or a fine of between BHD 1,000 to 5,000. Careful consideration therefore now needs to be given when carrying out business in Bahrain.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Under Article 13 of the CR Law, the ‘Competent Department’, being the MOIC, can cancel the registration of a business from the Commercial Register if the registration is not renewed or if the business suspends its commercial activity for more than a year. Like the registration process for registering a business, the renewal process is also provided through BLIS. We have recently witnessed many examples of companies being removed from the register for being inactive or dormant. The authorities appear to be attempting to ‘clean up’ the register of companies in order to allow for an efficient and transparent system.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In addition, the CR Law also gives powers to the MOIC to conduct administrative investigations of any violation of the CR Law upon any serious complaint or notification. The CR Law provides wide reaching powers to the MOIC to deal with violations of the CR Law and provides for cooperation between the MOIC, the courts and law enforcement.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The CR Law sets out a mechanism for dealing with violators and grants powers to competent authorities to impose fines or close down businesses upon a court order. The CR Law therefore gives powers to the authorities to deal with violations of the CR Law but appropriate safeguards requiring due process are also included. The authorities may allow businesses to rectify any violations before taking more serious steps. We have not seen how the authorities are dealing with violations of the CR Law in practice but we expect that the authorities will start to use their powers in relation to illegal traders, especially if they pose a risk to the public.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Amendments to the Commercial Companies Law</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\">As part of the recent corporate reforms, the Commercial Companies Law was amended by Law No. 50 of 2014 and Law No. 28 of 2015 (‘Revised Law’).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In effect, the Commercial Companies Law has been amended to bring it into line with modern day principles and to also clarify areas which were previously a source of confusion and debate. A few key considerations are discussed below.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Liability of Shareholders and Directors</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Article 18 (as Amended by Law No. 50 of 2014) of the Revised Law introduces a new provision whereby founders, partners, shareholders and directors of all forms of companies will be held liable for the full capital of a company for any damages affecting the company, its partners, shareholders or third parties in any of the following cases:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div class=\"p5\">Submission of incorrect data or information about the company’s capital in its articles or memorandum of association, transactions with third parties, or in any documents that are likely to influence the financial confidence of those documents.</div></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>If they use the company for fraudulent purposes or illegal acts.</li>\r\n 	<li>If they use the company’s funds as their own personal money.</li>\r\n 	<li>If they do not separate between their personal interests and the interests of the company.</li>\r\n 	<li>If they encumber the company with further obligations despite knowing that the company cannot perform the same as they fall due or if the company fails to fulfil those obligations as a result of gross negligence or wrongdoing.</li>\r\n 	<li>If they cause the company to fall short in meeting their tax or fee payment obligations to government departments or if the company fails to pay those taxes due to gross negligence or wrongdoing.</li>\r\n 	<li>If they violate the provisions of the company’s articles or memorandum of association.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nArticle 18(b) states that the liability will not be eliminated if the violation occurs as a result of a resolution taken at a meeting of the Board or at a shareholders meeting, unless an objection is raised to the resolution resulting in such liability and that objection is minuted.\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Revised Law also potentially extends the application of the Corporate Governance Code to all types of companies where previously it related to only listed companies or closed joint stock companies. Article 358(a) of the Revised Law (as amended) states that the Minister of Commerce shall promulgate a corporate governance charter in accordance with best international practices of management and governance, applicable to all companies. There is currently a corporate governance code issued by the MOIC which relates to public and closed joint stock companies however, further guidance has not been forthcoming in relation to its applicability to other types of companies. Companies that are regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (“CBB”) however, fall under the jurisdiction of the CBB in terms of corporate governance. In fact, the Revised Law provides increased authority to the CBB in relation to administering and regulating financial institutions licensed by it and activities relating to financial services generally.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is clear that attempts are being taken to hold those key individuals who are responsible for running a company to be more accountable and bring Bahrain laws in line with international practices.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Minimum Capital Requirements</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Revised Law combined with the issuance of various resolutions has also resulted in reducing the minimum capital requirements for companies in accordance with the following, depending upon the form of corporate vehicle:</p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"t1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td1\" valign=\"middle\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Corporate Forms</strong></span></td>\r\n<td class=\"td1\" valign=\"middle\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Structure of Partners/Shareholders</strong></span></td>\r\n<td class=\"td1\" valign=\"middle\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Minimum Issued Share Capital</strong></span></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td2\" valign=\"middle\">Single Person Company (“SPC”)</td>\r\n<td class=\"td2\" valign=\"middle\">A single shareholding company where the liability of the shareholder is limited to the extent of the capital of the company.</td>\r\n<td class=\"td2\" valign=\"middle\">BHD 50</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">General Partnership</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">2 or more partners who assume joint responsibility in the partnership to the extent of their entire personal assets for the partnership’s debts and liabilities.</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Nil</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Bahrain Shareholding Company (“BSC”)</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">A public listed company comprising of 2 or more shareholders where their respective liabilities for the company’s debts and obligations are limited to the extent of the value of their respective shareholding.</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">BHD 1 Million</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Closed Joint Stock Company (“BSC(c)”)</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Comprising of 2 or more shareholders where their respective liabilities for the company’s debts and obligations are limited to the extent of the value of their respective shareholding.</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">A BSC(c) company undertaking financial related activities must have a minimum issued share capital of BHD 1,000 although the Central Bank of Bahrain may require a higher amount depending on the financial activities being carried out. A BSC (c) undertaking non-financial related activities has a minimum issued share capital of BHD 250,000.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Holding Company</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">May take the form of a BSC/ BSC (c), a WLL or an SPC. Please see relevant forms for shareholder structure.</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">BHD 50</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">With Limited Liability Company (“WLL”)</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Comprising of 2 to 50 shareholders where their respective liabilities for the company’s debts and obligations are limited to the extent of the value of their respective shareholding.</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">BHD 100</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Foreign Company Branch</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">The parent company must guarantee the liability of its branch in Bahrain.</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Nil</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td4\" valign=\"middle\">Shelf Companies</td>\r\n<td class=\"td4\" valign=\"middle\">A shelf company may take any corporate form. The validity of a shelf company is 1 year during which all approvals and licenses must to obtained. A shelf company is not considered active unless all approvals are obtained.</td>\r\n<td class=\"td4\" valign=\"middle\">Depends on the form of company selected.</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Public Companies</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Revised Law has made some changes relating specifically to public companies listed on the Bahrain Bourse. Article 64 which previously stated that all shareholders in a public company must be Bahraini has been deleted and Article 65 has been amended (Law No. 50 of 2014) to state that public companies may be incorporated with participation of foreign capital or expertise. This has clarified the practice that was previously being adopted.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> The Revised Law also amends Article 234 (Law No. 50 of 2014) which previously contained a three year restriction on closed joint stock companies from being able to convert and publicly trade its shares. The revision now states that the shares of closed joint stock companies shall not become traded before the payment of the full value of the shares. There is therefore scope for a closed joint stock company to convert to a public company within three years of being founded. The Revised Law has also repealed Article 245 which contained certain conditions that a closed joint stock company had to fulfil before it could convert to a public company.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\"><em>Shelf Companies </em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Revised Law has also introduced and approved the setting up of a new form of company, named as a shelf company (amended by Decree Law No.28 of 2015), which is touched on above. A shelf company may be created and registered in Bahrain with no activity listed under its function. This company may then be sold, however the activity of such company must be approved by the competent authority.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">A shelf company may take any corporate form. The validity of a shelf company is one year during which all approvals and licenses must be obtained. A shelf company is not considered active unless all approvals are obtained.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Foreign Ownership Restrictions</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Generally, Bahrain has been liberal in terms of foreign ownership requirements and allows for corporate vehicles carrying out certain activities to be fully owned by foreign companies or nationals.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> Article 345 of the Revised Law (as amended by Decree Law No.28 of 2015) goes a little further and states that it is permissible to license companies which are owned, in whole or in part, by non Bahraini partners, in order to practice activities that are licensed exclusively for Bahraini nationals or that are not allowed to be practised without a majority Bahraini partner. The Article goes on to say that the Council of Ministers shall determine those activities that can be carried out by companies with foreign ownership by way of a resolution. Further, Article 345 gives special powers to the Minister concerned with Commerce Affairs, upon approval of the Council of Ministers, to issue a decision to license the establishment of a company with foreign capital to practice certain activities if they deem that the establishment of that company may have strategic economic significance or reward for the Bahrain economy. There has previously been discretion vested in the Minister of Industry and Commerce to provide special exemptions from foreign ownership restrictions but Article 345 has now clarified the position.  </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In relation to the above, the Bahrain government has very recently announced that it will be allowing 100 percent ownership in residency, real estate, administrative services, health and social work, information and communications, manufacturing and other technical activities. It is anticipated that these changes will be implemented in the near future.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Conclusion </strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The changes to the corporate laws and procedures in Bahrain are welcomed as they potentially allow for easier company incorporations, streamlining the company administration process and easing restrictions on foreign ownership. As a consequence, it appears that the authorities are sending a message that because it is easier to now set up and carry out business in Bahrain, there should be no excuse in failing to be properly licensed and registered to effectively do business in Bahrain.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is likely that we will see a series of further changes introduced over the years by the authorities as there appears to be real momentum in Bahrain to make it a well regulated, business friendly destination of choice.</p>'),
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(100196, 5447, 'content_description', 'In an ongoing bid to promote a shift from an oil to a knowledge based economy, it is not surprising that education was targeted as a key area of importance within the Bahraini Vision 2030. The Kingdom is working to raise standards and performance in its schools, vocational institutions and universities through casting a lens on the regions education system, and measuring its relative successes against the backdrop of an increasingly competitive global market. This has been translated into the legislative system, including establishing the National Authority for Qualifications and Quality Assurance of Education and Training in 2008, monitoring and evaluating the performance of schools and universities in Bahrain, and setting the National Exams for all students in both public and private schools in the third, sixth , ninth and twelfth grades.'),
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(100198, 5447, 'pageSummary', 'In an ongoing bid to promote a shift from an oil to a knowledge based economy, it is not surprising that education was targeted as a key area of importance within the Bahraini Vision 2030. The Kingdom is working to raise standards and performance in its schools, vocational institutions and universities through casting a lens on the regions education system, and measuring its relative successes against the backdrop of an increasingly competitive global market. This has been translated into the legislative system, including establishing the National Authority for Qualifications and Quality Assurance of Education and Training in 2008, monitoring and evaluating the performance of schools and universities in Bahrain, and setting the National Exams for all students in both public and private schools in the third, sixth , ninth and twelfth grades.'),
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(100177, 5446, 'content_description', 'Iran sits at the cross roads of civilisations. Once the seat of the great Persian Empire with its rich, ancient and enchanting historical narrative, the country still retains a lasting allure. With a large, well educated and young population, a relatively high GDP per capita, and a strategic location, Iran has strong potential to become once again a leading economic force globally. The recent major lifting of the crippling sanctions imposed on Iran’s economy has already shifted the attention of global business leaders to the largest closed market to open for decades. The Iranian economy is characterized largely by the hydrocarbon sector, small scale agriculture and services sector and a large state presence in manufacturing and financial services.  It ranks second in the world in natural gas reserves and forth in proven crude oil reserves.'),
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(100179, 5446, 'pageSummary', 'Iran sits at the cross roads of civilisations. Once the seat of the great Persian Empire with its rich, ancient and enchanting historical narrative, the country still retains a lasting allure. With a large, well educated and young population, a relatively high GDP per capita, and a strategic location, Iran has strong potential to become once again a leading economic force globally. The recent major lifting of the crippling sanctions imposed on Iran’s economy has already shifted the attention of global business leaders to the largest closed market to open for decades. The Iranian economy is characterized largely by the hydrocarbon sector, small scale agriculture and services sector and a large state presence in manufacturing and financial services. It ranks second in the world in natural gas reserves and forth in proven crude oil reserves.'),
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(100192, 5447, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Bahrain is often recognized as the arbiter of modernization and liberalism within the GCC. The Kingdom boasts the oldest public education system in the Gulf and literacy rates are cited to be among the highest in the Arab world. As per the latest figures published by UNESCO, Bahrain’s literacy rate was a staggering 99.77% in 2015. The basis of this high literacy rate is that Bahrain’s laws make education compulsory between ages 6 to 15, and parents who do not admit their eligible children to school may be referred to the general prosecutor and even face criminal punishment.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Ministry of Education (MoE) maintains four key tenets at the core of its over-arching role in regulating and overseeing all education-related activities in Bahrain. It lists these as “learning to be, learning to know, learning to work and learning to live with others”. In order to help facilitate these principles, the MoE has taken several steps to shape the Kingdom’s young minds into worldly and active members of society. Technology, in particular, is increasingly revolutionizing the education system in a vast array of ways. For example, the convenience of carrying laptops, smart-phones and iPads has enabled students of the present day to be further engaged with creating their own knowledge, whilst making academic research far more accessible than ever before. The principle to learn to “live with others” is no longer merely applicable to a person’s immediate surroundings. To ensure that students in Bahrain’s public schools are familiar with electronic education, public schools have been provided with computers through projects like the 2004 “King Hamad Schools of the Future”. The MoE has also implemented a large scale project to train thousands of teachers, administrators and specialists on the use of IT. Some of its potential measure of success include independent quality reviews, national examinations and scores in international tests of school performance (i.e. TIMSS, PISA and PIRLS).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>A Brief History of Education in Bahrain</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">The first public school for boys was established in 1919 “Alhedayah AlKhaleefeyyah School”. Following in 1928 the first public school for girls “Khaddeejah AlKobra School” was established. In a 2015/16 report issued by the MoE shows that there are currently a total of 208 government schools, 75 private schools and 14 universities within the Kingdom. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">As a testament to the country’s rich diversity, the MoE provides free education for both Bahraini and non-Bahraini students in public schools. Education has always been compulsory in Bahrain, and so as a means of encouraging people to take advantage of the public schools presented to them, the MoE has also provided textbooks in all subjects free of charge at the beginning of each academic year.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>The Growth of National and International Private Schools and Education Institutions </strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The first international school to open in the Kingdom was the ‘American Dutch Reformed Church’, in 1892. As evidence of the country’s long-standing acceptance of multiculturalism and respect for freedom of religion, the school’s syllabus was primarily shaped around English, Mathematics and the study of Christianity.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Initiated as an immediate response to educate the children of a growing expatriate community in Bahrain, St Christopher’s school tells an interesting narrative of how a small Church School of 39 pupils has developed into an internationally acclaimed institution; considered to be one of the top 10 international schools in the world (according to English newspaper The Guardian in 2008) - the only school in the region to make it on the list.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Setting Up</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Of the 75 private schools in Bahrain, 35 are international. In order to set up a private institution there are certain requirements that must be met including a prior approval and a final site inspection from the Private Education Directorate within the MoE, examining set building specifications which include site approval from the Municipality, Civil Defence approval in relation to fire safety, and Traffic Directorate approval for parking and road accessibility to the premises. The investors themselves must also meet a range of personal requirements, such as being a minimum of 25 years of age, having a General Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent and not being civil servants or employees of any private institutions or public organizations. Additionally, there is a minimum capital requirement of BHD50,000. Unlike the rest of the GCC, educational and higher educational institutions (HEI’s) in Bahrain can be 100% foreign owned, which may be a key factor in the success and growth of the Kingdom’s many international institutions. There are various forms of activities that a school or institution may choose to conduct under the umbrella of ‘education.’ For instance, within the private education sphere, founders may choose to establish a National Private School (which teaches up to secondary school) or a National Educational institute.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Private Higher Education Institution</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Bahrain’s first university, the Gulf Polytechnic, opened to both national and international students in 1968 as a public Gulf Technical College. Alongside the four main public universities in which international students can study, there are several private institutions for them to enrol in. The Application Procedures and General Conditions for setting up a private higher Educational Institution (‘HEI’) in Bahrain is identical to that of any national private school or national educational institute.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">The Kingdom’s track record of being a leading financial hub of the region for the last 40 years gives it outstanding potential to attract students from the GCC. Its attractive quality of life and key geographical location are some of the factors being considered by the MoE in an effort to introduce new quality assurance and accreditation mechanisms, which are likely to significantly reduce concerns from neighbouring countries over the quality of private HEI’s. This was addressed in the National Higher Education’s Strategy of 2014 – 2024, and the implementation was reflected in the Ministerial Decree no. 38 of 2015 defining the framework of the institutional review of higher education institutions by the National Authority for Qualifications and Quality Assurance of Education and Training, setting eight standards for the review; mission and governance, quality assurance, information technology and infrastructure, teaching and learning quality, students supporting services, human resources, research and community participation. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">From the wave of new universities that marked the beginning of the millennium, to the clear efforts made in public and private institutions to incorporate technology in ways that create a far more interactive and engaging learning experience for students, Bahrain’s successes in the development of the education system hint at a very promising future for the sector.</p>'),
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(100172, 5445, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'For the acceleration of the development of educational sector in Oman and in order to raise the quality of the level of education in Oman, there has been a need for the participation of private educational institutions in the Sultanate in this process.'),
(100173, 5446, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Bordering the former CIS states and the Caspian Sea to meet Russia in the north and embracing the turquoise waters of the Gulf to the south, Iran is the second largest economy in the Middle East and the MENA region after Saudi Arabia, and the 18th largest in the world.  Iran’s 2015 GDP is estimated at US $393.7 billion with a population of close to 80 million, making second to Egypt.  Accordingly to studies published in the Economist, As of September 2015, 93% of the Iranian adult population were literate.  In 2008, 85% of the Iranian adult population were literate, well ahead of the regional average of 62%. This rate increases to 97% among young adults (aged between 15 and 24) without any discrepancy among male and female Iranians.  By 2007, Iran had a student to workforce population ratio of 10.2%, standing among the countries with highest ratio in the world.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">With the 1979 Iranian revolution that ushered the establishment of an Islamic Republic and the overthrew of a progressive monarchy, Iran experienced abrupt metamorphoses towards “Islamicization” in all spheres, and most importantly perhaps in the education sector. Whereas much of the focus of the regime prior to the revolution was to modernize Iran modelled after the west, with an emphasis on higher education, and in particular the liberalizing policies aimed to advance the standing of women within that sector, the Islamic revolution and the characteristically zealous fervour that followed, led to a “cultural revolution’ where universities and higher institutions of learning where closed, academics purged, and the entire curriculum overturned. The new regime under a tight theocratic rule was quick to condemn the western models in the education sector of the country. In 1980, the Cultural Revolution Committee was formed to oversee the institution of Islamic values in education. An arm of the committee, the Centre for Textbooks (composed mainly of clerics), produced 3,000 new college-level textbooks reflecting Islamic views. Teaching materials based on Islam were introduced into the primary grades within six months of the revolution.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">However, since the revolution of 1979, successive Iranian governments have expanded the higher education sector in the country, albeit under a strict new mandate. According to the latest statistics, Iran has approximately 4.5 million students, of which 60 per cent are now women.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) suggests that enrolment at Iranian universities has more than doubled in a decade and accordingly to the Economist, in 2013, 58 per cent of Iranians aged 18 to 24 were studying at Iranian universities. The government has set an ambitious target at 60 per cent for 2025 which it aims to achieve. The lifting of the sanctions and the potential for foreign direct investment or other forms of cooperative efforts in the development and expansion of the sector may in fact make this target more tenable. Today, Iranian parents spend more than £2.1 billion on the higher education of their children and with the lifting of sanctions, this financial commitment is likely to increase significantly, given the importance that Iranians ascribe to education in general and the sciences in particular. This emphasis on higher education has deep roots in the Iranian culture and is rooted in the country’s historical standing for pioneering advancements in almost all spheres of life from architecture, art, literature, science and government.  Such advancements would not have been possible without the educational discipline inherent to ancient Persian civilisation and traced to today’s collective disposition of Iranians in and out of government.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The first Western-style Iranian public schools were established in 1886.  Amir Kabir (the Grand Minister) facilitated the establishment of the first modern Iranian college in the mid-nineteenth century, and subsequently the first Iranian University modelled after the European Universities was established during the reign of Reza Shah, the first Pahlavi period.  During the early 1970s, efforts were made to develop and expand the educational system by modernising the school curriculum, introducing contemporary textbooks, and training more resourceful teachers.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Education in Iran is highly centralized. The Ministry of Education is primarily responsible for educational planning, financing, administration, and the expansion and revisions of the curriculum, with The Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Iran supervising higher education.  Teacher training, grading, and examinations are also the responsibility of the Ministry. Whereas Iran’s undergraduates are well accommodated in the country’s higher education institutions, the postgraduate infrastructure is much less developed and is an area within the sector where International cooperation or a form of direct foreign investment via non-Iranian institutions could be most successful. Iran’s higher education institutions, together with the support of the Iranian government have already set up an array of education agreements over the last months following the January 2016 nuclear agreement.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">By way of an example, France’s ‘École Polytechnique’, a leading institution has recently signed agreements with the University of Tehran, the University of Isfahan, and Sharif University of Technology.  Earlier in the year a high-level Swiss delegation to Iran ratified a 2005 trade accord between the two countries, and also confirmed several agreements between Swiss and Iranian institutions.   More recent developments include a bilateral agreement with Slovakia that introduced partnership between the two countries’ universities of science and technology, and agreements with Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences. There have also been developments for joint research and exchange programmes with Sweden, Cyprus, and the Kurdish Region. Most of these are expected to initiate exchange programmes, allowing undergraduate students to engage in a year of studies abroad or to complete a portion of master’s or doctoral programmes abroad. These initiatives will however pave the way for an incremental and measured cooperation between Iranian and foreign stakeholders in the higher education sector including future possible direct or joint investment in institutions. The sorts of initiatives that have become common in the United Arab Emirates and Dubai in particular which has attracted talent and investment in its education sector, notwithstanding the fact that unlike Iran, Dubai has successfully managed to foster a proper and sophisticated FDI culture in a cross section of industries, a model that Iran can take inspiration from.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In addition to this latter apparent opportunity, given that there is also a marked discrepancy between demand for places and the ability of Iranian universities to absorb master’s and doctoral students, further expansion of post graduate institutions will present opportunities provided that the foreign counter part is ready to work within a highly regulated environment where the relevant governmental institutions and ministries, including the Iranian parliament and arguably  even the office of the Iran’s Supreme leader will have a stake in the form and manner of the non-Iranian direct / indirect engagement in the country’s education sector. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It comes as no surprise that the Iranian policy makers are keen to keep a tight control over the route that the country’s educational system takes. The post Islamic revolution cultural identity of the nation which has been fostered and in many ways “engineered’ by a top down imposition of Islamic character in public and institutional education, for what it’s worth, cannot be eroded. However, the Iranians do recognize that this top down imposition, coupled with the inability of the domestic institutions to accommodate the sheer number of students, has meant a steady “Brain Drain” from Iran.  Historically Iranians have had a long tradition of pursuing higher education outside of the country and renowned institutions such as Sorbonne and Oxford have long been hosting Iranian students. More recently, restrictions and censorship in the fields of humanities and the social sciences have made foreign universities more attractive still. Hence, developing these fields of study domestically within a less restrictive environment will mean greater opportunities for investment in that sector. The realities of the Iranian brain drain has pressed upon the Iranian policy makers the urgency to address the need for expansion and a  strong desire to internationalize Iran’s universities and to foster cooperation with other institutions both in the region and beyond.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">While the new changing dynamic and the easing or lifting of the sanctions will surely make these efforts easier, as the country slowly re engages with the international community, Iran will still prove to be a difficult market in this sector since any effort to introduce foreign direct engagement in the country’s education sector will need to be counter balanced with a real and imagined fear of “cultural infiltration” and the “hijacking” of the minds of the Iranians- a mantra that once fueled the revolution more than three decades ago and still feeds the fear of the “Other” in the minds of the Iranian policy makers and the political elite.</p>'),
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(100158, 5445, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Before highlighting the regulatory framework aspects of the education in private sector in Oman, below is a brief about three main levels of education in public and private sectors in Oman beside international schools:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><strong>Public Education</strong>: Ministry of Education is in charge of formulating the policies of education, administration and management of the education system in Sultanate of Oman;</li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Private School Education</strong>: This is delivered by private schools licensed by the Ministry of Education which approves its syllabus ; and</li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Higher Education</strong>: Ministry of Higher Education is the responsible body for regulating the higher education in the Sultanate in public and private universities and colleges as well as recognition of certificates issued by educational institutions abroad.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In addition to the administrative and regulatory bodies mentioned above the Education Council, plays an important role in formulating the policies and provision of legislative proposals to both Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education as well as observing the performance of the educational institutions in the country and issuing reports in this regard to the relevant authorities. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Regulatory Framework in Oman</strong></span><strong> </strong></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Public schools are established by Ministry of Education in different governorates in Oman which offers three levels of education, elementary, primary and secondary.</li>\r\n 	<li>Private schools are subject to foreign investment rules and cannot be established without the issuance of a trade license by Ministry of Commerce and Industry and an approval from Ministry of Education. An Omani local partner is required to establish a private school and cannot be wholly owned by a foreign investor with the exception of GCC nationals who are accorded similar treatment to Omanis.</li>\r\n 	<li>Most of private schools take the form of limited liability companies in Oman. Limited liability companies are run and managed by managers compared to private universities that are run through a board to be appointed by the council of trustees.</li>\r\n 	<li>Private universities can be established in the Sultanate given that the majority of the funds in the share capital of the universities are owned by Omanis and the main objective of the university is not realization of profits.</li>\r\n 	<li>The establishment of private universities and approval of its articles of association are made by way of issuance of a decision by the Minister of Higher Education upon a request made by the founders of the private university.</li>\r\n 	<li>The Council of Higher Education determines the number of private universities that may be permitted to be established pursuant to the provisions of the relevant laws and regulations.</li>\r\n 	<li>It is not permitted for a founder to withdraw from the project of incorporation of a private university before the lapse of five years from the date of commencement of education. Withdrawal before this period shall be invalid.</li>\r\n 	<li>The private university shall have a board of trustees structured by a decision of the founders. The boards of trustees’ responsibilities are to appoint the head of the university, his deputies and the members of the university board.</li>\r\n 	<li>The board of the university, among other functions, is responsible for:</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p7\">o   Determination of the conditions of admission to the college;</p>\r\n<p class=\"p7\">o   Determination of the conditions of appointment of the deans and the board of colleges, research and    scientific centers.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p8\"><span class=\"s1\">In addition to the public and private universities in Oman there are Applied Science Colleges in most of the governorates in Oman that include Sur, Sohar, Nizwa, Ibri, Salalah and Rustaq. Applied Science Colleges are mainly regulated and administered by the Directorate General of Applied Sciences The programs offered in these colleges include information technology, design, communication studies, international business administration and engineering.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\">As outlined above the regulatory framework is clear in terms of the legal and administrative structures of private schools and universities to be adopted in order to run educational activities in the Sultanate. Albeit the fact that the number of students in Oman is relatively low compared to other countries the interest of private educational institutions is on the rise due mainly to the availability of the infrastructure and the financial support granted by the government for building the universities’ campuses and sponsoring students to study in these universities.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Education and Higher Education Councils have been continuously proposing and formulating new policies which ensure development of education sector in Oman since their formation. The main projects that are being undertaken by the education councils include the formulation of national education strategy 2040, restructuring of education system and school education law. Like these types of projects will ensure transformation of education in Oman in the near future which will open Oman market for more players in the educational sector. The recent issuance of the Protection of Competition and Prevention of Monopoly Law in Oman will further ensure that opportunities for investment in educational sector are offered equally to all types of investors either locals or foreigners as well as  there will be no monopoly in this sector in Oman market. </span></p>'),
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(100142, 5443, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'Al Tamimi & Company looks at how those high-level goals cascade down through the recently published National Transformation Program and what opportunities and challenges there will be for foreign participants in an education sector which is by some margin the most significant in the GCC.'),
(100143, 5444, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The recent spread of private education concepts in Egypt has been due to the unsatisfactory performance of the public educational system. Originating from the evident importance of public education development and reform, an education developmental strategy was introduced in 2014 targeting comprehensive reform that covers all educational levels (i.e. child education, basic education, mid level and higher education, as well as technical education), curricula, institutions and education tools, as well as applied learning methods. The strategy is set to be implemented during the period from 2014 to 2030 and equally focuses on students, advancement of teaching methods, as well as teachers and their corresponding work circumstances.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The strategy encompasses an initial comprehensive substitution of 30 per cent of educational curricula followed by gradual improvement of the remaining 70 per cent over a three year plan. Interactive learning methods, supported by technology based curricula, are anticipated to be implemented in all public schools and education institutions across the country. The cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the UAE in the project known as “The One Million Students Project” has set, together with other various education and vocational training projects, the first milestones in the roadmap of education development. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Further, establishment of new schools and education institutions, as well as renovating existing ones to increase the capacity of the same, are a major part of the strategy.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">On another hand, technical education, given its significance, is also a part of the development plan. The government aims to well-equip and prepare around 50,000 to 60,000 graduates from technical education institutions to have the necessary skills and expertise to serve the demanding Gulf market.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>The Egypt – Japan Education Partnership</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">As a major step forward in the education reform plan, an education partnership between Egypt and Japan was created with the aim to combat terrorism and extremism and to enhance peace, stability, development, and prosperity of the Egyptian nation. The Egyptian Japanese Education Partnership (the “EJEP”), announced during the official visit of Egypt’s President, Al-Sisi, to Japan during February 2016, was realised on the basis of the interest and commitment of both governments as well as their endeavours to empower Egyptian youth. The EJEP focuses on diverse aspects of education in implementing the measures laid out by the partnership. The EJEP captures not only the development of child, basic and higher education but also scientific research, technology and innovation. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The EJEP focuses on, amongst other things:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div class=\"p5\">Increasing the number of students, trainees, researchers, teachers and government officials to be dispatched to Japan to reach at least 2,500 Egyptians.</div></li>\r\n 	<li>Introducing then generalising the implementation of the Japanese “Tokubetsu Katsudo (Tokkatsu)” method of learning together with other Japanese concepts in all schools in Egypt. This method is said to be one of the essential education curriculum components that enhance interactive balanced learning among children that achieves whole-child education. The method is planned to be initially applied to ten schools and then generalised to all schools across Egypt.</li>\r\n 	<li>Providing training and development opportunities to teachers, trainers, and instructors, considering their significant contribution to the education process.</li>\r\n 	<li>Cooperating in providing practical and effective technical education based on Japanese methods, which have proven effective, applied in collaboration with Japanese companies.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShortly after the adoption of the EJEP, a Presidential Decree was issued in May 2016, under No. 207 of 2016, nominating Egypt’s representatives in the steering committee established by Egypt and Japan to supervise and facilitate the implementation of the EJEP and provide the necessary advisory assistance to the Egyptian government.\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In respect of higher education, on the basis of the bilateral agreement signed between Egypt and Japan in 2009, a Presidential Decree was issued approving the establishment of a university under the name “Egypt – Japan University for Science and Technology (E-JUST)” by virtue of which the Egyptian government has allocated a land near Alexandria of an approximate area of 840,000 square meters. The E JUST is bring established to be an active example for the implementation of Japanese higher education advanced learning methods in relation to engineering and science and technology related fields. <strong> </strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The government’s strategy, together with the EJEP initiate, is seen as a significant milestone that improves the quality of public education in Egypt to be comparably competitive with the private education. During recent years, investment in private education has significantly increased as driven by the rising demand and growing aspiration of the population keen to invest in higher quality education for their children. The latter was the driving force for several foreign investments being directed to private education institutions, the recent of which is the undisclosed investment of Abraj Capital in CIRA and Tiba group of education institutions.  </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Although the aforementioned initiatives are believed to build a solid reform basis for public education in Egypt, more effective implementation measures are still expected. This arises from the fact that laws and regulations related to monitoring of education quality are primitive standards that have not undergone sufficient revisions commensurate with the reform plans. Introduction of new enforcement mechanisms in said laws, in relation to advancement of educational institutions and supervision on same, is a necessity.</p>'),
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(100127, 5442, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'Depressed economic conditions resulting from low oil prices have highlighted the need for the Middle East to make an active effort to further diversify away from oil and into the technology, media and telecommunications (“TMT”) sector.'),
(100128, 5443, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">This article looks at how those high-level goals cascade down through the recently published National Transformation Program and what opportunities and challenges there will be for foreign participants in an education sector which is by some margin the most significant in the GCC.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>The Vision</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">The Vision is about transitioning the Saudi economy away from an over-reliance on oil revenues to a more balanced, investment based model. It states:</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\"><em>Our goal is to attract and retain the finest Saudi and foreign minds, and provide them with all they need. Their presence in the Kingdom will contribute to economic development and attract additional foreign investment.</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s2\"> To this end, we will prepare a modern curriculum focused on rigorous standards in literacy, numeracy, skills and character development. We will track progress and publish a sophisticated range of education outcomes, showing year-on-year improvements. We will work closely with the private sector to ensure higher education outcomes are in line with the requirements of the job market [….].</span></em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em> We will continue to improve and reform our regulations, paving the way for investors and the private sector to acquire and deliver services – such as…education – that are currently provided by the public sector. We will seek to shift the government’s role from providing services to one that focuses on regulating and monitoring them and we will build the capability to monitor this transition.</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\">This outward looking perspective sets the tone for much of the Vision. It is reflected in the strategic objectives of the NTP which include:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Improving recruitment, training and development of teachers</li>\r\n 	<li>Improving the learning environment to stimulate creativity and innovation</li>\r\n 	<li>Improving curricula and teaching methods</li>\r\n 	<li>Improving students’ values and core skills</li>\r\n 	<li>Development of financing methods and improvements in financial efficiency</li>\r\n 	<li>Educating students to address national development requirements and labour market demands</li>\r\n 	<li>Increasing Private Sector Participation in the Education Sector.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">The last two points are perhaps the key strategic objectives, but what form this private sector participation may take and how it may be targeted to achieve national development goals remains to be seen, especially in the context of the recently updated Companies Law promulgated by the Ministry of Commerce and Investment which has broadened the potential for foreign ownership in Saudi corporates but does not address the education sector. That said, there are current Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority policies which: </span></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>based on a decision by the Council of Ministers, have suspended foreign investment (for the time being) in the construction, management and operation of elementary, intermediate and secondary schools; and</li>\r\n 	<li>permit foreign investment (with prior approval from the relevant Ministries)in the construction, management and operation of institutes, colleges or universities for education and granting graduation degrees.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p4\">In the short term the NTP sets out thirty-six specific initiatives with projected costs on a five year basis which are intended to be launched in 2016. Interestingly, the costs stated are expressed not to include the contribution of the private sector in a particular initiative – which is certainly consistent with the strategic objective relating to finance indicated above. It also indicates that some form of PPP structure is contemplated in a number of cases. Unlike some other GCC states, there is no specific PPP law in the Kingdom (although ministries can and do promulgate their own regulatory systems in this regard and similar projects of various types have been undertaken).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Accountability</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is also clear that there is a high premium being placed on accountability within the Ministry of Education in terms of securing delivery of the plan. Education is a fundamental building block of the Vision as a whole and its progress is likely to be scrutinized carefully. Highlights include:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>A comprehensive framework for the professional development of teachers and educational leaders</li>\r\n 	<li>Developing a national strategy to upgrade the teaching profession by raising the professional level of teachers, improving the profession’s ecosystem and raising the quality of services provided to teachers</li>\r\n 	<li>Development KPIs at Ministry level</li>\r\n 	<li>Establishment of a Transformation Office and an office of strategy management at Ministry level to implement the relevant sections of the NTP</li>\r\n 	<li>Shifting to digital education to support teacher and student progress</li>\r\n 	<li>Encouraging the private sector to invest in public education including at kindergarten level</li>\r\n 	<li>Attracting private investments to finance school’s construction</li>\r\n 	<li>Develop the Independent Schools model to reach 2000 public schools run by small establishments</li>\r\n 	<li>Establishment of the King Salman University for Technical and Vocational education</li>\r\n 	<li>Establish a practical framework to align university graduates with labour market needs</li>\r\n 	<li>Life-long Learning (Sustainability).</li>\r\n 	<li>Taken together these measures represent a sea-change in the education sector in the Kingdom, and one which must be delivered at a critical period economically.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">The scope of private sector involvement in the financing and construction of education infrastructure is clear; whether the same access will be given to the actual delivery of educational services is less so. However, the potential for joint ventures around items such as technical curriculum development and teacher training is significant. The franchise model, adjusted as necessary to accommodate the specific traditions of the Kingdom, also has potential to play a role.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> The precise mix of measures adopted by the Ministry of Education remains to be seen, however we anticipate that the last quarter of 2016 should see a flurry of activity in the sector as initiatives are launched.</span></p>'),
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(100119, 5442, 'lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorName', 'Eleonore Kressner'),
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(100113, 5442, 'content_description', 'Depressed economic conditions resulting from low oil prices have highlighted the need for the Middle East to make an active effort to further diversify away from oil and into the technology, media and telecommunications (“TMT”) sector. An integral part of achieving such diversification will be improving TMT-related education and supporting local TMT. '),
(100114, 5442, '_content_description', 'field_59b641c07f473'),
(100115, 5442, 'pageSummary', 'Depressed economic conditions resulting from low oil prices have highlighted the need for the Middle East to make an active effort to further diversify away from oil and into the technology, media and telecommunications (“TMT”) sector. An integral part of achieving such diversification will be improving TMT-related education and supporting local TMT.'),
(100116, 5442, '_pageSummary', 'field_59e59b307dec8'),
(100117, 5442, 'currentURL', 'http://www.tamimi.com/en/magazine/law-update/section-14/august-2/the-gap-between-education-talent-and-technology-in-the-uae.html'),
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(100096, 5441, 'lawUpdateArticleMonth', '5431'),
(100097, 5441, '_lawUpdateArticleMonth', 'field_59da2a396b063'),
(100098, 5441, 'content_description', 'The price of oil has challenged governments across the GCC to find new ways of balancing their budgets. Having the private sector involved in providing “public” type services such as education is one strategy which may assist with this challenge. Private sector school operators already have a strong foothold in the region. In this article we look at some of the issues surrounding the private sector school industry and in particular their real estate requirements. \r\n'),
(100099, 5441, '_content_description', 'field_59b641c07f473'),
(100100, 5441, 'pageSummary', 'The price of oil has challenged governments across the GCC to find new ways of balancing their budgets. Having the private sector involved in providing “public” type services such as education is one strategy which may assist with this challenge. Private sector school operators already have a strong foothold in the region. In this article we look at some of the issues surrounding the private sector school industry and in particular their real estate requirements.'),
(100101, 5441, '_pageSummary', 'field_59e59b307dec8'),
(100102, 5441, 'currentURL', 'http://www.tamimi.com/en/magazine/law-update/section-14/august-2/the-development-ownership-and-operation-models-for-private-sector-schools-in-the-gcc.html'),
(100103, 5441, '_currentURL', 'field_59d35123ab1e7'),
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(100107, 5441, '_lawUpdateArticleWriters', 'field_59da2a866b064'),
(100108, 5441, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'Al Tamimi & Company looks at some of the issues surrounding the private sector school industry and in particular their real estate requirements in GCC.'),
(100109, 5442, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda aims to make the UAE an economic, touristic and commercial capital, in part by transitioning to a knowledge-based economy, and by promoting innovation and research and development. To achieve a knowledge based economy, the UAE needs to educate, nurture and retain its talent with appropriate skills and experience, whilst at the same time developing the TMT sectors to house innovation and productivity.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> Currently, there is a wide gap between the education and talent available and the TMT sector roles needed to diversify the UAE.  The UAE, however, already has some significant advantages in meeting these challenges; for example, the UAE already has a 90% literacy rate, amongst the highest in the world. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> In general, the Middle East is already positioned to gain considerably from the expanding TMT sector. Deloitte estimates that the market for cloud services in the Middle East will exceed $1 billion in 2016. There has been some confusion within the GCC about the legality of use of Voice Over LTE or Voice Over Wifi.  This, to some extent,  has been due to the security concerns surrounding these technologies. As technological advances lead to enhanced security, the UAE could be able to tap into the 300 million customers already using voice over LTE or voice over WIFI. To give some scale to growth in TMT, this figure is five times higher than at the beginning of 2015. There are few other industries that are continuously growing at the rate of TMT.  </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> Another related aim set out in the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda is for the UAE to be a world leader in entrepreneurship, leading to unlocking the potential of UAE nationals and enabling them to be a driving force in the UAE’s economic development through small and medium enterprises in the private sector.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Three key areas that will enable the UAE to to achieve the knowledge-based economy set out in Vision 2021 are:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div class=\"p2\">Diversifying investment into TMT: the economic conditions which impact how companies interact and their decisions to hire, educate and expand;</div></li>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Education for TMT roles: how to achieve modern-day skills which are suitable for an innovative and technologically advanced workforce; and </span></div></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div class=\"p1\">Gender diversity: taking advantage of inconsistencies between the EU and the Middle East legal norms.</div></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Diversifying Investment </strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The shift in current economic conditions has pushed investment authorities to diversify their asset allocation.  Abu Dhabi has the second largest sovereign wealth fund globally (approximately US$792 assets under management) known as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (“ADIA”). The ADIA has traditionally invested heavily in property, stocks and financial institutions. The ADIA’s size and expertise has meant that it has started to invest into non traditional areas such as aerospace, green technologies, renewable energies and mobile government. Examples of these are the investment into Greenko Energy Holdings and Evolvence Knowledge Investments.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Indian renewable energy company Greenko Energy Holdings received a US$230 million investment and the ADIA invested US$30 million into Evolvence Knowledge Investments (Repton School and Foremarke Hall in Dubai, and Repton School Abu Dhabi and Dubai Humpty Dumpty).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Education</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Expanding and developing the education system is key in achieving long lasting effects in innovation, creativity and ambition. The UAE needs to ensure that young graduates have a skill set that is equipped to service the TMT sectors. These evolving sectors are driven by a curriculum that is based on coding, software, data, algorithms and using innovative designs and theories to shape products. Such topics are not necessarily provided for in standard education. By upgrading the UAE curriculum to support growing the TMT industry, it is hoped that the need for outsourcing to a skilled immigrant workforce will no longer be necessary and local talent will be start to be sufficient to match the skills needed. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The UAE is already starting to incorporate these modern skills into the education system. Computer Science First was an initiative that was launched on 22 November 2015 as part of the UAE Innovation Week by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. This initiative enables nearly 250,000 public and private school pupils in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to learn the basics of computer coding within the next two years.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> Europe and the United States provide examples of such achievements. Most of the top coding programs are based in the United States, which has already build a track record for creating hubs dedicated to TMT. Palo Alto is synonymous with creating TMT giants such as Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard and VMware and this is why San Francisco and California has become a hub offering bespoke software coding and other computer science courses which now attract students all over the world. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Europe too offers alternative examples. Sweden has undoubtedly grown to be the front runner for tech start ups. This is a direct result of having a strong legal core, an outstanding educational platform, and government agencies such as Almi which help fund and give valuable expertise to start-ups to get them up and running. This has resulted in big names such as Skype, Spotify and Soundcloud and has also enabled Sweden to break into the gaming industry (valued around US$100 billion in 2015) and to capitalise upon the profitability of this.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Gender diversity </strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Worldwide TMT is a mainly male dominated industry with few women rising to key positions within the industry. It has even been suggested that women are discouraged from science and math courses at stages as early as primary school. Graduate figures show that only 18 percent of US university computer science graduates were women in 2013, which is down from 37 percent in 1985. The UK statistics are similar with only 17.1 percent of computer science students being women (2013/14) which make up a very small percentage of women who undertake higher education which is currently at 56 percent. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Increasing gender diversity in the UAE is paramount to getting an active TMT workforce and to realising the UAE Vision 2021. One way to approach this is to take advantage of the lack of discrimination laws which are currently within the UAE in relation to targeting “females only” or “males only”.  For example, companies in the European Union, due to strict discrimination laws, are restricted from creating services that only target one sex.  This is not the case in the UAE, and there is potential to create a focus on women, paying particular attention to their needs and skill set. There are currently a few start ups, Amalkum, mumsatwork.ae and hopscotch.ae, to name a few, that are taking advantage of this. Start-ups such as Amalkum are dedicated to targeting both the local and expat community through merging women, education and technology, offering roles that cater to their particular needs and skill sets. This can certainly help in increasing the specialised workforce which can cater to the TMT industry.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">As companies increasingly seek lower prices and more flexible markets, the UAE is well-placed to improve its educational environment’s ability to provide a sustainable proficient workforce tailored towards TMT.  The educational system’s place in the fostering of talent is a necessity in order to gain traction to build a clear foundation for any industry, but is especially so for TMT.</p>'),
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(100076, 5440, '_content', 'field_59b649b5c8b2b'),
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(100078, 5440, '_lawUpdateArticleMonth', 'field_59da2a396b063'),
(100079, 5440, 'content_description', 'Academic research is primarily aimed at the advancement of knowledge, but significant and regular breakthroughs with an industrial or commercial dimension may present opportunities for researchers and academic institutions to be handsomely rewarded.'),
(100080, 5440, '_content_description', 'field_59b641c07f473'),
(100081, 5440, 'pageSummary', 'Academic research is primarily aimed at the advancement of knowledge, but significant and regular breakthroughs with an industrial or commercial dimension may present opportunities for researchers and academic institutions to be handsomely rewarded.'),
(100082, 5440, '_pageSummary', 'field_59e59b307dec8'),
(100083, 5440, 'currentURL', 'http://www.tamimi.com/en/magazine/law-update/section-14/august-2/eureka-monetising-research-in-the-education-sector.html'),
(100084, 5440, '_currentURL', 'field_59d35123ab1e7'),
(100085, 5440, 'lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorName', 'Ahmad Saleh'),
(100086, 5440, '_lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorName', 'field_59e59ad5d15dd'),
(100087, 5440, 'lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorEmail', 'ah.saleh@tamimi.com'),
(100088, 5440, '_lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorEmail', 'field_59e59afcd15de'),
(100089, 5440, 'lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorLocation', 'Dubai, UAE'),
(100090, 5440, '_lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorLocation', 'field_59e59b05d15df'),
(100091, 5440, 'lawUpdateArticleNoWriters', '1'),
(100092, 5440, '_lawUpdateArticleNoWriters', 'field_59e59aaed15dc'),
(100093, 5440, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'Academic research is primarily aimed at the advancement of knowledge, but significant and regular breakthroughs with an industrial or commercial dimension may present opportunities for researchers and academic institutions to be handsomely rewarded.'),
(100094, 5441, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>The Stakeholders</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">A private sector school operation is generally made up of the following stakeholders:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>the Operator;</li>\r\n 	<li>the School Owner (either freehold or leasehold);</li>\r\n 	<li>in the case of leasehold a Land Owner;</li>\r\n 	<li>the Financiers;</li>\r\n 	<li>the Master Developer or other planning entity;</li>\r\n 	<li>the Regulators; and</li>\r\n 	<li>the Consultants.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">We consider the role of each stakeholder briefly below:</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The Operator</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Operator is the entity that is specialised in providing the range of services necessary for a school including the curriculum, resourcing, licensing and often consultative services such as financial modelling and design.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Typically such Operators will specialise in a particular type of curriculum (ie: International Baccalaureate, British or Indian curriculum) though there are examples of Operators providing a variety of curricula.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Generally Operators would prefer to take an occupational lease of the school (not to be confused with a ground development lease or ‘musataha’ discussed later) rather than commit large amounts of capital to such infrastructure.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Often however they want to be involved in the design process in order to ensure that the school meets their specifications. In order to achieve their objectives there may be joint venture elements with a School Owner who wants to hold the school asset as an investment.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The School Owner</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The School Owner is the party who undertakes the planning and development of the school. School Owners tend to be attracted by the diverse nature of a school from an investment perspective. For this reason Real Estate Investment Trusts (or “REITs” as they are commonly referred to) are showing an interest in school properties as a means of balancing their portfolios. Ownership may be freehold but is often pursuant to a long-term ground-development lease or musataha. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The Land Owner</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Schools are a low-density land use and the land is often in a strategic location set aside by the Master Developer or planning entity to meet that specific community’s needs. Other land uses may be more profitable and in order to keep control of the land, the land is often leased by the Land Owner (often a Master Developer or public authority) to the School Owner on a long-term ground-development lease basis or musataha.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The Financiers</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Financing may be through equity contributions often involving incorporated joint ventures. Participants in such joint ventures may include the Operators and Master Developers. It is becoming more common however for funds or specialist investors to provide such equity funding. In addition to the equity funding, school projects may also require debt funding. Debt funders require adequate security and accordingly the ability to register any leasehold interest and grant a mortgage may assist.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The Master Developer or other planning entity</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">As referred to above, many Master Developers now recognise the value a school can bring to their master planned communities and will specifically set aside land for such schools and advertise this as part of their Master Plan. If such Master Developers are able to sell freehold land then they would have the option of selling the freehold interest (subject to land use restrictions) though for the reasons set out above, it is more likely that the Master Developer would sell the land on a leasehold basis.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The Regulators</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The applicable regulators will be the relevant ministry or government authority in charge of education and also the relevant municipal or planning authority in charge of construction and planning matters.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The Consultants</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Many Operators have built up knowledge on the design, planning, regulatory and financial aspects of putting together a school project. In addition however there are specialist consultants who can assist with such projects.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>A Favourable Private Sector Regulatory Environment</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Planning Regimes</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Fundamental to establishing a private sector school will be having suitable land set aside for such developments. If designations are set out in master plans or the urban plans of the planning entities, the value of such land may adjust to that reasonable for a school development rather than a more profitable land use. In addition, Master Developers and the planning entities may want to retain such land and make it available through long term lease for development as a school.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Land Ownership Regimes</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">For the private sector to involve itself in schools and educational initiatives, they require profit and also certainty that any funds invested are secure. In this regard, having a land titles regime that allows foreign ownership or investment and the registration of long-term leases and mortgages over such interests will support private sector involvement.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Regulatory Regimes </em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The regulatory requirements for private sector schools need to be clear and reasonable. Such requirements include: foreign ownership rules (whether in land or the equity in the business), planning and construction requirements and operational requirements such as licensing and curriculum content. In addition, schools face international competition for teachers. Having an environment that facilitates the recruitment of foreign teachers and makes it attractive for them to move to the region will benefit this industry.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Typical Private Sector School Models</strong></span><strong> </strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">A private sector school investment model will usually involve variations on the following:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>the relevant land may be identified by the Master Developer or planning entity as suitable for a school;</li>\r\n 	<li>the Operator may themselves or in conjunction with their Consultants assess the viability of the school on the land and assess an appropriate development and investment model;</li>\r\n 	<li>the Operator or their Consultants may approach Financiers with their development and investment model; and</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>the Operator and Financiers will agree the form of the investment which will usually comprise:</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n(a)   investigating the underlying title to the land or the terms of the long term lease or musataha;\r\n\r\n(b)   the establishment of a Special Purpose Vehicle (‘SPV’) as a School Owner to hold the land or long  term lease and complete the construction;\r\n\r\n(c)   if the School Owner is an incorporated JV then agreement as to the terms of the shareholders  agreement and equity contributions;\r\n\r\n(d)   generally debt arrangements will be arranged with a Bank and mortgage or conditional assignment put in place;\r\n\r\n(e)   the terms of the occupational lease between the Operator (or its SPV) and the School Owner thereby giving security to the School Owner as to its return; or\r\n\r\n(f)   as an alternative to the occupational lease, the Operator may prefer to grant a franchise to or have an operating agreement with the School Owner (‘Management Agreement’). Such an arrangement may have advantages where there are foreign ownership or other regulatory restrictions in the relevant jurisdiction; and\r\n\r\n(g)   once the investment model is agreed, the arrangements would be closed and the design consultants and contractors appointed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p9\">Variations on the above may include the Operator completing the project then transferring this to an investor or fund or the Master Developer or other partner completing the development through a consultancy then entering into an occupational lease or Management Agreement with the Operator.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Many private sector schools operators already have operations in certain regions of the GCC and Middle East. Governments seeking to move more services from the public sector to the private sector may wish to specifically target these private sector school operators. This industry can be further facilitated by building a favourable regulatory environment. Operators and other private sector stakeholders may need to be flexible with their investment models having regard to the regulatory environments of each GCC or Middle East jurisdiction.</span></p>'),
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(100075, 5440, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Technology Transfer</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">The process through which an academic idea is transferred to industry and commercialised is known as “technology transfer.”  In order to ensure those that come up with the big ideas are properly rewarded, the rights to the research or technology should be appropriately protected. To this end, patent protection is what is generally required to protect creations of a technical nature. In certain countries, this protection may extend to processes executable on computer devices, such as through computer software and programs. For example, the precursor to the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was famously not patent protected (for a number of legal reasons), resulting in the rapid exploitation of the software.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Patent protection can be sought early in the creation process, even when the academic research has not yet matured into a prototype or final commercial product.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Publish and Perish</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In science and engineering faculties, academics primarily get recognised through research activities. The recognition and accreditation of a faculty normally requires the publication of research results in specialised journals. It is very tempting for academic staff to publish their research results as quickly as possible, and is sometimes done without regard to the consequences of patent protection.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">However, patent protection should be considered very early on in the process, and especially before any publication of the academic research; otherwise, the novelty of the underlying invention may be destroyed, and the possibility of obtaining patent protection compromised.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Some countries, such as the United States, provide a grace period for applying for patent protection after publication by the inventor. Such a post-disclosure grace period is not available in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, and it is therefore essential to apply for patent protection before any disclosure of the invention – and only the owner of patent rights can apply for this.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The time period between filing a patent application and getting the patent examined and granted could take a couple of years, depending on the country. During this period, however, the right to the invention is secured under a “patent pending” status, and publication of the invention can be made without risk, so the key step is to file.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>GCC position </strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The rules of patent ownership vary from one country to another. Within educational institutions in the United Arab Emirates, the default rule in patent ownership is that the patent rights belong to the university. Otherwise, if the invention has an economic value ‘beyond the expectations’ of the parties when they signed the employment contract, then the employee inventor shall be entitled to additional compensation (to be decided by the court).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It therefore goes without saying that careful consideration by the employer is crucial in drafting employment contracts for research staff; the scope of employment should be sufficiently defined, so that any invention arising from that work falls clearly within the scope, and is not ‘beyond the expectations’ of the parties such as to jeopardise the academic institution’s ownership rights.</p>'),
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(100060, 5439, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In this article, we will take a high level view of the key employment considerations for both schools and higher education institutions in the UAE.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Private sector employers, including education providers, are subject to the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 (“Labour Law”). Publically owned education providers may be subject to other laws, which would need to be considered prior to formulating an HR response. For the purpose of this article, we will consider some of the recurring HR issues for private providers but the topics covered are of general interest to the entire education sector.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Schools</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Some schools are required to issue a standard form Ministry of Education (“MOE”) employment contract (“MOE Contract”) which contains a number of provisions that are at variance with the Labour Law. In addition, a decree issued by the Minister of Labour, Decree 765 of 2015, which came into effect on 1st January 2016 (“Decree”), imposes further constraints on employers under the remit of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (formerly the Ministry of Labour) (which may include some education providers). The overall position can be ambiguous, which is why it is important for schools to be aware of the key issues as well as have clear contracts and HR policies in place to help navigate a sensible course through it.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Contractual fundamentals </em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The default position for private schools is to issue a limited term contract. The Labour Law provides that there is no requirement for a notice period prior to termination in a limited term contract, however, the MOE Contract contains a two month notice period, whilst, the Decree stipulates that notice should be no less than one month in respect of a renewed fixed term contract (i.e. after the first term has expired). In the school sector, this disparity is not such an issue as schools want a notice period to avoid staff leaving suddenly, midway through the academic year.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The following table illustrates the disparity in relation to notice, compensation and annual leave.</p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"t1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td1\" valign=\"middle\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Heading</strong></span></td>\r\n<td class=\"td1\" valign=\"middle\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Labour</strong></span> <span class=\"s1\"><strong>Law</strong></span></td>\r\n<td class=\"td1\" valign=\"middle\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>MOE Contract</strong></span></td>\r\n<td class=\"td1\" valign=\"middle\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Decree<sup>1</sup></strong></span></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td2\" valign=\"middle\">Probation (maximum)</td>\r\n<td class=\"td2\" valign=\"middle\">6 months</td>\r\n<td class=\"td2\" valign=\"middle\">1 month</td>\r\n<td class=\"td2\" valign=\"middle\">N/A</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Minimum notice (fixed term contract)</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">0</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">2 months</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">1 month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Maximum notice</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">No maximum</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">2 months</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">3 months</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Compensation payable by employer to employee terminated before expiry of  fixed term contract</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">3 months<sup>2</sup></td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">1 month</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">1-3 months</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">Compensation payable by employee to employer where he resigns with effect before expiry of  fixed term contract</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">1.5 months<sup>3</sup></td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">1 month</td>\r\n<td class=\"td3\" valign=\"middle\">1-3 months</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"td4\" valign=\"middle\">Annual leave</td>\r\n<td class=\"td4\" valign=\"middle\">30 calendar days</td>\r\n<td class=\"td4\" valign=\"middle\">74 calendar days</td>\r\n<td class=\"td4\" valign=\"middle\">N/A</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\nTable 1: Employment law comparison\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>As applicable to renewed contracts.</li>\r\n 	<li>The employer is liable to pay compensation to the employee equal to three months salary or for the remaining period of contract whichever is shorter; the employee is liable to pay half the amount that the employer would have to pay.</li>\r\n 	<li>The employer is liable to pay half the compensation, as per footnote 2.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Termination</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">As can be seen from Table 1 above, a school which terminates a teacher during the school year could face a claim of two months notice, one month compensation (both as per MOE Contract), plus three months early termination compensation (Labour Law). If there is no MOE Contract, then it would be notice as per the school contract plus three months early termination compensation (Labour Law).</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Given the room for confusion, it is important that the employer formulates a view, ideally in conjunction with an employment lawyer, on how to address these conflicting provisions (before they crystallise into an actual legal case) and manage risk whilst observing best practice and being appropriately benchmarked with other schools. Ultimately, risk can be managed but not eliminated.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Annual Leave</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The area surroundinlg annual leave allows for some creativity on behalf of the school. The vacation, as per the school calendar, is greater than the statutory and contractual amount, meaning that an employer can treat the differential in a way that limits its liability for pay in lieu of leave and serves as an added disincentive for a teacher to leave before expiry of the term. This brings us to the topic of retention, another key consideration for schools.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Retention</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Middle East has the second most acute teacher shortage in the world. Retention of talent is probably the number one HR issue within education, recognising the cost (financial and non-financial) of replacing a good teacher and the importance of retaining institutional memory and continuity.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Accordingly, some schools have decided to pay elevated end of service gratuity payments depending on length of service. There are other tools available for the resourceful employer including specific retention plans, which can even be cost neutral if they absolutely need to be.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Housing</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is quite common for schools to provide accommodation to teachers. Problems can emerge with such a benefit on two fronts:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><strong>Termination</strong>. When a teacher is terminated, the usual issues surrounding vacating the accommodation arise. A well drafted accommodation policy and employment contract will be effective in this situation.</li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Hire</strong>. It is common in the education space to assign a status to new employees, be it single, married, not sponsored by school, etc. There are a number of pragmatic reasons for this. The housing arrangements for the teacher are generally linked to this status. Substantive HR issues can arise in relation to pay in lieu of leave or overtime where two teachers doing the same job get paid different amounts, one teacher gets paid on basic plus housing allowance; whilst the other gets paid on basic only (as housing is provided).</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p6\">Again, if HR can pre-empt these issues it will lead to a smoother outcome.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Additional contractual terms</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">There are a number of important areas which the school’s own contract/HR policy should address:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>In service training/professional development;</li>\r\n 	<li>hild protection;</li>\r\n 	<li>Working outside the school (tutorials, etc.);</li>\r\n 	<li>Data protection and monitoring of emails; and</li>\r\n 	<li>Social media usage.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Universities and Colleges </strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Many of the HR issues within the higher education space are similar to those that schools face.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Notice</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Higher educational institutions typically have lengthy notice periods, often six months or more, in order to discourage staff turnover during the academic year. The Decree presents a real issue for those employers subject to it in that the maximum notice period is purported to be only three months.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Accordingly, there is an incentive for higher educational institutions to develop imaginative HR solutions, including staff retention policies, in order to discourage midyear disruptive resignations.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Ownership of intellectual property</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Elsewhere in this issue of Law Update my colleague Ahmad Saleh (Intellectual Property department) discusses the monetisation of research in the education sector and the issues surrounding faculty/employee inventors.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Suffice to say, very careful consideration is required in relation to the drafting of an employment contract for academic staff who are involved in research and development so as to ensure that the scope of employment is adequately defined; otherwise, the institution may not benefit financially from the fruits of the research.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Academic Freedom</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">The concept of academic freedom - defined as the right of a teacher or student to discuss or investigate any issue, or to express opinions on any topic without interference from the college or government - is enshrined in many international university charters (and frequently in the case-law and legislation of those countries). It is not an absolute right and, for example, the freedom to “investigate any issue” faces practical obstacles as regards availability of funding. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Academic freedom is not an expressly recognised concept in the UAE thus, whilst a university’s policies may refer to it, guidance should be provided to staff (particularly at the on-boarding stage) in relation to the practical limits of it.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Tenure</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Tenure has been defined as the right to remain permanently in a job. Tenure and academic freedom are seen as two pillars of the western university system.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Tenure, however, is not expressly recognised in the UAE. This can present a major challenge in trying to attract tenured faculty from international colleges. In some cases, the candidate will ask for a pre-agreed compensation payment (perhaps one or more year’s salary) to be included in the contract in the event that he/she is terminated for reasons other than stated misconduct.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> Where faculty are seconded to the UAE, they generally retain tenure in their home country. A secondment agreement would be recommended in cases like this to deal with issues like dual employment rights arising in the home country and UAE.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Internationally, the education space has its fair share of HR complexity. Many of the same issues arise in the UAE. With some forward planning, the prudent education provider is well placed to address most of these issues. Consideration as to the legal landscape (including internal polices) and the reasonably predictable issues likely to arise, can help equip HR with the tools to deal with them in an effective, consistent, and efficient manner.</p>'),
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(100045, 5438, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The decision on the owner of the trademark may be easy, but it could become more complicated when the owner is a group company with a complicated structure of affiliated companies and subsidiaries or in the case of a joint venture or partnership of any kind. In this article we will highlight the different perspectives of trademark ownership structures and common issues related to the same.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Who can own a trademark?</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Pursuant to Article 6 of the UAE Federal Trademarks Law, Law No. 37 of 1992 and its amendments, the owner of a trademark can include: (i) national natural or juridical persons carrying out any commercial, industrial, handicraft or services activity; (ii) foreign natural or juridical persons carrying out any commercial, industrial, handicraft or services activity in the State, (iii) foreign natural or juridical persons carrying out any commercial, industrial, handicraft or services activity in any country which treats the State according to the reciprocity principle and (v) public juridical persons.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Accordingly, a trademark owner can include individuals, companies in all legal forms (eh. sole establishment, limited liability, public joint stock) and public judicial persons such as government entities.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Why it is important to decide on the owner of the trademark?</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The advantages of owning a trademark can be summarised as follows:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The trademark is an asset and a valuable one, for example Apple is the world’s most valuable trademark with a value of USD 154.1 billion (According to Forbes’ list of the World’s Most Valuable Brands 2016);</li>\r\n 	<li>Only the owner of trademark will financially benefit from such trademark. The owner only can exploit the trademark through commercialisation, licence and assignment and can be used in business negotiations.</li>\r\n 	<li>Only the legal owner of a trademark has standing to enforce the trademark rights and prevent any infringement upon the same.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Deciding on who is the owner of the trademark</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The owner of the trademark will depend on the nature of the business, its structure and the strategies and goals adopted by the business.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The straightforward scenario is that when a company is established, the trademark shall be registered under its name and it will be the owner of the trademark. A common mistake made is to have an executive of the company file for a trademark in their own personal name. This can restrain the company from enforcing its trademark rights against competitors, and will hurt the company financially as it may deprive the company of one of its most valuable assets.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Nevertheless this is not always the rule, as in some cases an individual creates a trademark and concept, and when he wants to commercialise this trademark and concept, he would enter into partnership with some investors. In such cases and when such partnership is still new, the individual may consider keeping the trademark under his personal name and grant the partnership entity a licence to use the trademark, to ensure his rights over the trademark.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">When the trademark is very personal, such as the name of person, the owner of the trademark would normally be that person. For example, a fashion designer may retain the ownership of their trademark, which is his/her personal name, even though they have huge corporate entities operating and manufacturing under the trademark. Although this will protect the name of the designer, the risk in such case is that in the event of the death of the owner, the trademark will become part of the inheritance, which may affect the business using the brand.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In joint ventures, attention should be given to who owns the trademark that will be used by the joint venture. The trademark to be used may actually be owned by one of the partners. However if not, the partners should agree clearly on who will own the trademark or whether they jointly own it. The Joint Venture Agreement should clearly state the rights of each party and what will happen to the trademark when the joint venture is dissolved.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In case of a group of affiliated companies using the same trademark, usually the owner of the trademark will be the group company (holding company), who would grant internal licences to each of its affiliates to use the trademark. This structure will help the group company to maintain the protection of the trademark portfolio.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">When the affiliated/subsidiaries use different trademarks, there are two options for the ownership structure of the trademarks; either the ownership of all trademarks be vested at the group company level (with a licence to each subsidiary to use the relevant trademark), or at the subsidiary level, each subsidiary owns the trademarks relevant to its business. Each structure has its own advantages and disadvantages, for instance having all the trademarks owned by the group company will ensure the central management of the trademark portfolio and ensure the trademarks are being used to the same level of quality within the entire group companies. It may also strengthen and enhance the assets of the group company making it more attractive to investors and increasing its negotiation weight in any business transaction. However, this means the involvement of the group company in the prosecution of all legal actions related to its trademarks. Having the ownership vested with each subsidiary, may seem an easier structure with less paperwork (internal licences). When each subsidiary owns its own trademark, this will increase its assets. But each subsidiary being responsible for its trademarks and their maintenance may entail having a dedicated team to do that.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">For businesses with a substantial amount of intellectual property (“IP”), it may be reasonable to establish an IP holding company to become the owner of such assets. Having an IP holding company as the owner of the trademarks may improve the business’ ability to manage its intellectual property. In such a structure, the parent company, the original owner of the trademark, establishes a wholly-owned subsidiary and then transfers ownership of its IP to the newly-created subsidiary. The right to use the trademark is then licensed back to the parent company or other group companies.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The structure and position of the IP holding company should, of course, be subject to careful consideration, taking into consideration the nature of trademarks and the governing laws in the jurisdiction where the IP holding company is to be established. The UAE has recently recognised and allowed the establishment of IP holding companies. The new Commercial Companies Law, Law No. 2 of 2015, has allowed for the establishment of IP holding companies in the form of limited liability or joint stock companies, While it is still unclear how such companies will be governed under this new law, it is now an option to be considered in the UAE.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In conclusion, different aspects should be taken into consideration when determining the proper trademark owner. The trademark ownership structure may also change throughout the life of the business and with changes of its business strategies, its growth and its trademark assets. Clear legal advice on the ownership structure is always recommended together with a regular review of such structure to ensure it serves the present business needs and strategies.</p>'),
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(100044, 5437, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'With Olympics fervor building as the start of the summer games in Rio de Janeiro approaches in August, it is timely to take a look at some of the risk management issues involved when organising largescale sporting events.'),
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(100028, 5437, 'content_description', 'With Olympics fervor building as the start of the summer games in Rio de Janeiro approaches in August, it is timely to take a look at some of the risk management issues involved when organising largescale sporting events.\r\n\r\n'),
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(100030, 5437, 'pageSummary', 'With Olympics fervor building as the start of the summer games in Rio de Janeiro approaches in August, it is timely to take a look at some of the risk management issues involved when organising largescale sporting events.'),
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(100005, 5436, 'content_description', 'The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) was established in 2002, with a mandate to provide the physical, market and financial infrastructure required to set up a commodities market place in Dubai. Today the DMCC is recognised as one of the largest free zones in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over 12,000 registered companies under license. '),
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(100007, 5436, 'pageSummary', 'The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) was established in 2002, with a mandate to provide the physical, market and financial infrastructure required to set up a commodities market place in Dubai. Today the DMCC is recognised as one of the largest free zones in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over 12,000 registered companies under license.'),
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(100015, 5436, 'lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorName', 'Gaurav Jain'),
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(100019, 5436, 'lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorLocation', 'Dubai, UAE'),
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(100023, 5436, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'Al Tamimi & Company briefly discuss the operation of the DMCC tradeflow and the procedure for creation of a pledge through the DMCC tradeflow.'),
(100024, 5437, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Whether it is the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix or the Dubai Air Show or the UAE Desert Challenge, the UAE increasingly plays host to a variety of premier sporting events throughout the year. Those who arrange, host and deliver sporting events necessarily assume a range of legal and financial risks which they may not always turn their minds to until one or more of those risks materialises.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Event Organisers</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">It is important to note that event rights holders, host facilities or venues, event organisers, broadcasters and a range of third party contractors could be involved in one or more stages of delivery. In such cases, it is prudent practice to include a comprehensive risk identification component during the event planning stage and to allocate risk accordingly (usually on those parties best placed to minimise or avoid it, with any identifiable residual risk insured against).  </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> For the purposes of this article, we will refer generally to event organisers but it should be noted that it is often the case in major sporting events that insurable risk is borne by a number of parties and should be coordinated to ensure optimal cover or dove-tailing of policies without undue duplication.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Spectators and Participants</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In addition to the basic insurance coverage required by statute (e.g. for employee coverage, corporate vehicle usage) and otherwise for prudent protection in the ordinary course of business (e.g. covering loss or damage to buildings and/or equipment, business interruption, etc.) in the case of a sporting event to which an event organiser charges an admission, the event organiser is entitled to impose conditions of entry as part of its contractual agreement with the spectator and the spectator is entitled to expect that the event will take place as promised by the organiser.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> A condition typically imposed by the event organisers is that the spectator agrees that, if, while watching the event, the spectator suffers loss or injury, the spectator will not hold the event organiser liable. This condition is commonly called a waiver of liability clause and it will be enforceable against the spectator who has suffered a loss or injury where:</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>the loss or injury was caused by or arose out of the event; and</li>\r\n 	<li>the event organiser otherwise took reasonable precautions against the risk of loss or injury occurring.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\">However, under UAE law, a waiver of liability clause will usually not relieve the organiser from liability for failing to make the premises or the event reasonably safe for spectators.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">So, for example, if a spectator at a baseball game were to sustain injuries on being hit in the head by a ball that flew through a hole in the protective net behind home plate, a waiver of liability probably would not bar him from recovery. On the other hand, a waiver of liability would likely prevent a spectator from recovering damages on an action brought if the same injury were sustained while the spectator was sitting in the outfield stands.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The principle producing these two legal outcomes expresses the understanding that spectators to an event, even to physically dangerous events, are taken to accept some, but not all, risks in watching those events. At the same time, spectators are legally entitled to rely on the event organiser taking reasonable precautions to make the event safe for them to watch.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Managing Third-Party Risk</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">To protect itself from incurring liability in these circumstances, the event organiser is usually advised to take out public liability or third party liability (‘TPL’) insurance. This form of insurance protects an event organiser from liability to third parties for loss or injury that arises out of the premises that the event organiser controls or out of its conduct of the event itself.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">As the event tourism market grows and diversifies, it is becoming more common for large scale events to feature designated spectator activity areas or ’fanzones‘, in an effort to enhance the customer experience and/or to upsell basic entry revenues.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In such circumstances, careful consideration should be given to any particular equipment for rides, experiences or challenges offered to spectators (who may become participants or end users of third party suppliers retained by a sporting venue) and what additional risks and corresponding coverage should be put in place.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In such scenarios it is prudent to make early disclosure of anticipated activity to your broker – even arranging site visits if necessary – to determine if proposed activities come within the existing TPL cover and to determine if they are out-of-scope whether their presence on site may vitiate existing cover, necessitating changes.<strong> </strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Cancellation Risk</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Perhaps the largest financial risk to which an event organiser may be exposed is the risk that the event is unable to go ahead and has to be cancelled at short notice. Many things can cause an event to be cancelled at the last minute, including:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>physical damage to the premises where the event is to be staged;</li>\r\n 	<li>extreme weather preventing the event from proceeding or spectators from accessing the event’s site or premises;</li>\r\n 	<li>the late arrival or failure to arrive of persons or equipment critical to staging the event; or</li>\r\n 	<li>the sudden withdrawal or suspension of governmental approval for the event to proceed.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\">Where any one of these incidents occurs, it can result in significant financial loss for the event organiser who would be left, in the absence of insurance, to pursue any legal claim that they may have against the persons responsible for the loss.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Inevitably, pursuit of those claims would entail further expenditure of time and money and would likely compound the loss arising from the cancellation of the event. In many cases, the original loss and the subsequent efforts to recover that loss through legal action are likely to impact the event organiser’s cash flow for months or years to come.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> Insurance cover for this risk or even for the risk of reduced spectator turnout removes the prospect of the event turning out to be a financial disaster for the event organiser. Where an event organiser takes out this kind of insurance and is forced to make a claim under it, the insurance payout will allow the event organiser to move on quickly and will shift the cost and effort of pursing legal claims against the parties responsible for the loss onto the insurer.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Risk Management is Indispensable</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Many financial and legal risks are attached to the organisation and staging of public sporting events. These risks can come from spectators or participants in the event suing for injuries sustained as a result of how the event was conducted, or they can arise from the financial loss that results when an event is cancelled or cannot go ahead at the last minute through no fault of the event organiser.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In each case, strategic early identification and allocation of risk, complemented by taking out the appropriate insurance cover where the relevant risk cannot otherwise be addressed is an important risk management tool that allows pricing of appropriate coverage into revenue models and should ensure that foreseeable financial and legal fallout from the event, should it happen, does not bring irreparable financial harm to one or more of the key stakeholders in the event management chain.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p8\"><em>This article first appeared in the July/August 2016 edition of Middle East Insurance Review magazine.</em></p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(99988, 5435, 'content_description', 'In recent years, arbitration in the UAE has experienced significant growth among domestic and international users. Whilst there is undoubtedly a positive trend in the use of arbitration as a mechanism to resolve disputes in the UAE, one of the main criticisms is the uncertainty around enforcement of both domestic and international awards, despite the UAE’s accession to the New York Convention for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitrational Awards (the “New York Convention”) in 2006. In fact, any arbitration practitioner with experience in the UAE will be familiar with the local enforcement battles, as demonstrated by the case of International Bechtel Co. Ltd v. Department of Civil Aviation of the Government of Dubai, as well as a recent Court of Appeal decision which questioned whether the UK was a signatory to the New York Convention. However, in the recent Dubai Court of Cassation Commercial Appeal No. 693 of 2015, it could be argued that the feelings of distrust and uncertainty may be put at bay, at least for the time being particularly when it comes to enforcement of foreign awards.\r\n'),
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(99990, 5435, 'pageSummary', 'In recent years, arbitration in the UAE has experienced significant growth among domestic and international users. Whilst there is undoubtedly a positive trend in the use of arbitration as a mechanism to resolve disputes in the UAE, one of the main criticisms is the uncertainty around enforcement of both domestic and international awards, despite the UAE’s accession to the New York Convention for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitrational Awards (the “New York Convention”) in 2006. In fact, any arbitration practitioner with experience in the UAE will be familiar with the local enforcement battles, as demonstrated by the case of International Bechtel Co. Ltd v. Department of Civil Aviation of the Government of Dubai, as well as a recent Court of Appeal decision which questioned whether the UK was a signatory to the New York Convention. However, in the recent Dubai Court of Cassation Commercial Appeal No. 693 of 2015, it could be argued that the feelings of distrust and uncertainty may be put at bay, at least for the time being particularly when it comes to enforcement of foreign awards.'),
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(100001, 5436, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In this article, we briefly discuss the operation of the DMCC tradeflow and the procedure for creation of a pledge through the DMCC tradeflow.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The DMCC operates an electronic central registry of ownership of commodities called the Trade Flow (‘Tradeflow’). The platform has been developed with extensive interaction from the DMCC members alongside advice from key regional financiers and commodity owners. The access to the Tradeflow is under the DMCC Tradeflow Corporate Access Agreement dated 11th February 2013 (the ‘Corporate Access Agreement’). This registry uses negotiable electronic title documents called DMCC Tradeflow warrants (‘Warrants’) to provide interested parties with the undisputed proof of ownership and security interests attached to UAE based inventories. The Warrants are issued by storage operators (in the DMCC) in accordance with the DMCC Warrant Rules annexed to Corporate Access Agreement (the ’Warrant Rules‘) and provide evidence of specified goods (quantity and quality) being stored therein. Ownership of DMCC Tradeflow Warrants can be electronically transferred between members using the web-based, secure interface. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The use of collateral management in trade finance is increasingly seen as a tool that gives financiers a way to reduce and mitigate risk and offers much needed capital relief. With this in mind, the DMCC has developed a pledge structure which allows commodity owners and their financiers to register pledges on the DMCC Tradeflow being collateral in return for working capital financing. The advantage of a pledge for financiers is that it creates a security interest over the assets, allowing them to be used to secure the performance of an obligation, i.e. a trade finance loan. The pledge is created electronically in accordance with the DMCC Security Rules annexed to Corporate Access Agreement (the ‘Security Rules’). The process involves registration of parties as participants with DMCC which is done by way of acceptance of the DMCC Tradeflow Corporate Access Agreement (and all the Rules appended thereto including the Security Rules and Warrant Rules). Each participant (pledgor, storage operator and the finance party) would sign a document called ‘Letter of Adherence’. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Security is created electronically by way of electronic issuance of a standard format Security Notification (as defined in the Corporate Access Agreement) and Security Acceptance (as defined in the Security Rules). In order to enter into subsequent transactions over the DMCC Tradeflow evidencing a pledge over future Warrants (issued by the storage operator as and when additional goods are deposited), the pledgor (as the legal owner) is required to issue a new Security Notification to the DMCC on the DMCC Tradeflow in relation to the new Warrant(s) instructing the DMCC to hold the new Warrant(s) by way of pledge for the pledgee. Upon receipt of the Security Notification on the DMCC Tradeflow, the DMCC would hold the said Warrant for the benefit of the pledgee. The pledgee upon the receipt of the Security Notification is required to issue and transmit the Security Acceptance on the DMCC Tradeflow within seven (7) days of receipt thereof. The creation of security by way of pledge over the Warrant(s) is subject to cancellation by the DMCC without notice if, within seven (7) days after the date of the Security Notification, a Security Acceptance has not been received from the pledgee.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Security Rules also provide for a close out mechanism which permits enforcement of the pledge by way of sale of the Warrants by the DMCC (and the goods it represents) without recourse to the pledgor or a court order on receipt of a Close Out Settlement Instruction (as defined in the Security Rules) as prescribed in Rule 3 of the Security Rules. However the recognition of the close out mechanism under UAE law requires detailed examination as the concept of “self help” is not recognised under UAE law and an order of a UAE court may be required for enforcement of any security created under any of the security documents. Further, any default by the pledgor may not automatically give the pledgee any right to attach the Warrants (or the goods). It may, however, instruct the DMCC on the DMCC Tradeflow by way of a Security Enforcement Instruction (as defined in the Security Rules) to hold the goods in favour of the pledgee and not to release the same until the successful conclusion of the proceeding or any judgment or appealable order issued by a UAE Court in relation to the pledgor’s default.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The storage operator warrants or guarantees to hold the stored commodity by way of safe custody implying that although they are legally liable for any value lost through theft or damage, they have no legal ownership in them except for the storage operator lien as highlighted below. As such, in case of liquidation, the storage operator’s creditors will be unable to seek recourse to the commodities stored since the legal title remains with the holder of the Warrants - as registered on the DMCC Tradeflow central registry. It is also important to note the Rule 3.3 of the Security Rules which provides the following order of priority in relation to any monies realised pursuant to the enforcement of security:</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div class=\"p2\">first, in or towards satisfaction of any Storage Operator’s lien which is duly annotated on the relevant Warrant at the time of sale; and</div></li>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">second, in or towards satisfaction of all costs, charges and expenses incurred, or payments made, by and evidenced in writing by DMCCA in connection with such sale of the Warrant (or the Goods represented by the Warrant) (including the agency fee referred to in Clause 3.5); and </span></div></li>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div class=\"p1\">third, in or towards satisfaction of all costs, charges and expenses incurred, or payments made, by and evidenced in writing by the Tradeflow Finance Party in connection with such sale of the Warrant (or the Goods represented by the Warrant); and</div></li>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div class=\"p1\">fourth, in or towards satisfaction of the Secured Obligations to which the relevant Warrant relates; and</div></li>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div class=\"p1\">fifth, as to the surplus (if any), to the person or persons entitled thereto.’</div></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">Therefore apart from the cost of the DMCC for the sale of the Warrant (or the Goods represented by the Warrant), the realisation under the pledge documents will also be subject to any limitation arising from the storage operator’s lien over the goods and such lien shall rank ahead of the pledgee’s claim and shall include all lawful storage charges, money claims, insurance, transportation, labour, weighing, coopering and any advertisement charges for auction of the goods in the event of a default. Accordingly, the storage operator may have priority in the insolvency of the pledgor for unpaid rentals and other charges for the storage of goods in their vault.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The DMCC Tradeflow platform provides for pledge over commodities stored in the DMCC registered warehouses and is an important step in the trade financing for the companies having storage of their goods in the DMCC. While the pledge through the DMCC Tradeflow platform is still at a stage of infancy, it holds great promises for trade financing in future.</p>'),
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(99963, 5434, 'content_description', 'A declaration of bankruptcy, according to Article 645 of the Commercial Transactions Law, can be imposed on any trader who ceases to pay some or all of its commercial debts. While a debtor’s cessation of payment is a presumption against him, the trader might not be considered bankrupt if the failure to pay is due to a dispute regarding the debt. In other words, it is important to prove that the debtor ceased to pay a certain commercial debt due to financial distress and credit issues. It is for the Court of First Instance to determine, without review by the Court of Cassation, whether there is an established case of bankruptcy (Dubai Court of Cassation – Civil Appeal No. 343-1997 – 28.03.98).'),
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(99965, 5434, 'pageSummary', 'A declaration of bankruptcy, according to Article 645 of the Commercial Transactions Law, can be imposed on any trader who ceases to pay some or all of its commercial debts. While a debtor’s cessation of payment is a presumption against him, the trader might not be considered bankrupt if the failure to pay is due to a dispute regarding the debt. In other words, it is important to prove that the debtor ceased to pay a certain commercial debt due to financial distress and credit issues. It is for the Court of First Instance to determine, without review by the Court of Cassation, whether there is an established case of bankruptcy (Dubai Court of Cassation – Civil Appeal No. 343-1997 – 28.03.98).'),
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(99983, 5434, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'Al Tamimi & Company successfully represented a claimant (in Commercial Case 393 of 2015 dated 12 August 2015) in obtaining a declaration of bankruptcy and the appointment of a bankruptcy administrator in relation to a defaulting defendant.'),
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(99984, 5435, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The case concerned a charter-party agreement dated 2 May 2007. A dispute arose between the Claimant and the Respondent and the former commenced arbitration proceedings in London pursuant to the agreement.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The arbitral tribunal issued two awards in the Claimant’s favour, one on the merits and one on costs, the last being issued on 20 March 2014.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The two awards became final when the Respondent did not challenge them after having been duly notified in accordance with English law.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Claimant commenced proceedings in Dubai for the recognition and enforcement of the two awards. The Dubai Court of First Instance ordered the recognition of both awards and their enforcement in accordance with the enforcement procedure outlined in the UAE Civil Procedure Law.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Respondent appealed and on 15 July 2015, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Court of First Instance. On 13 September 2015 the Respondent appealed this decision to the Court of Cassation.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> In that action, the Respondent raised two heads of challenge. First, it argued that the Court of Appeal was wrong to have rejected its plea that the Respondent was not served with the arbitration notice, and, as such, was unable to present its case before the arbitral tribunal. This was because a commercial agent, rather than the Respondent itself, had received the arbitration notice. The Respondent argued that as an Emirati company it should be served with the arbitration notice in accordance with the Agreement on Judicial Assistance between the UAE and the UK, ratified by Federal Decree No. 38 of 2007.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Secondly, the Respondent argued that a person not authorised to bind the Respondent to arbitration signed the agreement containing the arbitration clause. The Court of Appeal had held that the Respondent failed to prove this in accordance with the law of the country where the arbitral award was issued, being the laws of England and Wales.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Court of Cassation dismissed the argument, stating that according to Article 238 of the UAE Civil Procedure Law, international conventions, by virtue of ratification, shall apply as though they were domestic law in the UAE to disputes concerning the enforcement of foreign court decisions and arbitral awards.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Court of Cassation explained further that by Federal Decree No. 43 of 2006, which was published in the Official Gazette on 28 June 2006, the UAE acceded to the New York Convention. Therefore, its provisions applied to the present dispute.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The New York Convention provides that, as a general principle, and subject to any permissible reservations that it has entered into, each contracting state shall recognise arbitral agreements as binding, as long as there is an agreement on arbitration in writing (whether in a contract, a standalone agreement, or in an exchange of letters or telegrams).</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Article V states that: “1. Recognition and enforcement of the award may be refused, at the request of the party against whom it is invoked, only if that party furnishes to the competent authority where the recognition and enforcement is sought, proof that:</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">(a) The parties to the agreement referred to in article II were, under the law applicable to them, under some incapacity…., under the law of the country where the award was made; or</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">(b) The party against whom the award is invoked was not given proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings; or (c), (d), (e).”</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\">In other words, the party against whom the arbitral award was issued may plead that the award should not be recognised under any of the conditions listed in Article V, including (a) and (b), provided that it furnishes proof to the court where the recognition is sought, that it was under some incapacity under the law of the country where the award was made or was not given proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings and was unable to present its case.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Court of Cassation found that the Respondent had not produced any evidence before the trial court that it lacked capacity to sign the contract in accordance with the law of the country where the arbitral award was issued. As regards notice, the fact that the Respondent had attended the arbitration hearings was evidence that it had received sufficient notice. The entire appeal was therefore dismissed.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In conclusion, the Dubai Court of Cassation in this case has clearly adopted a pro-enforcement attitude towards foreign arbitration awards and recognised the primacy of the New York Convention. The Court of Cassation held that, pursuant to Article V(1)(a) of the New York Convention, the issue of the capacity of the person signing the arbitration clause is to be assessed using the law of the country where the award was issued (the law of the seat), regardless of the parties’ nationality or the domestic law under which the party acquired its legal status. This is particularly encouraging, because technical points regarding the authority of a signatory to bind a company to arbitration are often raised to resist enforcement of awards in the UAE. This decision will go some way in comforting applicants that such points may no longer be sustainable where the enforcement relates to a foreign award.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p6\"><em>* Previously Published in Kluwer Arbitration Blog on 17 June 2016.</em></p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(99959, 5434, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Despite this, declarations of bankruptcy are extremely rare within the UAE. The Commercial Transactions Law (Federal Law 18 of 1993) contains provisions regulating the bankruptcy of companies and other businesses, but does not have a specific definition of “bankruptcy” and merely highlights the situations in which a trader will be regarded as bankrupt. The meaning may be inferred from Article 645 of the law which provides that “a trader who ceases to pay his debts can apply to the court for his adjudication as bankrupt”.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> Recently however Al Tamimi &amp; Company successfully represented a claimant (in Commercial Case 393 of 2015 dated 12 August 2015) in obtaining a declaration of bankruptcy and the appointment of a bankruptcy administrator in relation to a defaulting defendant. Furthermore, the Court of First Instance’s judgment in the case appears to be the only recent decision that considers the conditions to be satisfied before a declaration of bankruptcy will be made against a defaulting debtor.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Background</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Claimant obtained a judgment  in the sum of AED 85 million against the Defendants (a UAE Company and its subsidiary). The Defendants failed to pay this sum and as a result, on 1 March 2015 the Claimant initiated bankruptcy proceedings with the Dubai Court of First Instance against the UAE Company seeking (i) a declaration that the Defendant is bankrupt; (ii) the appointment of a bankruptcy administrator to oversee the bankruptcy proceedings; (iii) an order that the Defendant’s premises be sealed; (iv) measures to safeguard the Defendant’s assets; (v) an award for costs and fees against the Defendant; and (iv) that a judgment be rendered with immediate enforcement without the requirement of a bond.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Findings of the Court of First Instance</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Claimant argued that the Defendants ceased making payments as a result of several credit issues and the outstanding debt was clearly evidenced by the court judgment. The Claimant submitted photocopies of a statement from another UAE bank which the Defendants held an account with which confirmed that the Defendants had no balance. The Claimant also submitted a statement from the Dubai Financial Market (DFA) which confirmed that there was no record of the Defendant in the DFA’s clearing system.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Claimant argued that there was no prospect of recovering the judgment debt as the Defendant’s offices/business units were closed and no further assets could be traced.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">On 3 June 2015, the court appointed an accounting expert to review the matter. The expert filed his report and confirmed that the Defendant was indebted to the Claimant for an amount of AED 85 million and further concluded that the Defendant ceased making payments due to its bad financial situation.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Defendant failed to appear either in person or by counsel at any of the hearings despite having been served with the summons. Therefore, a judgment was entered against the Defendant pursuant to Article 53(1) of the Civil Procedures Law.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Dubai Court of First Instance accepted the Claimant’s contention that the Defendant’s debt had been established and held that:</p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">“It is clear to us that the claimant’s debt is established by the judgment entered in Commercial Action No 1969-2012 which has become final and res judicata after no timely appeal was filed. The debt is accordingly due and payable. It is further clear to us that the Defendant sought to be adjudicated bankrupt within the meaning of the Federal Commercial Transactions Law. They ceased to pay their debts when due to the Claimant as they were in dire financial straits with no prospect of recovery and return to normal business operations at the level of trust, confidence and standing required to carry on business activities. This consequently puts creditors’ claims at risk as indicated by the Claimant’s documents and the report of the court appointed expert. The conditions to declare bankruptcy are thus met and we accordingly declare the defendant bankrupt.’</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This judgment is significant as it emphasizes what the courts look for before declaring a defaulter bankrupt. The outstanding debt should be clearly and conclusively proved. In this case, there was a judgment obtained against the defaulter from the Court of First Instance confirming the debt. In addition, the report filed by the expert in the case concerning the debt also confirmed the outstanding debt obligation of the Defendant. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The financial instability of the defaulter as well as the non-availability of any kind of assets of the defaulter also has to be established. In this case, the Claimant was successful in establishing that there was no prospect of recovery of the judgment amount as the Defendant had no bank accounts or assets.</p>'),
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(99946, 5433, 'content_description', 'Earlier this year the Dubai Court of Appeal shocked the local and international legal community by refusing to enforce an English arbitral award on the grounds that it was not satisfied that the United Kingdom was a signatory to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. We are pleased to report that the Dubai Court of Cassation has now reversed this decision in a judgment issued on 19 June 2016 (Case No. 384 of 2016). However although the Court found that the UK is indeed a signatory to the NY Convention, the reasoning of the Court failed to acknowledge that the UAE had not made any reservations when acceding to the NY Convention, and that the award should have been recognized irrespective of the UK’s status as a signatory.\r\n\r\n'),
(99947, 5433, '_content_description', 'field_59b641c07f473'),
(99948, 5433, 'pageSummary', 'Earlier this year the Dubai Court of Appeal shocked the local and international legal community by refusing to enforce an English arbitral award on the grounds that it was not satisfied that the United Kingdom was a signatory to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. We are pleased to report that the Dubai Court of Cassation has now reversed this decision in a judgment issued on 19 June 2016 (Case No. 384 of 2016). However although the Court found that the UK is indeed a signatory to the NY Convention, the reasoning of the Court failed to acknowledge that the UAE had not made any reservations when acceding to the NY Convention, and that the award should have been recognized irrespective of the UK’s status as a signatory.'),
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(99911, 5430, 'lawUpdateArticleMonth', '5401'),
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(99913, 5430, 'content_description', 'The Egyptian Government recently undertook a series of economic reforms in order to regulate a market that has been severely weakened since the 2011 uprising. The uprising and the security gap that followed drove away tourists and foreign investors, thus leading to a severe shortage in foreign currency reserves and a sharp decline of the value of the Egyptian pound.  The Egyptian Government is therefore reducing foreign currency expenditures by controlling imports.'),
(99914, 5430, '_content_description', 'field_59b641c07f473'),
(99915, 5430, 'pageSummary', 'The Egyptian Government recently undertook a series of economic reforms in order to regulate a market that has been severely weakened since the 2011 uprising. The uprising and the security gap that followed drove away tourists and foreign investors, thus leading to a severe shortage in foreign currency reserves and a sharp decline of the value of the Egyptian pound.  The Egyptian Government is therefore reducing foreign currency expenditures by controlling imports.'),
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(99927, 5430, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'The Egyptian Government recently undertook a series of economic reforms in order to regulate a market that has been severely weakened since the 2011 uprising.'),
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(99942, 5433, 'content', 'August 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Background </strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">By way of background, the Court of Appeal on 30 March 2016 rejected an English arbitral award for two reasons that were controversial:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>It ruled that a principle of reciprocity in the UAE’s Civil Procedure Law applied to the enforcement of the award. This was controversial because, being a signatory to the NY Convention, the UAE Civil Procedure Law should not have been applied. Under the NY Convention there is no reciprocal principle (i.e. no need to show that the state in which the award was made would enforce a UAE award).</li>\r\n 	<li>It ruled that the principle of reciprocity had not been satisfied because there was no evidence that the UK had signed any convention with the UAE relating to the enforcement of arbitral awards. This was controversial because it is a recorded fact that both the UK and the UAE are signatories to the NY Convention. Furthermore, when the UAE signed the NY Convention in 2006 it opted not to sign a reciprocity reservation that allows signatories to limit its application only to awards issued in other contracting states.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Court of Cassation</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Court of Cassation reversed the Court of Appeal judgment.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Court explained that Article 238 of the Civil Procedures Law provides that “the rules laid down in the foregoing articles shall be without prejudice to the provisions and conventions between the UAE and other countries in this regard”. This means that the provisions of conventions between the UAE and other foreign countries or international conventions ratified by the UAE are applicable in relation to the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitration awards.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> The Court noted that both the UAE and the UK are signatories to the NY Convention, and therefore the award was to be recognized and enforced pursuant to the NY Convention, and not the Civil Procedures Law. There was therefore no need to show reciprocity of enforcement. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> Whilst the decision is welcome, it is troubling that the Court of Cassation overlooked the fact that when the UAE signed the NY Convention, it did so without making any reservation as to reciprocity under Article I(3). Some states, for example the UK, have made this reservation, which means that they will only apply the Convention to awards made in another contracting State. By not making this reservation, the UAE is obliged under the Convention to, in principle, recognized all foreign awards, regardless of whether they emanate from a Convention state or not.  In our view that should have been a key part of the Court’s reasoning. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>The Decision in Context</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\">A number of UAE court decisions have already upheld English awards and recognized that the UK is a signatory to the NY Convention. They have also recognized that the NY Convention takes precedence over the pre-existing rules for enforcement of awards found in Article 235 of the Civil Procedures Law. This is why the Court of Appeal decision was considered so shocking – it was not only clearly wrong (the UK being a signatory), but was contrary to previous UAE court decisions.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> For example, in a ruling dated 27 April 2010 (Case No. 35/2010), the Fujairah Federal Court of First Instance enforced two awards, one on the merits and the other on costs, rendered by a sole arbitrator in London under the Rules of the London Maritime Arbitration Association (LMAA) following an application for enforcement by the award creditor in terms of the New York Convention.  After evidencing that: </span></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>the awards were indeed certified and issued in the United Kingdom</li>\r\n 	<li>that the UAE had ratified the New York Convention in 2006; and</li>\r\n 	<li>that the awards were issued pursuant to English Law in the United Kingdom, which is also a signatory to the New York Convention</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p1\">the Fujairah Court held that the two underlying foreign awards were enforceable in the UAE.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> Similarly, in the case of Maxtel International FZE v. Airmec Dubai LLC (Court of First Instance Commercial Action No. 268/2010), dated 12 January 2011), the Dubai Court of First Instance enforced two awards, one on the merits and one on costs, issued by a sole arbitrator in London under the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration rules. The case involved two Dubai-based companies. Following an application for enforcement under the NY Convention, the award debtor objected to the enforcement of the awards seeking nullification on a number of procedural grounds under the UAE Civil Procedures Code. However once it was established that both awards were foreign awards, and having showed that the UAE has ratified the New York Convention, the Dubai Court of First Instance held that </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s2\">“the court’s supervisory role when looking to recognize and enforce a foreign arbitral award is strictly to ensure that it does not conflict with the Federal Decree under which the UAE acceded to the New York Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and satisfied the requirements of Articles IV and V of the Decree in terms of being duly authenticated.” </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\">This ruling was affirmed by the Dubai Court of Appeal (Case No. 132 of 2012) in 22 February 2012. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">As can be seen, there are UAE judgments dating back to 2010 that have found that English awards are to be enforced under the NY Convention. The Court of Appeal decision was therefore extraordinary to find otherwise. However it is a reminder both that the UAE courts can at times render errant decisions (and perhaps more so given the lack of a binding precedent system), but also that the system accounts for this with an ability to appeal. Indeed, from the Court of First Instance there is an automatic right to appeal, and lawyers are obliged to file an appeal, unless explicitly directed not to by their clients.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> Although understandable, it is a shame that the Court of Appeal judgment will likely get more attention than the Court of Cassation judgment reversing it. Equally, it is unfortunate that although the Court of Cassation came to the right decision, it did so without fully acknowledging the extent of the UAE’s commitments under the NY Convention. In any event, there has been considerable progress in Dubai’s legal system in recent years with the courts working to support the rising popularity of arbitration in the UAE. The Court of Appeal decision should not obscure or detract from this progress.</span></p>'),
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(99898, 5429, 'content_description', 'The proposed changes to the Saudi Arabian bankruptcy regime will provide the judiciary the right to obligate creditors to accept a settlement proposed by the debtor (the “new Law”).\r\n\r\n'),
(99899, 5429, '_content_description', 'field_59b641c07f473'),
(99900, 5429, 'pageSummary', 'The proposed changes to the Saudi Arabian bankruptcy regime will provide the judiciary the right to obligate creditors to accept a settlement proposed by the debtor (the “new Law”).'),
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(99909, 5430, 'content', '<p class=\"p1\"><strong>I. General Reform Framework</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\">The Egyptian Government recently undertook a series of economic reforms in order to regulate a market that has been severely weakened since the 2011 uprising. The uprising and the security gap that followed drove away tourists and foreign investors, thus leading to a severe shortage in foreign currency reserves and a sharp decline of the value of the Egyptian pound.  The Egyptian Government is therefore reducing foreign currency expenditures by controlling imports.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\">The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry issued a Decree on the rules for the Registration of Factories and Trademark Owners eligible to export their products to the Arab Republic of Egypt in January 2016, 43/2016 (the ‘Ministerial Decree’). Accordingly a new register has been created at the General Organization of Exports &amp; Imports Control (‘GOEIC’), where all said factories and trademark owners must register if they wish their products to be imported into Egypt.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\">The Egyptian Central Bank (‘CBE’) followed by adopting a series of measures aiming at reducing the Egyptian imports bill. The CBE has imposed strict rules on financing imports by giving priority to essential goods over luxury products. The CBE’s action consisted of requiring importers to provide 100% cash deposits at banks on their letters of credit to make it very difficult for importers to open letters of credit and clear cargos.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\">Both reforms have been followed by a Presidential Decree issued to increase customs tariffs on a number of products 25/2016. This measure aims at increasing Egypt’s revenues, encourage local production and enhance competitiveness of local companies against foreign companies. The products subject to the custom tariffs increase have all an equivalent local product in Egypt. Whether such measure is in conformity with the international agreements on tariffs remains to be seen.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>II. Ministerial Decree 43/2016.</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>A. Scope of application.</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\">The Ministerial Decree answers to a general policy of monitoring products that are being exported to Egypt in order to protect the end consumer from products of unknown source. All exporters who produce the products listed in the annex to the regulation must apply international standards of quality management control systems and make all their products and distribution centres that export the said products known to Egypt.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\">The following is the list of products for which registration is required:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Milk and its products for retail sale;</li>\r\n 	<li>Preserved and dried fruits for retail sale;</li>\r\n 	<li>Oils and fats for retail sale;</li>\r\n 	<li>Sugar Confectionaries;</li>\r\n 	<li>Chocolate and food products containing cocoa for retail sale;</li>\r\n 	<li>Pastas and prepared foods from cereals and bread products and pastries;</li>\r\n 	<li>Fruit juices for retail sale;</li>\r\n 	<li>Natural, Mineral water and aerated water;</li>\r\n 	<li>Beauty and make-up products, preparations for oral and dental hygiene, personal deodorants and antiperspirants, perfumed preparations;</li>\r\n 	<li>Soap and washing preparations used as soap for retail sale;</li>\r\n 	<li>Cutlery and kitchen utensils;</li>\r\n 	<li>Bath tubs, sinks, wash basins, toilets, toilet seats and covers thereof;</li>\r\n 	<li>Toilet paper, cosmetic paper, diapers and towels;</li>\r\n 	<li>Tableware, cutlery and kitchenware;</li>\r\n 	<li>Table glassware;</li>\r\n 	<li>Reinforced steel;</li>\r\n 	<li>Household appliances;</li>\r\n 	<li>Home and office furniture;</li>\r\n 	<li>Regular bicycles, motorbikes, motorized bikes;</li>\r\n 	<li>Watches;</li>\r\n 	<li>Lighting devices for home use;</li>\r\n 	<li>Toys;</li>\r\n 	<li>Textiles, clothing, furnishing, carpets, blankets and footwear except PPE and medical use clothes;</li>\r\n 	<li>Carpets;</li>\r\n 	<li>Footwear.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>B. Impact on imports.</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\">All companies and factories that do not comply with the registration requirements will be prohibited from exporting their products to Egypt. The products of non registered entities have not been allowed to enter the territories of the Arab Republic of Egypt since mid-march 2016 after a two month grace period was granted to all exporters as from the issuance date of the Ministerial Decree in January 2016.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\">The GOEIC has constantly been deploying registrations as a deliberate practice to reduce demand on imports. The timeframe for completing registrations has increased from days or weeks to a time span of months.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\">It is expected that these measures will be abolished once the main problem of foreign currency is solved hopefully with the return of income generated by tourism and foreign direct investment.</p>'),
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(99883, 5428, 'content_description', 'The Labour Law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been supplemented by secondary legislation.  The most significant of these, the Executive Regulations promulgated by Ministerial Resolution No. 693/1 of 29/2/1428H, have been replaced by the Executive Regulations promulgated by Ministerial Resolution No. 1982 dated 28/6/1437H (the “Regulations”). These came into effect on 22nd April 2016 and follow the amendments to the Labour Law that were introduced towards the end of last year. This article considers the amendments and their impact.  '),
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(99885, 5428, 'pageSummary', 'The Labour Law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been supplemented by secondary legislation. The most significant of these, the Executive Regulations promulgated by Ministerial Resolution No. 693/1 of 29/2/1428H, have been replaced by the Executive Regulations promulgated by Ministerial Resolution No. 1982 dated 28/6/1437H (the “Regulations”). These came into effect on 22nd April 2016 and follow the amendments to the Labour Law that were introduced towards the end of last year. This article considers the amendments and their impact.'),
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(99894, 5429, 'content', 'June - July 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Ministry of Commerce and Investment is currently in the latter stages of reforming the Kingdom’s bankruptcy laws and regulations. The new Law is intended to replace certain sections in the Commercial Court Law and the Bankruptcy Protecting Settlement Law dealing with bankruptcy.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The new Law comprises detailed rules designed to create a legal framework aimed at protecting the number and size of private investment projects through the preservation of the economic value that those projects add to the economy.  To achieve this, the new Law gives priority to the provision of assistance to debtors through reconciliation procedures for the debtor that is financially stressed, enabling reorganisation of the debtor’s business.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">The new Law will adopt a number of mechanisms designed to increase the prospects of success of the above objectives.  As an example, a creditor may not be allowed to take any action against the debtor beyond the actions stipulated in the new Law.  One such available action will be to permit or prevent the implementation of enforcement requests on security interests (charges/mortgages) when enforcement could actually result in stopping a debtor from pursuing an opportunity to reach a settlement with all creditors.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The new Law also empowers the judicial authorities to oblige creditors to accept the arrangement proposed by a debtor that is in dire financial difficulties to settle its debts.  The judicial authorities may also prevent the parties involved in contracts with the debtor from exercising an option to terminate the relevant contract in circumstances where the termination relates to a debtor in default, in serious financial difficulty or even when the debtor is entering a stage of bankruptcy.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">From the creditor’s perspective, the new Law recognises the importance of preserving creditors’ rights by distinguishing between debtors having a reasonable opportunity to resume their business where they can fulfil their obligations, from those debtors who are not expected to bring their business back to a level that could satisfy the creditors’ expectations and achieve settlement of their financial obligations.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is also understood that there will be restrictions relating to debtors exercising certain rights against creditors.  For example, the majority of creditors must approve debt settlement arrangements, creditors must adhere to the ranking of the debts and some sort of priority may be given to those creditors that have not exercised their termination rights.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The new Law is expected to include a number of provisions particularly dealing with small and medium size companies in order to encourage the growth of these types of businesses.  Small and medium size entities facing financial difficulties will be treated differently in terms of rectifying those difficulties.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In addition, the new Law is also expected to be in line with the business activities report issued by the International Bank for 2015, which indicates that developed bankruptcy regulations provide solutions to maintain the continuity of projects that face financial difficulties, thereby enabling these projects to survive and then continue to operate efficiently.  The main purpose of any developed bankruptcy law is to bring back the debtor to its normal business practice as soon as possible and to increase the settlement of debts.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">On the other hand, the new Law will address those projects that are faced with financial difficulties and lacking in operational efficiency to such an extent that the ability to continue is compromised.  In these circumstances, the new Law will propose liquidation and the placement of the remaining assets under proper management moving forward.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Whilst some legal commentators anticipate that the new Law will be issued during 2016, most will expect that this will not occur prior to the first quarter of 2017.</p>'),
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(99860, 5427, 'content', 'June - July 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">According to the New Law, the official fees for filing a trademark application have increased from BHD 30 (USD $79) to BHD 100 (USD $265); the fee for obtaining a registration certificate has increased from BHD 60 (USD $160) to a staggering BHD 500 (USD $1,320); and, renewal fees have increased from BHD 60 (USD $160) to BHD 550 (USD $1,460).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The New Law not only increases the fees, it also sets additional non-extendable deadlines, such as the 90-day period from the date of the official notification, within which to complete the application (Article 6 of the New Law). At the same time, other deadlines have been modified, such as the time limit within which an appeal against a refusal of an application must be lodged, previously 30 days, which has now been set to 60 days (Article 7 of the New Law).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In general, the procedures for filing an application up to registration remain unchanged. Amongst the information to be provided in the application are the applicant’s name, the applicant’s representative’s name, a detailed description of the subject trademark, and the classes of goods and services covered by the trademark. As a next step, the Industrial Property Office examines the application within 90 days from the date of submission. Once the trademark has been accepted, the trademark will be published in the online Trademarks Special Publications Gazette.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">A period of 60 days from the date of publication is provided to any third party who may want to file an opposition against the published trademark. If the trademark is published without any third party opposition, the trademark passes to the next phase also known as the registration phase. It should be further added that the registration is also published in the online Trademarks Special Publications Gazette.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The reason behind issuing the New Law and its implementing regulations, as issued by the GCC Commercial Cooperation Committee, is to enhance economic cooperation between the GCC countries. Although the implementing regulations determine the current official fees to be applied, the same regulations reaffirm that member states of the GCC may amend the mentioned official fees according to their own standards.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">How this increase in the official fees will affect the number of trademark applications filed in Bahrain, and trademark prosecution as a whole, is a recurring question and one that will be answered by time. Nonetheless, it is possible that, due to the increase in fees, brand owners may forgo some trademark applications as a result of budget constraints. With a decrease in trademark registrations, brand owners might face more infringements to their brand, which begs the question whether the repercussions of the New Law may in fact undermine its very purpose, to foster economic growth. Time will tell.</p>'),
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(99866, 5427, 'pageSummary', 'One of the subjects of note for lawyers, IP professionals and trademark owners recently is the noticeable increase in the official fees in relation to trademarks procedures in Bahrain; the increases have been implemented through GCC Law No. 6 of 2014 and its implementing regulations (the “New Law”).'),
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(99879, 5428, 'content', 'June - July 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Introduction</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Regulations codify a number of the ministerial resolutions that followed in the wake of the Labour Law in 2005, and augment the recent amendments of October 2015.  They also update the Ministry of Labour’s template employer’s policy handbook – the Work Organisation Regulation - and, for the first time, introduce a standard form employment contract.  </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Key Points </span></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">The key points to note in the Regulations are as follows:</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">1. Temporary/Casual Contracts</span></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Temporary or casual employment contracts that continue beyond 90 days will become full employment contracts to which all of the provisions of the Labour Law will apply.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">2. Employment Handbook </span></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Employment Handbook will be in the standard form at Annex 1 to the Regulations and will be approved if adopted without modification, or if modified to include additional terms and conditions it will be approved following review by the Ministry of Labour provided that the modifications do not contradict the Labour Law, the Regulations and any applicable Ministerial Resolutions.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Employers that have an existing Employment Handbook that has been approved by the Ministry of Labour are exempted from submitting it in the new standard form if it conforms to the Labour Law as amended and the Regulations.  If it does not conform then employers must submit an amended version for approval by the Ministry within six months of the Regulations coming into effect.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">3. Disabled Workers </span></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Employers with 25 or more employees who can provide work that can be performed by a disabled person are already obligated by Article 28 of the Labour Law to ensure that 4 per cent of their workforce is comprised of disabled employees.  The Regulations now define a disabled person as being any person who is proven through a medical report issued by the Ministry of Health or a government hospital or who holds an ID card issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs as suffering from one or more of the following permanent disabilities: </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">vision/hearing/mental/physical/motion disability, learning difficulties, speech difficulties, behavioural disorders, emotional disorders, autism or any other disability requiring any form of facilitating arrangements and services.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Annex 3 to the Executive Regulations sets out a table of the facilitating arrangements and services that employers are required to make to modify and adapt the work conditions and physical environment to enable the disabled person to perform work.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">All employees can avail themselves of facilitating arrangements and services to enable them to perform the duties of their role if they can prove by a medical report issued by the Ministry of Health or government hospital that they are affected by a disease or disability which does not cause them to be absent from work for more than 120 days from the date of injury.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Regulations make it clear that disabled workers have the same rights and privileges as other workers.  Further, discrimination because of disability is made unlawful and disability may not itself be a reason for the refusal to employ or promote workers with a disability or to not allow them to benefit from vocational training programs if they have the ability to work.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">4. Holidays </span></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Where public holidays fall on the weekly rest days then the worker will be entitled to the same number of days holiday in lieu to be taken before or after the holiday.  Where public holidays fall on the days that the worker is on annual leave then this will be extended by the public holidays and where they coincide with days that the worker is on sick leave then the worker will be entitled to full pay for the holiday in addition to his entitlement to sick pay.  Where the National Day holiday coincides with either of the Eid holidays then the worker will not receive a day in lieu for it.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Employees who take annual leave and fall sick will have their annual leave suspended until after the sick leave period expires at which point their annual leave shall resume.  Employees will not be compensated for weekly rest days that fall within any period of sick leave</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">5. Expatriate Workers</span></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Regulations list the professions and job roles that expatriate workers cannot perform and which can only be occupied by Saudi nationals.  They also set out the conditions, controls and procedures for recruiting expatriate workers including the circumstances in which the Ministry of Labour may refuse applications for visas, and the circumstances in which the sponsorship of an expatriate worker can transfer to another employer and the conditions and procedures for transferring sponsorship. Further, they clarify the circumstances in which a transfer of sponsorship will not occur and the conditions and procedures for changing the profession of an expatriate worker.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The conditions under which the passports of non-Saudi national workers can be held by employers is also dealt with so that they cannot be acquired without their written consent; which must be given in the form approved by the Regulations.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">6. Training </span></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Regulations set out the conditions and rules that employers must follow to comply with Article 42 of the Labour Law to prepare their Saudi national workers to gradually replace their expatriate workforce, and the rules and standards for training of workers which are required by Article 44 of the Labour Law.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong>7. Codification of Ministerial Resolutions</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The secondary legislation containing the rules and regulations regarding part-time workers further to Article 140 of the Labour Law, the procedures for notification of work injuries in accordance with Articles 141, and the employment of minors further to Article 161 set out in numerous ministerial resolutions is brought together for the first time under the Regulations.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong>8. Standard Form Contract</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">A standard form employment contract is introduced by the Regulations with obligatory clauses which must be included in all contracts.    </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">9. Miscellaneous</span></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Regulations also deal with a number of other matters including:</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Setting out the procedure for agreeing an extension of the probationary period from 90 days to 180 days;</li>\r\n 	<li>Increasing the maximum annual overtime hours that an employee can be required to work without his consent;</li>\r\n 	<li>Defining the “preparatory or supplemental works” and “work that is intermittent by necessity” under Article 108 of the Labour Law and the roles of guard and janitor, and setting the limit on the working hours for preparatory or supplemental works, and intermittent work;</li>\r\n 	<li>Describing the rules regarding the entitlement of female employees to breastfeed a child of up to 24 months of age during working hours;</li>\r\n 	<li>Setting out the rules and procedures for the establishment of committees for applying penalties for breaches of the Labour Law and committees to hear objections or appeals against the application of penalties; and</li>\r\n 	<li><span class=\"s1\">Detailing the time periods for rectifying a breach of the Labour Law which is one month from the date a penalty is applied and time limit for payment of a penalty fine which is 15 business days from the date of the notification of the administrative resolution or final judgment imposing the fine.</span></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Recommended Steps for Employers</span></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Employers will rightly want to focus on reviewing their employment contracts and the Work Organisation Regulation to ensure they are compliant with the standard form documents.  Where contracts have not been reviewed in recent times then employers will want to take this opportunity to bring them up to date with the Labour Law amendments.  Sickness and annual leave policies should also be reviewed to deal with weekly rest days and sickness absences that coincide with public holidays and annual leave.  Finally, employers with disabled staff or those who qualify for facilitating arrangements and services will have to ensure that they have in place the workplace adaptations required by Annex 3 of the Regulations.  </span></p>'),
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(99852, 5426, '_lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorName', 'field_59e59ad5d15dd'),
(99853, 5426, 'lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorEmail', 'h.abdelrazek@tamimi.com'),
(99850, 5426, '_currentURL', 'field_59d35123ab1e7'),
(99851, 5426, 'lawUpdateArticleNoWriters_0_lawUpdateAuthorName', 'El Hassan Abdelrazek'),
(99842, 5426, '_content', 'field_59b649b5c8b2b'),
(99843, 5426, 'lawUpdateArticleMonth', '5401'),
(99844, 5426, '_lawUpdateArticleMonth', 'field_59da2a396b063'),
(99845, 5426, 'content_description', 'Driven by the need to diversify the State of Kuwait’s sources of income and the enhancement of its investment environment, Kuwait is currently witnessing substantial legislative and regulatory reform. Numerous laws and regulations are being issued to replace outdated legislation that was unable to keep up with the ever changing investment environment.  '),
(99846, 5426, '_content_description', 'field_59b641c07f473'),
(99847, 5426, 'pageSummary', 'Driven by the need to diversify the State of Kuwait’s sources of income and the enhancement of its investment environment, Kuwait is currently witnessing substantial legislative and regulatory reform. Numerous laws and regulations are being issued to replace outdated legislation that was unable to keep up with the ever changing investment environment.'),
(99848, 5426, '_pageSummary', 'field_59e59b307dec8'),
(99808, 5424, '_content', 'field_59b649b5c8b2b'),
(99809, 5424, 'lawUpdateArticleMonth', '5401'),
(99810, 5424, '_lawUpdateArticleMonth', 'field_59da2a396b063'),
(99811, 5424, 'content_description', 'The Sultanate’s nascent competition and anti-trust law has not yet been litigated or applied by way of enforcement action.  That is no reason, however, for potential acquirers of business assets in the territory, whether by way of asset purchase, share purchase or certain joint venture arrangements, to not be aware of the law and ensure they comply with it. '),
(99812, 5424, '_content_description', 'field_59b641c07f473'),
(99813, 5424, 'pageSummary', 'The Sultanate’s nascent competition and anti-trust law has not yet been litigated or applied by way of enforcement action. That is no reason, however, for potential acquirers of business assets in the territory, whether by way of asset purchase, share purchase or certain joint venture arrangements, to not be aware of the law and ensure they comply with it.'),
(99814, 5424, '_pageSummary', 'field_59e59b307dec8'),
(99815, 5424, 'currentURL', 'http://www.tamimi.com/en/magazine/law-update/section-14/jun-jul/competitive-edge-competition-and-anti-monopoly-law-in-oman.html'),
(99816, 5424, '_currentURL', 'field_59d35123ab1e7'),
(99817, 5424, 'lawUpdateArticleWriters_0_lawUpdateArticleWriter', '600'),
(99818, 5424, '_lawUpdateArticleWriters_0_lawUpdateArticleWriter', 'field_59da2ac06b065'),
(99819, 5424, 'lawUpdateArticleWriters', '1'),
(99820, 5424, '_lawUpdateArticleWriters', 'field_59da2a866b064'),
(99821, 5424, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'As we see more clients with significant market power acquire business assets in the territory, we find ourselves having to advise that transactions must be notified to the Authority for clearance before consummation.'),
(99822, 5425, 'content', 'June - July 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">By virtue of Article 41 of the Customs Law, infringing products are prohibited from being imported into Jordan. Article 41 lists the courses of action in relation to imported infringing goods. Specifically, seizure and notification of the holder of the right by virtue of Article 41(D) of the Customs Law, which states that:</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">“The director or a customs officer duly authorized by the director may halt the procedures of clearing and releasing of goods, if he is convinced based on clear evidence that there is an infringement of intellectual property right in cases of copyright infringement and trademark counterfeiting ….</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is also imperative to note that Article 171 of the Customs Law states that Customs Department officials,  while carrying out their duties, shall be considered as Judicial Officers, within the limits of their specialities.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In the event that a shipment is imported containing infringing goods, then such shipment would be seized and the clearance and release procedures would be halted by the Customs officials with the holders of the right being notified of the same.  There are two Customs Departments in Jordan that a right-holder must register with in order to fully be protected: One is the Central Customs Department and the other is the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority’s Customs Department. Each has a separate registration system, as follows:</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>1.   Jordanian Customs Department:</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The authority covers all Jordan and all its borders except for Aqaba. The privileges and protection afforded to trademarks registered with the Customs Department allows the same to carry out an inspection on any goods entering Jordan, for the purpose of verifying the authenticity of the imported goods. Should any doubts arise in relation to the authenticity of the goods, the department will seize the goods and notify the registered legal representatives of such goods. The registration with this authority shall stay valid as long as the mark is valid.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>2.   Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (“ASEZA”).</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Registration with ASEZA may prove especially useful in protecting any registered trademark, in light of it being the only sea port point of entry into Jordanian Territories. Registration with ASEZA allows for the notification of the owner of a trademark, via their registered legal representative, of any suspected counterfeit goods imported into the area. Further, a registration certificate is granted to any trademark registered in ASEZA to testify the same. However, unlike the Jordanian Customs Department, the registration with ASEZA would require annual renewal.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">Registration with one of the above authorities does not extend the protection cover granted thereby to the other, as the Aqaba Special Economic Zone is a separate zone from any other Jordanian territory, governed by a specific and differentiated set of laws. Therefore, it is recommended to record the trademarks with both authorities in order to ensure a wider protection that covers all entry points to the country.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">The following documents are required to carry out registration with the above-mentioned authorities:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Duly notarized Power of Attorney, appointing the legal representative.</li>\r\n 	<li>Certified copy of the registration certificate of the relevant trademarks.</li>\r\n 	<li>CD including a soft copy of the trademark.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p1\">A registration request is then submitted to the Jordanian Customs Department and ASEZA Customs Authority, containing the number of trademarks and their classes for the purpose of registering the trademarks. This should also include the logo(s).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Customs authority would, after halting the procedures, notify the importer and right-holder, as per the contact information recorded, of the decision to suspend the clearance and release procedures. The contacted legal representative of the right-holder is then shown the suspected goods and the same shall have the right to photograph the suspected goods for the purposes of confirming the suspicion by the right-holder.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">According to Article 41(D)(2) of the Customs Law, if the Customs Department is not notified that a case has been filed within eight days from the date of notifying the right-holder (or their legal representative) of the decision to suspend the clearance and release procedures, then the goods shall be released after it is confirmed that all legal importation requirements have been met.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Therefore, a right-holder must register a claim before the competent court within this period in order to be protected. A letter will then be issued by the court, informing the Customs Department to not release the goods until a final and binding decision has been issued regarding the claim.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The claim registered in court would be based on Article 37 of the Jordanian Trademark Law No. 33 of 1952, which states the offences and punishments as follows:</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">“1- Whomever commits any of the following deeds, with the intention to deceive, shall be penalized by an imprisonment term of no less than three months and no more than one year, or a fine of no less than 100 Jordanian Dinars and of no more than 6000 Jordanian Dinars or both penalties:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>counterfeits a trademark registered under the law, imitates it in any other way that misleads the public, or affixes a counterfeit or imitated mark on the same class of goods for which a trademark had been registered.</li>\r\n 	<li>illegally uses a trademark owned by another on the same class of goods for which that trademark is registered.</li>\r\n 	<li>sells, posses for the purpose of selling or offers for sale, goods bearing a trademark whose use is regarded as an offense under paragraphs (A) and (B) of this Article if they had knowledge of the same beforehand.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">2- Notwithstanding what is mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, whoever sells, or offers for sale, or possesses for the purpose of selling goods bearing a trademark whose use is regarded as a crime by virtue of paragraphs (A) and (B) of clause 1 shall be penalized by a fine of no less than 50 Jordanian Dinars and no more than 500 Jordanian Dinars…”</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In the event that the claim succeeds, a penalty in the range set out above will be imposed. Additionally, in practise, the court also orders that the goods which are the subject matter of the claim be destroyed, with the costs of such destruction being usually borne solely by the infringing party.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">There is currently a new  draft Customs Law currently being discussed in Parliament. The proposed law shall extend the legal period to file a claim after being notified, from eight days to ten working days as of the day following notification. This is an important change as it would afford right holders more time to confirm and communicate with their legal representatives and would no longer count weekends and holidays as part of the legal period, further protecting intellectual property rights.</p>'),
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(99824, 5425, 'lawUpdateArticleMonth', '5401'),
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(99826, 5425, 'content_description', 'The Jordanian Customs Department plays an important role in the enforcement of a protected right. Specifically, the Intellectual Property Unit within the Customs Department is the authority responsible for the protection of Intellectual Property rights, Trade Mark rights and other related rights. Intellectual Property rights are defined under Article 43 of the Customs Law No. 20 of 1998 (the ”Customs Law”) as copyrights and related rights, trademarks, patents, layout-designs of integrated circuits, undisclosed information, industrial designs, industrial models and geographical indications.'),
(99827, 5425, '_content_description', 'field_59b641c07f473'),
(99828, 5425, 'pageSummary', 'The Jordanian Customs Department plays an important role in the enforcement of a protected right. Specifically, the Intellectual Property Unit within the Customs Department is the authority responsible for the protection of Intellectual Property rights, Trade Mark rights and other related rights. Intellectual Property rights are defined under Article 43 of the Customs Law No. 20 of 1998 (the ”Customs Law”) as copyrights and related rights, trademarks, patents, layout-designs of integrated circuits, undisclosed information, industrial designs, industrial models and geographical indications.'),
(99829, 5425, '_pageSummary', 'field_59e59b307dec8'),
(99830, 5425, 'currentURL', 'http://www.tamimi.com/en/magazine/law-update/section-14/jun-jul/customs-law-in-jordan.html'),
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(99838, 5425, 'lawUpdateArticleNoWriters', ''),
(99839, 5425, '_lawUpdateArticleNoWriters', 'field_59e59aaed15dc'),
(99840, 5425, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'The Jordanian Customs Department plays an important role in the enforcement of a protected right. Specifically, the Intellectual Property Unit within the Customs Department is the authority responsible for the protection of Intellectual Property rights, Trade Mark rights and other related rights.'),
(218800, 7654, '_languages', 'field_59b270e3b438f'),
(99841, 5426, 'content', 'June - July 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">While the regulatory reform covers many areas, the Capital Market Authority (the “Authority”) has recently issued new by laws, which arguably remain one of the most significant legislative changes Kuwait has witnessed in a generation.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">The new bylaws were issued in early November 2015 and, for most part, repeal the previous bylaws issued in 2010 and most of the resolutions and circulars issued by the Authority’s Board of Commissioners from 2011 to 2015. The new bylaws are broken down into 16 ‘Books’ covering many aspects of the capital markets and securities regulatory system. One of the most important books of the bylaws however, is Book 11, which addresses the dealing and trading in securities, among several other issues that pertain to the issuance and offering of securities in Kuwait.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">One of the most important characteristics of Book 11 is that it bifurcates the issuance process (chapters 1 and 2) from the offering process (chapter 5). The requirements for each, as will be further illustrated below, depend on a number of factors, including the nature of the issuer (i.e. a Kuwaiti or foreign entity), the issuance mechanism (i.e. directly by the issuer or indirectly through a special purpose vehicle), and the targeted investors (i.e. the public or to certain qualified/professional investors).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">While Book 11 contains 14 chapters, we shall focus on chapters 1,2 and 5.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Chapters 1 and 2</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">Generally speaking, Book 11 applies to the issuance of any “security” whatever its nature or purpose of issuance. Companies may not issue “securities”, whether directly or indirectly (i.e. through a special purpose vehicle) or offer the same for subscription by any third party unless the approval of the Authority has been secured.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is important to note that “securities” is defined under the bylaws as any deed or instrument  of whatever legal form evidencing a share in a tradable funding process that is licensed by the Authority, such as:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Shares issued by or proposed to be issued in a company’s capital.</li>\r\n 	<li>Any instrument creating or declaring a debt issued or to be issued by a company.</li>\r\n 	<li>Loans, bonds, sukuk and other instruments transferrable into shares in the capital of a company.</li>\r\n 	<li>All general debt instruments which are tradable, issued by various government bodies, public authorities or institutions.</li>\r\n 	<li>Any right, option or derivatives related to any securities.</li>\r\n 	<li>Units in collective investment schemes.</li>\r\n 	<li>Any paper or deed which the Authority considers as a security for the objectives of implementing the law and regulations.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is worth noting, however, that commercial papers such as cheques, bills of exchange and bearer bonds are not considered securities, as well as documentary credits, cash transfers and instruments traded exclusively by banks, insurance policies and rights of beneficiaries arising from retirement funds.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">For the purposes of issuing securities, Kuwaiti entities, specifically shareholding companies, must secure the Authority’s approval for such issuance. The issuance approval process is necessary whether the issuance of the securities is direct or indirect. Bonds and sukuk may be issued by shareholding companies directly, or indirectly through a special purpose vehicle that is established either onshore or offshore. Chapter 7 of Book 11 promulgates the rules and regulations regarding the establishment and governance of onshore special purpose vehicles in more detail.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">For the purposes of the issuance approval process, a template application outlining the necessary information regarding the particulars of the underlying securities must be completed and submitted to the Authority. Along with the said application, a set of documents, most notably, the constitutional and financial documents of the issuer, evaluation of the real estate assets backing the securities (if any) and a rough draft of the prospectus (where applicable) are also submitted to the Authority for review and approval. The Central Bank of Kuwait’s approval is required by the Authority as a prerequisite for banks and financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The expected timeline for the Authority to review and accept or decline the issuance approval application is 30 days from receipt of all necessary documents and information to the Authority.  The Authority’s approval of the application, however, does not necessarily mean that the securities may be offered immediately. While that may be the case in instances where the issuance is exclusively taking place outside of Kuwait, the offering of securities in Kuwait, whether on public or private placement basis, requires an approved prospectus that is compliant with the rules and regulations of the Authority.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Chapter 3</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">This chapter sets out the evaluation of in-kind shares, whether tangible or intangible. In the event that the share capital of an entity, upon incorporation or upon the increase in the issued capital, includes in-kind shares, or in the event the subscription consideration in a security is in-kind and non-cash, the in-kind share must be evaluated by a company licensed by the Authority to undertake “asset evaluation” activities. The rules and regulations pertaining to the licensed activities in general, and asset evaluation in particular, are set out in Book 5 of the byelaws.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The evaluation of in-kind assets could be requested by the issuer of the securities and the shareholders thereof, or by the court in the event of asset foreclosure.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Chapter 4</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">For the purposes of issuing bonds and sukuk, the issuer, in the event of direct issuance, or the obligor, in the event of indirect issuance through a SPV, must provide to the Authority one or more reports issued by a credit rating agency. The rating itself is also an activity that requires prelicensing by the Authority. The rules and regulations pertaining to rating agencies are also included under Book 5 of the bylaws.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">With the exception of public offerings of bonds and sukuk, the Authority may exempt the issuer or obligor from the rating agency report requirement.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Chapter 5</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">Chapter 5 sets out the requirements for the offering of securities in Kuwait by Kuwaiti or foreign entities, when such offering targets certain qualified or professional investors. In essence, no securities may be offered in Kuwait, whether by a Kuwaiti or foreign issuer, on a public or private placement basis, unless the securities were offered pursuant to an approved prospectus that is prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Authority.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Authority’s requirements for the prospectus differs according to the nature of the targeted investors. For instance, the requirements for a prospectus in the context of public offering, where the securities are offered to members of the public, is different than the requirements of the prospectus in the context of a private placement offering, where the securities are offered to qualified/professional investors.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Due to the nature and scale of the public offering, the information required by the Authority in relation to the prospectus is quite detailed and exhaustive. The required information is outlined under Chapter 5 and includes, the particulars of the securities being offered and rights assimilated thereto, the redemption mechanics of the securities, and extensive information regarding the issuer. It is worth noting that the public offering prospectus must be prepared and submitted to the Authority in Arabic (or translated into Arabic). Generally speaking, the detailed nature of the information required for a public offering, in addition to the requirement for an Arabic translation of the same, lengthens the approval process.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Authority’s requirements for the private placement’s prospectus are less onerous. It is worth noting that while the Authority also requires an Arabic version of the private placement prospectus, the required information in is not necessarily as extensive and detailed. However, the private placement prospectus must, at minimum, provide the necessary information required under clauses 5-11 of Chapter 5 (additional information in the prospectus will be required in relation to offering of bonds and sukuk).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p5\">A “qualified investor” or “professional investor” is defined under the bylaws as:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>A government, public authority, central bank or international organisation (e.g. the World Bank or International Monetary Fund).</li>\r\n 	<li>Entities licensed by the Authority, and other financial institutions subject to supervisory bodies inside or outside the State of Kuwait.</li>\r\n 	<li>A company whose paid up capital is not less than one million Kuwaiti dinar or the equivalent.</li>\r\n 	<li>An investor who has dealings or trading in securities in large or medium volumes is not less than 250,000 Kuwaiti dinar in each quarter for the past two years.</li>\r\n 	<li>The volume of funds and assets of the investor in one authorised person or more is not less than the value of 100,000 Kuwaiti dinar.</li>\r\n 	<li>The investor is working or worked previously in the financial sector for at least one year in a professional position, which requires knowledge of the transactions or services to be provided to him.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Finally it is also worth noting that, with exception to premium shares, shareholding companies may issue or offer shares for subscription without the need to obtain approval of their prospectus in any of the following circumstances:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>An invitation to no more than 50 persons in the State of Kuwait to subscribe in shares.</li>\r\n 	<li>An issue or offer shares of a total value not exceeding 1,000,000 Kuwaiti dinar within a period of 12 months from the date of the last issue.</li>\r\n 	<li>An issue of shares representing not more than 10% of the last issue of the same category of shares within a period not exceeding 12 months.</li>\r\n 	<li>An issue of bonus shares to be distributed in the form of dividends to the shareholders.</li>\r\n 	<li>An issue of shares within a personnel shares purchase option system.</li>\r\n 	<li>An issue of shares to the issuer’s creditors for the purpose of restructuring its debts.</li>\r\n 	<li>Any other cases determined by the Authority.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In any event, no promotional advertisements may be addressed to the public to subscribe in the said shares by using means available to the public.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">To the extent that the necessary information and documents are duly submitted to the Authority, the prospectus shall be effective after the lapse of 30 days, unless the Authority issues in writing its approval or rejection to the same. We note that in reality, however, the said timeframe may be extended.</p>'),
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(99791, 5423, '_content', 'field_59b649b5c8b2b'),
(99792, 5423, 'lawUpdateArticleMonth', '5401'),
(99793, 5423, '_lawUpdateArticleMonth', 'field_59da2a396b063'),
(99794, 5423, 'content_description', 'In line with Qatar National Vision 2030 and the hosting of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar has taken measures to stimulate many of its vital sectors by providing financial support and issuing related regulatory legislation and incentives mainly in the fields of infrastructure, hospitality, health, technology, media and telecommunications.'),
(99795, 5423, '_content_description', 'field_59b641c07f473'),
(99796, 5423, 'pageSummary', 'In line with Qatar National Vision 2030 and the hosting of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar has taken measures to stimulate many of its vital sectors by providing financial support and issuing related regulatory legislation and incentives mainly in the fields of infrastructure, hospitality, health, technology, media and telecommunications.'),
(99797, 5423, '_pageSummary', 'field_59e59b307dec8'),
(99798, 5423, 'currentURL', 'http://www.tamimi.com/en/magazine/law-update/section-14/jun-jul/qatar-stimulates-tmt-sector-growth.html'),
(99799, 5423, '_currentURL', 'field_59d35123ab1e7'),
(99800, 5423, 'lawUpdateArticleWriters_0_lawUpdateArticleWriter', '692'),
(99801, 5423, '_lawUpdateArticleWriters_0_lawUpdateArticleWriter', 'field_59da2ac06b065'),
(99802, 5423, 'lawUpdateArticleWriters_1_lawUpdateArticleWriter', '709'),
(99803, 5423, '_lawUpdateArticleWriters_1_lawUpdateArticleWriter', 'field_59da2ac06b065'),
(99804, 5423, 'lawUpdateArticleWriters', '2'),
(99805, 5423, '_lawUpdateArticleWriters', 'field_59da2a866b064'),
(99806, 5423, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'Qatar has taken measures to stimulate many of its vital sectors by providing financial support and issuing related regulatory legislation and incentives mainly in the fields of infrastructure, hospitality, health, technology, media and telecommunications.'),
(99807, 5424, 'content', 'June - July 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>The Law</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In Oman the Consumer Protection Authority (the ‘Authority’), amongst its other significant powers and duties, regulates the recently promulgated anti-trust and competition law.  The law was brought in to force by publication, in the Official Gazette, of the Competition Protection and Anti-Monopoly Law, issued by Sultani Decree number 67/2014 (the ‘Law’).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">As we see more clients with significant market power acquire business assets in the territory, we find ourselves having to advise that transactions must be notified to the Authority for clearance before consummation.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Key concepts</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">For the purpose of this article we set out the Law’s definitions of “Dominance” and “Economic Concentration”:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>‘Dominance’ means the ability of a person or group of persons acting together to ‘directly or indirectly’ co-engagein control over the concerned market, and hence, acquiring a rate exceeding (35%) thirty-five percent of the volume of this particular market.</li>\r\n 	<li>‘Economic Concentration’ means any act which leads to partial or full transfer of the assets, shares, interests, benefits or liabilities from one person to another or establishment of unions or mergers or combination of two managements or more under one common management which results in a person or groups of persons being in a dominant position in direct or indirect way.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Notification of prospective transactions</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Pursuant to Article 11 of the Law the persons who wish to carry out any act which would result in an economic concentration must submit a written request to the Authority informing the Authority about the proposed arrangements.  The Law is entirely clear that this requirement is mandatory.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Law is clear that notifiable transactions include: (a) share acquisitions; (b) asset sale and purchase transactions; (c) joint ventures; and (d) contractual arrangements that have the effect of establishing market dominance in the hands of an entity or entities acting in concert. Minority share acquisitions are not caught and only full function joint ventures are caught, although attempts to circumvent are unlikely to succeed given the way the economic concentration definition, cited above, has been drawn.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Law is silent on the point of who is responsible for notification but the presumption is that the acquirer is responsible for this.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Authority has to consider the application and issue a decision within a period not exceeding 90 days from the date of receipt.  If this period lapses without considering the application this should mean an implied consent.  The acts or subject matter of the application, cannot be completed without the issuance of the Authority’s decision or lapse of the period mentioned.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Penalties and appeals</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Failure to notify is currently punishable by imprisonment (between one month and three years) and/or a fine between RO10,000.00 (circa USD$26,000) and RO100,000.00.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">The applicant may appeal against any decision of the president of the Authority within 60 days in case of rejection of the application.  The appeal shall be considered within 30 days from the date of submission.  The lapse of the cited period without a response from the Authority shall be construed as an acceptance of the appeal.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Authority may cancel any approval if it becomes aware that the information provided by the applicant(s) is not accurate or is fraudulent.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>The 50% threshold</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Law provides that no transaction will be approved which leads to economic concentration through acquisition of more than 50% of the relevant market.  Despite this, in certain cases it can be argued that a party, or the parties, to a proposed transaction are already in control of the relevant market and therefore unconditional clearance should be granted. The force of that argument cannot be guaranteed, however, and it is open to the Authority to impose conditions to any approval it grants (such as a prohibition on price rises for a period, for example).  A thorough analysis of each specific set of circumstances and their merits should always be undertaken in any relevant situation.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Conclusions</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The current practice at the Authority is still evolving and there is some lack of clarity as to how and when the relevant provisions will be meaningfully enforced.  Despite the lack of enforcement action to date, acquirers are advised to comply with the Law even where it is tending to be ‘more observed in the breach’ at present. While this is, of course, our advice in all areas, we consider it particularly prudent in these matters.  We say such given the sanctions mention above and the scope for future measures which could well be applied retrospectively.  It is maybe not too cynical to think that significant market players, who choose not to exercise such prudence, may well look like attractive and legitimate candidates for fines, as governmental bodies look to increase revenues while oil prices are depressed.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">From the analysis above we can confirm our opinion that any well advised acquirer should seek clearance from the Authority in respect of any qualifying transaction.  Further, it must follow that it is best to err on the side of caution when analysing whether a transaction should or should not be notified.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Our experiences of these matters indicate that the Authority tends to make a determination well ahead of the 90 day time limit.  We have seen decisions returned within two weeks of application where any request for further information from the parties is delivered promptly.  Applications must, of course, always be handled sensitively, with due deference to the prevailing business interests of all parties involved.</p>'),
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(99790, 5423, 'content', 'June - July 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In relation to technology, media and telecommunications, Qatar’s commitment to support these sectors has seen the formation of the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Culture and Sports. These two recently-established Ministries are intended to consolidate efforts and focus on the development of the technology, media, telecommunications and sports sectors, as well as securing various expertise required to meet market demands.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">To further assist in the growth and development of these areas, an array of legislation has been issued, which aims at regulating these sectors and setting out related investment rules. While the general rule for foreign investment in Qatar is that a local Qatari partner must hold at least 51% of the shares of any business to be established in Qatar, the Qatar Foreign Investment Law No. 13 of 2000 as amended (the “Foreign Investment Law”) exempts governmental projects from the application of this rule. In particular, the Foreign Investment Law permits a foreign investor to establish a branch office (the “Branch”) that can be utilised in circumstances where a foreign investor is performing a specific governmental-related contract in Qatar in various sectors, including technology, media and telecommunications. Such a Branch shall be allowed to perform the specific contract for which it is registered and a Qatari partner is not necessary.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Foreign Investment Law also exempts some sectors from the application of the general rule, one such sector being information technology services.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Furthermore, in response to substantial technological advancements, the Supreme Council of Information and Communications Technology drafted Qatar’s first comprehensive e-Commerce law in 2010. The Electronic Commerce and Transactions Law No. 16 of 2010 (the “E-Commerce Law”) was enacted with the aim of facilitating and providing a clear legal framework to address matters such as electronic transactions and electronic signatures.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The E-Commerce Law also allowed for electronic or data messages to be used where a law requires that information or documents be in writing. This is provided that the information or document is accessible so as to be used for subsequent reference by every person that has a right to access the information or document. This was considered as a considerable development in evidentiary requirements for courts in Qatar.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Although the application of some of these initiatives may face practical challenges, they reflect Qatar’s vision to support the development of its economy and infrastructure and to develop the sectors including technology, media and telecommunications, by making it easier for foreign investors to do business in certain fields and modernising the ways in which commerce can be undertaken.</p>'),
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(99775, 5422, 'content', 'June - July 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The technology, media and telecommunications (“TMT”) sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Iraq, which has opened doors to the investment projects, as it responds to global innovation and the development of new technologies. Hence, the Iraqi government is encouraging foreign companies to invest in this field, which is a huge technology contest that generates a competing environment among the companies to provide their best services.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The TMT sector has witnessed, in the past few years, a substantial growth in respect of direct foreign investments, specifically in the field of internet and telecommunication services. In this article we will focus on the most important laws and regulation that govern this sector and the facilities thereof.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In 2004 the Coalition Provisional Authority (“CPA”) issued Order No. 65, the main objectives of which is to develop the communication infrastructure, which requires a predictable and sound regulatory regime that is conducive to attracting investments to this sector and to establishing the framework for full and fair competition among all providers.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In order to attract private sector investment and promote public confidence and accountability, by establishing an open and transparent regulatory organisation that reflects the international best practices, Order No. 65 established the Iraqi Communication and Media Commission ( “CMC”).  In accordance with the Iraqi Constitution and Order No. 65, the CMC is deemed to be an independent entity and non-profit-making administrative institution, which is solely responsible for regulating and licensing telecommunications, broadcasting, information services and other media in Iraq, and shall be committed to the principles of objectivity, transparency, non-discrimination, proportionality and due process in carrying out its duties.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is hoped that this initiative will place the communications sector as an engine of growth in the Iraqi economy, as it becomes an area of increasing employment opportunities in Iraq, in contradiction with the investment status in this field during the era of the former regime, which was close to non-existent with employment opportunities limited to those provided by the Iraqi Telecommunication and Post Company(“ITPC”) - the sole entity entrusted to manage and regulate the communication process in Iraq.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>The Role of the Regulators in Telecommunications</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Two governmental entities are competent to govern telecommunications licensing in Iraq - the CMC and the Ministry of Communications (“MoC”). The MoC operates two state-owned companies - the ITPC and the State Company for Internet Services (“SCIS”). The ITPC is responsible for the fibre optic network, the microwave backbone and limited Fixed Wireless Local Loop (WLL) CDMA network, whilst the SCIS is handling the internet subscribers and internet communication in Iraq, providing wireless internet access for government agencies, DSL and Dial up VOIP services and internet protocol (IP) address registration.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The CMC is the primary regulatory body in Iraq and is responsible for regulating telecommunications and media, promulgating policy for frequency management, and licensing wireless and telecommunications services. The CMC is Iraq’s first independent media and telecommunications regulator. The following are the most important licenses that the CMC grants:</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>1) Satellite Communications Stations (VSAT) </strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Upon obtaining the VSAT license, the licensee shall be authorised on a non-exclusive basis to provide the following services, on a retail and wholesale basis, in the licensed region and within the license term:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>VSAT date services;</li>\r\n 	<li>VSAT Internet services;</li>\r\n 	<li>VSAT VOIP;</li>\r\n 	<li>VSAT backhaul telecommunications services;</li>\r\n 	<li>Delivery over Licensee’s network of any text, sounds, images, audio and video programming (broadcast, on demand and/or interactive), information, data or other content and related information services.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Further, in order to provide the above-mentioned services the licensee will have the right, upon obtaining approval from the CMC, to construct, install, lease, own, operate and maintain a VSAT Network and interconnect its network with any VSAT network within the licensed area. It is important to note that at the moment this license is granted for Oil &amp; Gas companies which have contracts with the Ministry of Oil and the subcontractors of such companies. The license shall be effective for one year and renewal shall be subject to any amendments by the CMC.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>2) Importing telecommunications devices</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Importing telecommunications devices requires a permit from the CMC, which has set forth extensive requirements. The applicant must submit to the CMC a full description of the devices to be imported, accompanied units, and clarification of the brand name, model number and serial number It is impermissible to sell or supply telecommunications devices and accessories of whatever kind to any concerned party (whether governmental or private) without obtaining a frequency license from CMC in respect of these devices.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"> </span>3) Internet service providers (ISP)</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The CMC is the competent authority to issue a license, to efficient and experienced ISP applicants, to provide fixed internet services in Iraq upon and subject to the terms, conditions and obligations set forth to achieve the intended goals of increasing internet penetration in the country as well as ensuring high Quality of Service (QoS) levels. In addition, the term of this license shall be for three years starting on the date of issuance and it is renewable subject to the amendments of CMC, as the intention is to improve this license to make it in line with future Iraqi Telecommunications law. This license shall cover providing internet services, data services in closed circuit and visual and audio broadcasting services via the system’s data network. In order to provide the said services, the licensee shall have the right, upon approval of the CMC, to construct, install, purchase, lease, own, operate and maintain a network alone or jointly with others. It is important to note that the licensee must comply with the regulations of the CMC throughout the license period, otherwise the CMC shall have the right to suspend the license or impose fines and penalties upon the occurrence of certain violations set forth in the regulations.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>The future of the telecommunications sector in Iraq</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The ITPC should complete the FTTH projects to reach the whole country, improving the quality of internet services in Iraq at a better cost and improving the weak infrastructure. In addition, the MoC is willing to grant the fourth license in respect of cellular phone services. Such a license shall be a great opportunity for foreign telecommunications companies to enter into the Iraqi telecommunications market to compete the three current telecommunications companies in this field. Further, Iraq has recently launched 3G services with an intention to adopt 4G LTE in the near future. In the long term, there are plans for the MoC to be restructured into public/private partnerships including The National Mobile Company, an Iraq Telecommunication Company, an Internet Company and a National Infrastructure Company. The post office will likely become a separate agency. Furthermore, one of the major telecommunications companies in Iraq, cooperating with a licensed entity by CBI, has launched the Electronic Payment System through cellular services. To conclude, the Iraqi telecommunications market offers many opportunities once the civil unrest stabilises and the authorities and operators are able to concentrate again on telecommunications and digital growth.</p>'),
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(99760, 5421, 'content', 'June - July 2016\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">E-hailing, which is a relatively new term, is defined as the process of ordering a car, taxi, limousine, or any other form of transportation pickup via one’s own mobile, tablet or computer. The features of the service varies from one application/service provider to another but in basic terms, e-hailing involves the use of an application installed on the user’s device of choice, whereby the user books a trip or ‘hails a ride’ electronically by providing their desired pickup and drop location, either by entering an address or providing a current GPS location. There is no cash exchange involved in the process as the user’s credit card is linked to their e-hail account and the payment is processed electronically against a receipt sent to the user’s registered email address.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Despite being in popular demand in most jurisdictions, application-based taxi services have been the subject of much controversy since their introduction to Dubai’s transport sector.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Until recently, app-based taxi service providers in Dubai operated in a legal vacuum as there was no specific legislation to govern or regulate this service.  App-based taxi service providers operated in Dubai by contracting with a number of registered limousine companies that supply licensed drivers and vehicles. This work-around was seen as a solution until the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the responsible government transportation authority in the Emirate of Dubai, issued legislation to regulate the sector.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In a step towards finding commercially viable legal solutions and modernising the transportation of passengers sector in Dubai, on 7 March 2016 the Dubai Executive Council issued Resolution No.6 of 2016 ‘Regulating Passenger Transportation by Vehicles in the Emirate of Dubai’ (the “Resolution”).  The Resolution repealed Regulation No.1 of 2007 on ‘Practicing the Activity of Passenger Transportation by Taxis in the Emirate of Dubai’ and all other legal instruments to the extent they contradict with the provisions of the Resolution.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Under the recently published Resolution, app-based taxi service providers can only legally operate in Dubai after obtaining the required permits. Pursuant to the Resolution, the RTA’s Public Transport Agency (the “Agency”) is now responsible for processing requests related to the issuance of the following permits:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Permit for practising the activity of passenger transportation by taxis and luxury vehicles;</li>\r\n 	<li>A temporary permit for passenger transportation from Dubai to other Emirates by vehicles not licensed in Dubai;</li>\r\n 	<li>A professional Taxi Driver permit;</li>\r\n 	<li>A professional luxury vehicle driver permit; and</li>\r\n 	<li>A permit for practising the activity of providing passenger transportation by vehicles through phone calls, electronic means, smart applications or any other means.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p1\">A private company that offers transportation services to its customers through a smart app and which is interested in operating as a transport company in Dubai must apply to the Agency to obtain the permits that would allow it to offer passenger transport services through electronic means and smart applications. The term of the permits will be one year and can be renewed for similar terms. The applicant will have to comply with the relevant applicable conditions and procedures and to submit the necessary documents, all of which are mandated and set by the Agency.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Pursuant to the Resolution, it is now strictly prohibited to transport passengers by taxis and luxury vehicles in Dubai without obtaining the relevant permits from the Agency.  A penalty of AED 50,000 will be imposed on illegal transport firms, including app-based taxi service providers. An additional penalty of AED 5,000 will be imposed if transport services are offered through electronic or smart means without having the permit for it. The Resolution provides for other administrative penalties that address the operation of a taxi or luxury car by an unauthorised driver (AED 20,000 penalty), the use of unlicensed vehicles (AED 20,000 penalty), and the failure to install or operate the meter and/or the modification of the fare.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Despite this new found legal recognition, applicants may still not be able to follow their original business models as applied in other countries. For instance, in other jurisdictions some companies do not own their own fleet of cars or employ their own drivers. Instead, they contract with individuals with private cars to transport passengers using the company’s own app. This is not permissible in Dubai as under rules governing employment and immigration there are restrictions on carrying out such work for third parties. Instead, successful applicants who are granted operational permits will need to continue to contract with registered companies which supply licensed drivers and vehicles (luxury cars) also in accordance with the Resolution. The terms of those agreements will be subject to the RTA’s scrutiny and approval.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">All companies licensed to provide passenger transport activities within Dubai must comply with the technical specifications and safety measures set by the Agency. This would include adhering with the requirements put in place for the better service of physically challenged passengers. Other requirements pertain to the training of drivers, the number of vehicles through which a company may engage in the provision of its transport services, payable tariff and means of payment.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Resolution has met with some criticism, mainly on the basis that it is said to over-regulate the transport of passengers industry and does not allow companies to exploit the full potential of their business models. However it is clear that that the Resolution attempts to balance between the sometimes competing interests of passengers and the service providers. Considering the novelty of the Resolution and the fact that the target industry is still in its infancy, it is too early to determine whether the new legal framework will prove support for the growth of this untraditional, technology driven, transport solution.</p>'),
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(94356, 5124, 'content', 'April 2015\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Businesses offering Wi-Fi in the UAE need to be aware that the usage has to comply with certain requirements under regulations that were issued by the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (“TRA”) in 2009.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">“Wi-Fi” is a wireless local area network (“WLAN”) technology that allows an electronic device to connect to the internet using 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radio spectrum frequency bands.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Strictly “Wi-Fi “ refers to WLAN products based on a particular family of technical standards (i.e. IEEE 82.11) but the term “Wi-Fi” has become more commonly used than “WLAN” since most WLAN are based on the Wi-Fi standards.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Under <em>Federal Law by Decree No.3 of 2003</em> <em>Regarding Organisation of Telecommunications Sector, as amended</em> (“Telecoms Law”) the establishment and use of wireless transmission stations and the installation and use of any wireless transmission is expressly prohibited unless permitted by a radio spectrum authorization issued by the TRA.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The TRA’s regulations concerning <em>Use of 2.4 GHz and 5.8GHz bands for WLAN and RLAN</em> (“Wi-Fi Regulations”) expressly provide that the use of the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands “is allowed under Class Authorization” for indoor WLAN in the UAE for:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Any person to connect devices such as personal computers and smart devices.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Hotels , metro trains (inside trains and train stations) and airports to provide wireless internet connection for their customers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Public libraries and academic facilities such as university campuses, colleges and schools.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Entities inside buildings for private use.  This includes all type of data connectivity requirements like video data.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Internet Cafes provided that such cafes are responsible for providing the TRA, upon request, a detailed history of all registered users and their respective information.  The term “Internet Cafes” is not defined in the Wi-Fi Regulations, but as the regulations date back to 2009 probably refers to a retail establishment that rents computers by the hour.  Media articles at the time suggest that the record keeping policy was to address concerns that cyber crime was being done at public places to avoid detection.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Usage of indoor Wi-Fi must comply with the following requirements:</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">(1)     Internet access for an indoor Wi-Fi has to be obtained from a “Licensee of­fering Internet Service”.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">(2)     Use of Type Approved equipment</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">(3)     Use of VoIP is subject to the TRA policies and regulations.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The usage of the indoor Wi-Fi must also take into consideration any TRA Wi-Fi security guidelines.</p>\r\n<p class=\"DWTNorm\"><strong>Class Authorization</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"DWTNorm\">A “Class Authorization” is a radio frequency authorization from the TRA which permits the operation of a class of wireless equipment by any person within designated frequency bands subject to any terms and conditions stipulated therein.  For example, usage of short range devices meeting certain technical conditions (routers, cordless phones, blue tooth earpieces, baby monitors and garage openers) is permitted in the UAE under Class Authorization without a separate radio frequency authorization being required.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">A Class Authorization is equipment specific, rather than operator specific (i.e. once the wireless equipment has the radio frequency authorization, the equipment can be used by any person).</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Generally it is the manufacturer, importer or supplier of the wireless transmission equipment which applies for Class Authorization.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>Licensee of­fering Internet Service</strong><em> </em></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In the UAE as only Etisalat and du are licensed to operate and manage public telecommunications networks, only they can be the internet service provider for the indoor Wi—Fi.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>Type Approval</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Under the Telecoms Law it is prohibited to use, sell, offer for sale or connect to any public telecommunications network in the UAE any telecommunications terminal equipment that has not been type approved by the TRA (“Type Approval”).  Type Approval is achieved by registering the equipment with the TRA.   Applications for Type Approval are generally made by a manufacturer, importer or supplier who is themselves registered with the TRA (\"Registered Dealer\"). You do not have to register wireless equipment for Type Approval if you procure the equipment from a Registered Dealer yourself who already has Type Approval for the equipment.  If equipment has Type Approval the equipment or its packaging and user documentation will be clearly labeled with a label specifying both the TRA registration number and the dealer number.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>Use of VoIP</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) is a methodology and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol networks such as the Internet.  The term Internet Telephony is commonly associated with VoIP.  Skype, Viber and WhatsApp voice use VoIP.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">It is not intended to explain the legality of the use of VoIP in the UAE in this article.  For present purposes it is sufficient to recognise that the use of VoIP technology per se is not illegal, but to the extent that a VoIP service is a “Telecommunications Service” within the meaning of that term in the Telecoms Law, then it is not permitted to supply that Telecommunications Service to subscribers or to sell it in the UAE unless authorised by a license or otherwise allowed under the provisions of the Telecoms Law.  Only Etisalat and du are licensed to provide Telecommunications Services using the public telecommunications network.</p>\r\n<p class=\"ATC1\">VoIP services are specifically regulated under the TRA’s VoIP Policy issued 30 December 2009.   Etisalat and du are expressly permitted to block VoIP services over their networks that are Telecommunications Services under the Telecoms Law which are provided by a person not licensed to do so under the Telecoms Law unless instructed by the TRA to do otherwise.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>Security Guidelines</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Although the Wi-Fi Regulations specifically refer to guidelines issued by the TRA for addressing security issues on Wi-Fi, the TRA has not published any such guidelines publically.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Etisalat and du are required under their public telecommunications licences to comply with any directions of the TRA or other competent authority issued on matters relating to the public interest, safety and/or national security.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Consequently, in practice Etisalat and du pass on compliance with such directions to customers under their terms of service.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">For example, we understand that there is a direction that wireless internet access requires unique identifiers. du’s General Terms and Conditions for Business Services, March 2012, provides that services may include the use of unique identifiers and the customer must comply with the requirements of any regulatory body which administers these identifiers (clause 12.1).</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>Outdoor Wi-Fi</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">While the use of  indoor Wi-Fi is effectively allowed as of right under the Wi-Fi Regulations if the requirements discussed above are met, the  use of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands for outdoor Wi-Fi is only allow upon obtaining a specific frequency spectrum authorization from the TRA.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>What to do</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">If you are establishing a free indoor Wi-Fi at your business,  your telecommunications service provider should be aware of and assist you to comply with the laws for usage of indoor Wi-Fi.  However as you are ultimately responsible for compliance with the Wi-Fi Regulations you should do your due diligence when selecting the provider (for example, make sure only Type Approved equipment will be used).</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Al Tamimi &amp; Company’s specialist Technology, Media &amp; Telecommunications team is able to assist with legal issues related to Wi-Fi, VoIP or other ICT applications.</p>'),
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(101950, 5542, 'content', '<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Privacy as a fundamental right?</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">Before considering the implications on consumer privacy in the smart era, it is important to briefly touch on how privacy is protected in the law. Commentators on data protection in the UAE sometimes claim that the right to privacy is enshrined in the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates, and this forms a basis for analysing data protection issues. This would seem to be something of an overstatement when it comes to the Constitution’s treatment of privacy, where at Article 31 it simply says: ‘Freedom of communication by post, telegraph or other means of communication and the secrecy thereof shall be guaranteed in accordance with law’. The protection of personal data in the manner in which it is understood in the digital age is not contemplated in the Constitution of the UAE, and privacy is mentioned only in the context of privacy of post and communications.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Certainly around the Gulf, and across the broader region, the approach taken in the UAE is not out of the ordinary. While the claim to a fundamental right to privacy enshrined in the Constitution would be an overstatement, privacy is clearly a relevant concern in the context of doing business in the Middle East. All countries in the region have criminal prohibitions that, in some way, penalise unauthorised use and disclosure of personal information, as well as prohibitions or regulations specific to certain types of information or certain contexts – such as health records and information disclosed to medical professionals, or (for present purposes) consumer information in a telecoms context.  Using a very broad-brush approach, it is fair to say that in jurisdictions without a modern data protection regime, the best way to manage the processing of personal data is to do so on the basis of the consent of the data subject.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong>Telecoms sector considerations – customer data</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">In a telecoms context, and focussing on the regulation of telecoms licensees (rather than issues such as hacking and cyber crime), the approach taken to the protection of consumer data varies across the region. Ultimately, from many of the following examples, the protection of personal data relating to telecoms subscribers as handled by telecoms licensees can be seen as significantly more prescribed than the protection of personal data more generally under the law.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">By way of example, Article 12 of the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s Consumer Protection Regulations (Version 1.2 of 24 December 2015) places a number of clear obligations on telecoms licensees when it comes to the handling of subscribers’ information. Licensees have to take all reasonable and appropriate measures to prevent the unauthorised disclosure or the un-authorised use of subscriber information. They must take all reasonable measures to protect the privacy of subscriber information that they maintain in their files, and use reliable security measures against risks such as loss or unauthorised access, destruction, leakage, inappropriate use, modification and unauthorised disclosure. They must limit access to subscriber information to their trained and authorised personnel, who are bound to protect the licensee’s confidential information from unauthorised use and disclosure under the terms of a written agreement, and ensure that personnel engaged in the handling of subscriber information are fully aware of, and adequately trained in the licensee’s security and privacy protection practices. Licensees must obtain a subscriber’s prior consent before sharing any subscriber information with their affiliates and other third parties not directly involved in the provision of the telecommunications services ordered by the subscriber. Where it is necessary to provide subscriber information to affiliates or other third parties who are directly involved in the supply of the telecommunications services ordered by subscribers, the third-parties are required to take all reasonable and appropriate measures to protect the confidentiality and security of the subscriber information and to use it only as required for the purposes of providing the telecommunication service. Licensees must ensure that the contract between them and any affiliate or other third party holds that third party responsible for the privacy and protection of the subscriber information. Licensees who have access to subscriber information as a result of interconnection are prohibited from using that information for any purposes other than interconnection, and use for marketing purposes is specifically prohibited.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The position in Qatar under Article 52 of the Qatar Telecommunications Law (and articles 91 and 92 of the associated by-law) is similarly detailed, and provides customers with a right to have their information corrected or removed, as well as obligations on service providers to use customer information only for the purposes for which it was collected (and not use it for any undisclosed or unauthorised purposes), and to ensure that customer information is accurate, complete and up-to-date for the purposes for which it is to be used.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In Oman, Resolution No.113 of 2009 issuing Regulations on Protection of the Confidentiality and Privacy of Beneficiary Data contains similar requirements, and includes a clear requirement to notify consumers in the event of data breaches that might affect them, as well as restrictions on sending consumer information abroad for the provision of subscribed telecommunications services without the approval of the Oman Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In Bahrain, the Privacy and Confidentiality section of the Bahrain TRA’s Consumer Protection Guidelines imposes general obligations on licensees to take steps to protect the privacy of consumers regarding personal information and calling patterns, and notes that consumers should have an expectation of privacy, and protection from unauthorised use of their personal records and information, and protection from illegal, unsolicited, unwanted or offensive communications. The guidelines also state that licensees should only use information gathered from consumers for the purpose of providing the consumers with telecommunications services.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">For Saudi Arabia, we were able to find only a very general reference in the KSA Telecoms Law, which at Article 3(8) simply places an obligation on telecommunications licensees to protect public interests and the interests of users and maintain confidentiality of communications and information security.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Kuwait, which is still in the process of establishing its telecoms regulator, is well-positioned to start with a blank page and draw from the experience of other countries.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong>Consumer data protection as a requirement for e-commerce take-up</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">With regard to e-commerce, a recent AT Kearney study (‘Getting in on the GCC E-Commerce Game’) identified consumer trust and awareness issues, along with embryonic government policies, amongst a number of key obstacles preventing the GCC e-commerce market from reaching its full potential. The report identified concerns about data security and fraud as compounding consumer trust issues. It suggested that consumers will only trust on-line channels if retailers focus on protecting customer privacy and data. The punchline is that when it comes to on-line commerce take-up, consumer concerns about privacy are a serious inhibitor.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Consumer data protection as a consideration for IOT and smart cities</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">As for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Cities, there are massive opportunities for all those involved – but there are also broad consumer privacy considerations that need to be considered and addressed at the outset.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s3\"> The mass adoption of connected digital technologies and applications by consumers, businesses, and governments is having an unprecedented transformational impact on the telecommunications industry. It is a fundamental driver to the strategic and operational decision making of telecommunications players around the world, including in the Middle East. Data can be harnessed to create innovative offerings and generate new revenue streams, it can allow businesses and governments to develop a deeper understanding of users, improve user experience at every stage, get faster feedback, develop policy and customize services, and it allows organizations to take advantage of information in order to work intelligently and reduce costs. Connectivity and devices are increasingly ubiquitous, powerful and inexpensive. The Internet of Things will link all manner of items, from light bulbs to urban transport networks. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In this context, Dubai has issued Law No. 26 of 2015 regulating Data Dissemination and Exchange in the Emirate of Dubai. The “Dubai Data Law” has a number of objectives.  It is aimed primarily at ensuring that data gathered by Dubai government entities is effectively shared amongst such entities and with the private sector, so as to maximise opportunities to capture the benefit of such data for the emirate’s residents, visitors, and economy. The aims of the Dubai Data Law include managing data in conformity with international best practices, promoting transparency and establishing rules for data dissemination and exchange, increasing the efficiency of services provided by federal government entities and local government entities, and providing data necessary to non-governmental entities with a view to supporting the development of the Emirate of Dubai. Significantly, an expressed aim of the Dubai Data Law is to strike a balance between data dissemination and exchange and data confidentiality and privacy.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The IoT will have significant impacts on consumer privacy, and this is material to players in the telecoms space – whether they are device or app developers, or network operators providing the technical framework for processing big data and operating smart cities. Sensors embedded in millions upon millions of devices in as many locations, all processing an enormous amount of data - including personal data – at different locations, will make it hard for people to know exactly who is using their personal information, and the purposes for which it is being used. Being able to cross-match data across different data pools/sources raises question as to whether anonymity is a relative term, and the ability to find secondary uses of data – which could be seen as a key benefit of big data - further raises questions about gathering data for one purpose, and then using it for other purposes. This potential lack of clarity raises issues from a consent perspective, as if users do not know what information is being collected (or whether it is being collected at all), and the purposes for which it will be used, it will be difficult for individuals to provide meaningful consent. Additionally, where devices gathering data may be more difficult to secure (e.g. due to limitations on encryption and wireless communication, and the fact that many devices may be outside a traditional IT infrastructure and thus not have security built-in), there is a greater risk of data loss, unauthorised access and infection by malware.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Telecoms operators have unrivalled expertise in providing high-quality, well-managed, and reliable networks. They have significant expertise in hosting, on-line security and identity authentication.  A major part of the opportunity that lies in store for telecoms operators will be to monetize the large volumes of data that pass through these networks. In this context, a key duty of telecoms operators, particularly in the Middle East, will be to set the standards for safeguarding the personal information and commercial information shared by consumers, companies, and machines over these ubiquitous networks.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The types of products and technologies in which telecoms operators are likely to become involved in this context give rise to important privacy issues that cannot be addressed solely by reference to the regulatory landscape applicable to telecommunications operators. By way of example, the delivery of e-health and telemedicine solutions and associated data analytics, will also touch on concerns relating to medical confidentiality, patient health information and the location and retention period for storage of medical records. The adoption of an advertising-funded business model may use behavioural and demographic tracking to increase relevance. The provision of smart grid/metering solutions may raise privacy concerns that tie-in with pricing-related consumer rights considerations.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s3\"> With the wide variety of services in which telecommunications service providers may become involved in the digitized age, the relevance of ‘traditional’ telecommunications-sector consumer protection regulations, particularly with regard to privacy, may need to be revisited. Those looking to participate in the IoT and big data space need to consider the consumer privacy implications of what they are doing at the earliest opportunity so as to incorporate sufficient privacy and security mechanisms at the outset - rather than having to ‘retro-fit’ them into devices, systems and processes as an afterthought.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p4\"><em> </em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p5\"><em>Al Tamimi &amp; Company’s Technology, Media &amp; Telecommunications team regularly advises on issues at the core of innovation, including issues to do with the development and regulation of new technologies and issues to do with consumer privacy. For further information please contact Nick O’Connell (n.oconnell@tamimi.com).</em></p>'),
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(101929, 5541, 'content', 'December 2016 - January 2017\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">On 14 December 2016,t the UAE Central Bank issued a resolution (the ‘Resolution’) (<em>which, as of the date of writing was under process of being published in the Official Gazette</em>) utilising its increased powers of monitoring and regulation of financial institutions to strengthen anti-money laundering (‘AML’) regulations and reinforcing its objection to the use of fraudulent bank accounts.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In accordance with the Resolution, when opening a new bank account, a bank must ensure that it has obtained all the requisite information and necessary documentation to identify the beneficial owner. The protocol when opening an account is now to check either the passport or the UAE identity card whereas the Circular used to relate solely to passports. The requirements for banks are now as follows:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Obtain the full name of the account holder as it appears in the identification document;</li>\r\n 	<li>Record the current residential address and place of work;</li>\r\n 	<li>Physically examine the UAE ID card or the passport used to open the account; and</li>\r\n 	<li>Maintain a copy of the identification document initialled by the account opening officer.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p4\">This Resolution is to be communicated to all those concerned with its implementation, namely; all banks, exchange houses/moneychangers, investment and finance companies and other financial institutions. The amendment is to be published in the Official Gazette in both Arabic and English.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The amendment to the Circular typifies the Central Bank’s initiatives to provide transparency and security in banking by modernising its procedures. The Circular maintains its position in protecting the UAE. against money laundering, re-confirming its commitment to ensuring accounts are not opened under fraudulent or assumed names or numbers.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The Central Bank has long been progressive in its approach to AML through the use of strict identification procedures. The mandatory identification requirements appeared in the original Circular. This is a contemporary but important approach that forms part of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Recommendations for the International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation as published in October 2016 (the ‘Recommendations’). The Recommendations provide an international standard and a framework of measures for countries to utilise in order to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Relevantly, the Recommendations state:</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">‘<em>The principle that financial institutions should conduct CDD should be set out in law. Each country may determine how it imposes specific CDD obligations, either through law or enforceable means. </em><em> </em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The CDD measures to be taken are as follows: </em></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><em>Identifying the customer and verifying that customer’s identity using reliable, independent source documents, data or information. </em></li>\r\n 	<li><em>Identifying the beneficial owner, and taking reasonable measures to verify the identity of the beneficial owner, such that the financial institution is satisfied that it knows who the beneficial owner is. For legal persons and arrangements this should include financial institutions understanding the ownership and control structure of the customer. </em></li>\r\n 	<li><em>Understanding and, as appropriate, obtaining information on the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship. </em></li>\r\n 	<li><em>Conducting ongoing due diligence on the business relationship and scrutiny of transactions undertaken throughout the course of that relationship to ensure that the transactions being conducted are consistent with the institution’s knowledge of the customer...</em></li>\r\n 	<li><em>...These requirements should apply to all new customers.</em>’</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\">The Resolution, by adding and updating the mandatory requirements, reinforces the integrity of the AML framework in the UAE. It obliges the banks to satisfy the criteria above and. as the account opening officer remains responsible to verify the information, confirms the transparency in banking and continues to provide a greater level of accountability and a deterrent to those seeking to subvert the banking laws in the U.A.E.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In our view the UAE Central Bank’s Resolution satisfies all of the recommendations under the ‘Preventative Measures of Customer Due Diligence (‘CDD’) and Record Keeping’ of the Recommendations  and evidences the leading role the UAE has long adopted in combating anti-money laundering and the financing of terrorism.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><em>If you have any queries regarding AML, CFT, or any of the issues addressed above, please contact Ibtissem Lassoued, Partner, Financial Crime Department at: i.lassoued@tamimi.com (mailto:i.lassoued@tamimi.com) or Adam Wolstenholme, Associate, Financial Crime Department at: a.wolstenholme@tamimi.com (mailto:a.wolstenholme@tamimi.com).</em></span></p>'),
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(101890, 5538, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'It is settled law under Article 139 of the UAE Civil Procedure Law that the correct way to rectify an omission by the trial court making a determination on an application is to revert to the same court that passed the judgment, and not to appeal against it.'),
(101891, 5539, 'content', 'December 2016 - January 2017\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The ICC UAE national committee has been active in promoting and training arbitrators, and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators’ branch in Dubai has grown to become the fourth largest worldwide and been extremely successful in training and developing arbitrators both in the UAE and the region.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is no exaggeration to say that the UAE is the region’s hub for arbitration and is taking its place among the acknowledged centres worldwide.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> All of this is now under threat. International and UAE arbitrators have expressed their deepest concern about the amendment made by Federal Decree Law No. 7 of 2016 to Federal Penal Code No. 3 of 1987, which has recently come into force.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Article 257 of the Penal Code now reads as follows:</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">“<em>Anyone who issues a decision, expresses an opinion, submits a report, presents a case or proves an incident in favour of or against a person, in contravention of the requirements of the duty of neutrality and integrity, while acting in his capacity as an arbitrator, expert, translator or fact finder appointed by an administrative or judicial authority or selected by the parties, shall be punished by temporary imprisonment [ie 3 – 15 years].</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><em> The aforesaid categories of persons shall be barred assuming once again the responsibilities with which they were tasked in the first instance, and shall be subject to the provisions of Article 255 of this law.</em>” [emphasis added]</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Arbitrators and legal practitioners have responded to this article with alarm. They perceive it as a severe setback to the development of arbitration in the UAE and the progress it has made towards positioning itself as a global arbitration hub.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">A number of arbitrators hearing cases seated in the UAE have already resigned from tribunals and expressed their reluctance to accept appointments in future cases (the law applies to all the emirates, including the Dubai International Financial Centre and Abu Dhabi Global Market freezones).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The arbitrators’ concerns are simple: that they may be exposed to vexatious criminal proceedings under article 257.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is true that in the past there have been parties who, having lost in arbitration, have taken the aggressive step of filing criminal proceedings against arbitrators in the UAE under various pretexts. However, before the recent amendment to article 257, there were no specific grounds to pursue criminal proceedings against an arbitrator who had rendered a decision based on their understanding of the case and the presentations made by each party.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">All the cases that have been brought have been closed by UAE prosecutors on the basis that there was no case to answer. Had they proceeded to court, those accused would have found a judicial system very supportive of arbitration and arbitrators.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">While I believe prosecutors and the courts will maintain the same attitude to arbitrators and arbitration in general, the new article 257 makes the landscape in the UAE appear very different. Arbitrators including myself and the legal community in general are concerned at the prospect of vexatious criminal complaints or threats of such complaints against tribunal members sitting in the UAE.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">While arbitrators all over the world are obliged to act with neutrality and with integrity, virtually no other country has a provision like article 257, which could lead to arbitrators being jailed as criminals if they are shown to have acted unfairly or with bias. It is almost unheard of for arbitrators to be subjected to criminal proceedings for determining a case unless, of course, there is compelling evidence of fraud or bribery, which, worldwide, is incredibly rare.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In such cases, the UAE Penal Code provides relief to affected parties without the necessity of invoking article 257.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">No doubt the changes to article 257 were well intentioned – no one disputes that arbitrators should not act unfairly or with bias. There are, however, two significant problems with it: the language is vague, and the mere possibility of criminal complaints being filed (even if they are subsequently dismissed) is enough to scare arbitrators away.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> As regards to the language of the article, there is no pre-existing definition of the words “neutrality” and “integrity” in UAE criminal law and they would seem to have a wide subjective meaning. The words are commonly seen in laws and rules relating to arbitration and in the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, a soft law instrument.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">However, to make a failure to show these characteristics a prosecutable offence for arbitrators will create vast scope for losing parties or parties wishing to derail an arbitration to bring or threaten criminal action. Since the definition of the crime is subjective and elastic, it is probable that, in most instances, police or prosecutors would feel obliged to start an investigation, most likely resulting in the suspension of the ongoing arbitration or any enforcement action.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s3\"> Also noteworthy is that article 257 does not require evidence of positive intention of wrongdoing by the arbitrator – which I believe must have been an error of omission on the part of the draftsman. Compare this with article 22 of the Dubai International Financial Centre’s arbitration law, which states:</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">“<em>No arbitrator, employee or agent of an arbitrator, arbitral institution, officer of an arbitral institution or appointing authority shall be liable to any person for any act or omission in connection with an arbitration unless they are shown to have caused damage by conscious and deliberate wrongdoing. This article does not affect any liability incurred by an arbitrator by reason of his resigning.</em>” [emphasis added]</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">One can only imagine the stress and uncertainty arbitrators would suffer while battling to respond to a possibly vexatious allegation of bias that could lead to a three to 15 year jail sentence. Not only would they be subject to criminal investigation, they could also have their passport confiscated. And the mere fact that they were subject to a criminal investigation, however spurious or misconceived, could cause lasting damage to their reputation.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">While UAE prosecutors and police are highly qualified and trained and unlikely to pursue a complaint that is not well founded, the mere prospect of arbitrators being subject to investigation is unacceptable to the arbitration community. The risks and consequential hassle – and the pressure it would place on arbitrators – are just too great.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">As mentioned, this is why article 257 is already causing some arbitrators to resign from their appointments, refuse appointments, or insist that the seat of the arbitration be moved somewhere less risky.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">For those considering resigning I have a further warning. Arbitrators in the UAE and elsewhere are viewed as judges, nominated by both parties to determine their dispute based on the procedures and law agreed by the parties and applying their best judgement to the case. They should not relinquish this role without first carefully considering their duty to act fairly, in the interests of justice and to avoid unnecessary expense and delay for the parties (which will inevitably occur upon resignation).</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Moreover, their concern about the risk of prosecution under article 257 must be balanced against the risk of being held liable for compensation under article 207(2) of the UAE Federal Code of Civil Procedures. Under this article, parties to an arbitration can claim compensation from an arbitrator who resigns without a valid reason and in this context, the UAE courts would be unlikely to hold that the amendment to the penal code constituted a valid reason.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">To sum up, article 257 means that the UAE can no longer be considered a desirable place to conduct arbitration and fewer and fewer arbitrators will agree to take up appointments here. Without a viable and effective arbitration system, international companies will feel less comfortable doing business and may go elsewhere. It seems that whoever drafted the amendments to the article – with the best of intentions – did not fully consider its consequences and the grave effect it may have on the UAE arbitration market.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> In light of all this, a number of arbitrators and legal practitioners from the UAE, backed by renowned international arbitrators and institutions, have made a plea to the UAE Cabinet of Ministers to review article 257 with a view to swiftly amending or repealing it. It is within the federal government’s power to change the law to cure this problem and to restore the UAE to its rightful place among the top-ranking arbitral centres worldwide. In the strongest possible terms, we politely request them to do so.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>This article first appeared in Global Arbitration Review on December 6, 2016.</em></p>'),
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(101910, 5540, 'content', '<p class=\"MsoNormal\">JASTA limits the applicability of “foreign sovereign immunity” under the federal judicial code, restricting its use in the US courts. Specifically, it gives federal courts jurisdiction over civil claims against a foreign state for physical injuries, death or damaged property that has occurred in the US on or after 11 September 2001 and which have been caused by:</p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>an act of international terrorism in the United States, and</li>\r\n 	<li>a tort committed anywhere by an official, agent, or employee of a foreign state acting within the scope of employment.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Furthermore, the law also allows claims to be filed against a Foreign State for loss and damage arising from acts of international terrorism committed by a designated terrorist organization. Section 4 of JASTA amends the federal criminal code to impose civil liability on a person who <em>“conspires to commit or aids and abets by knowingly providing substantial assistance’’ </em>for an act of international terrorism committed, planned, or authorized by a designated terrorist organization.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">JASTA establishes exclusive jurisdiction to US federal courts over civil claims, but as per Section 5, it also authorizes <em>“the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to intervene in these proceedings to seek a stay. A stay will be granted if the Department of State certifies that the US is engaged in good-faith discussions with the Foreign State to resolve the civil claims”.</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">JASTA had an unconventional route through the legislative stages. It was passed by the Senate unanimously in May 2016<a href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a> and by the House of Representatives unanimously in September 2016<a href=\"#_edn2\">[ii]</a>. The erstwhile President Obama vetoed the bill, however, on 23 September 2016<a href=\"#_edn3\">[iii]</a>. The US Congress then overrode that presidential veto through a Congress resolution (i.e. a constitutional provision that permits Congress to override a presidential veto if it receives a two thirds majority vote in both houses). This was the first and only override of a presidential veto during the Obama presidency<a href=\"#_edn4\">[iv]</a>. JASTA, consequently, became law on 28 September 2016<a href=\"#_edn5\">[v]</a>.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2><em>So, what about sovereign immunity? </em></h2>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Sovereign Immunity (also referred to as State Immunity) is the principle in international customary law that protects a State from liability and enforcement of judgments made against it by another State. It is a principle that confirms the equality and independence of States.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The International Court of Justice described State Immunity as follows<a href=\"#_edn6\">[vi]</a>:</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>“The Court considers that the rule of State immunity occupies an important place in international law and international relations. It derives</em> <em>from the principle of sovereign equality of States, which, as Article 2,</em> <em>paragraph 1, of the Charter of the United Nations makes clear, is one of</em> <em>the fundamental principles of the international legal order. This principle</em> <em>has to be viewed together with the principle that each State possesses sovereignty over its own territory and that there flows from that sovereignty the jurisdiction of the State over events and persons within that territory. Exceptions to the immunity of the State represent a departure from the principle of sovereign equality. Immunity may represent a departure from the principle of territorial sovereignty and the jurisdiction which flows from it.”</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong><em> </em></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong><em>What is the effect of JASTA on sovereign immunity?</em></strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">JASTA is considered by many to undermine and weaken the fundamental doctrine of sovereign immunity and there has been widespread criticism of JASTA, both within the US and internationally.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In exercising his veto powers<a href=\"#_edn7\"><sub><sub>[vii]</sub></sub></a>, Obama acknowledged <em>that “JASTA departs from longstanding standards and practice under our Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and threatens to strip all foreign governments of immunity from judicial process in the United States based solely upon allegations by private litigants”</em><a href=\"#_edn8\">[viii]</a>.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In November 2016, following the 10th Session of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Shoura, the UAE’s Federal National Council’s (FNC) speaker, Dr. Amal Al Qubaisi, expressed great concern with regards to JASTA, stating that: <em>“The law undermines the foundations of international relations”.</em> Furthermore, she stressed the fact that all governmental and non-governmental entities need to cooperate in dealing with the challenges that JASTA imposes on the Nation, focusing primarily on the weakening of sovereign immunity.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Fundamentally, the introduction of JASTA will most probably allow various actions against a foreign state’s assets and interests within the US. Although JASTA makes no reference to enforcement, we are yet to see what powers this will confer in practice. This may include, but not be limited to, specific enforcement, pre-judgment attachment, injunctions, freezing orders and orders for discovery.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2><em>Just a law directed at Saudi Arabia or a more global dilemma?</em></h2>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The passing of a bill impacting sovereign immunity will have myriad implications but may have the most immediate impact upon Saudi Arabia. JASTA, inflammatorily referred to as the ‘9/11 Bill’<a href=\"#_edn9\">[ix]</a> or ‘Sue the Saudis Bill’<a href=\"#_edn10\">[x]</a>, is perceived to provide the opportunity for economic redress in relation to the terrorist atrocities that occurred in New York. The Courts in the US have already received the first actions brought by plaintiffs against Saudi. The widow of a naval officer killed at the Pentagon on 9/11 filed the first action to apply JASTA in the District of Columbia, in which she alleges that Saudi provided material support to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Latterly another action has been filed in New York by the daughters of a man killed in the World Trade Center, in which it is alleged that Saudi Arabia knowingly and willingly provided material support to Al Qaeda. In this case, the plaintiffs seek judgment in excess of USD $20 million and treble damages. Due to the timescales involved, there has been no substantive action taken on these cases to date <a href=\"#_edn11\">[xi]</a>.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">On 22<sup>nd </sup>November 2016, His Excellency Abdulrahman S. Alahmed, Saudi’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and head of KSA’s mission to the European Union, voiced Saudi concern in relation to JASTA: <em>“We must ask ourselves whether we are willing to open up this Pandora’s Box at the risk of destabilizing international cooperation in the fight against terrorism… It is our hope that wisdom will prevail and that Congress will take the necessary steps to correct this legislation to mitigate its scope and avoid the serious unintended consequences that may ensue.”</em></p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Prior to JASTA, tensions between both countries had increased following President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran despite KSA’s objections to it and the restrictions that remain under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”). It must be noted, however, that the law does not specifically mention Saudi Arabia, it applies to all states.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">At the Gulf Cooperation Council on 27<sup>th</sup> October 2016, US Treasury Department Secretary, Jacob J. Lew, stated that <em>“(JASTA) would enact broad changes in long standing international law regarding sovereign immunity that, if applied globally, could have serious implications for (US/GCC) shared interests”<a href=\"#_edn12\"><strong>[xii]</strong></a></em>. Indeed, President Trump will now have to assure all the GCC States that the United States will remain a safe zone for their investments, an assurance that may be viewed with scepticism following recent executive orders.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Ironically however, the US may be the State most affected by this legislation. According to Obama’s presidential memoranda<a href=\"#_edn13\"><sub><sub>[xiii]</sub></sub></a>: “enactment of JASTA could encourage foreign governments to act reciprocally and allow their domestic courts to exercise jurisdiction over the United States or U.S. officials -- including our men and women in uniform -- for allegedly causing injuries overseas via U.S. support to third parties.”</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Indeed, as reported in the press, Pierre Lellouche, a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the French National Assembly stated that he would pursue legislation that would permit French citizens to sue the United States with cause should JASTA enter into force<a href=\"#_edn14\">[xiv]</a>.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Reciprocal arrangements could lead to untold consequences for the US. Prior to the introduction of JASTA, Argentina had already made a successful application before the ICJ against the US for violating its sovereignty over decisions in the US courts over the restructuring of Argentine debt<a href=\"#_edn15\">[xv]</a>.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Any challenges caused by JASTA that the US government faces may influence the conduct of US foreign policy, including in the Middle East, as the spheres of politics, diplomacy, trade and domestic litigation become more entwined through the use of JASTA and any foreign parallel legislation. The most profound consequence may be that a US administration may lack confidence to act overseas when it otherwise would have done so.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">This concern is not simply legal or political, it is also shared by US business interests internationally. It has been reported that the US-UAE Business Council sent a letter in November 2016, supported by numerous major US companies, to US senators, urging them to reconsider amending the act to avoid the destabilization of the global economy.</p>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Within the US, their economy may also be destabilized as a result of foreign countries withdrawal of assets from fear of liability. According to statistics published by the US Treasury Department, Saudi Arabia had $116.8 billion in securities in the US in March 2016, but this has now been reduced to $100.1 billion in November 2016<a href=\"#_edn16\"><sub><sub>[xvi]</sub></sub></a>. This may be the start of Saudi Arabia selling some of its large portfolio of US Treasury bills in volumes that could then impact the attraction of holding US government debt for other investors. This domino effect could then influence the ability of the US government to raise debt to fund its activities <a href=\"#_edn17\">[xvii]</a>.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2><em>What Next?</em></h2>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe implementation of JASTA appears to be fraught with problems and unexpected consequences, irrespective of whether this law may be considered attractive on the face of it (in ensuring governments do not act by proxy to conduct terrorism).\r\n\r\nAlthough we are starting to see the first cases filed, JASTA is still in its infancy and it is not possible to predict all the possible risks and scenarios associated with it. The future will provide answers to difficult questions that are raised by JASTA. Will countries retaliate to JASTA and introduce their own legislation to protect themselves? Will they introduce reciprocal legislation as threatened? Is it prudent to impose a law that can cause disruption to international relations (particularly between the US and KSA), as well as the global economy?\r\n\r\nWhilst the best step may be for the US to repeal the legislation, JASTA must now also be considered in the context of a Trump presidency as highlighted above. The Trump administration has entered office knowing that the future of US-Saudi relations will almost inevitably be affected by JASTA.\r\n\r\nAs the JASTA lawsuits progress we will see whether this legislation can make America great again, or whether it is just another stumbling block to improved US-Middle East relations.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor any query or follow up on this significant topic, please contact Ibtissem Lassoued, Partner, Financial Crime, at <a href=\"mailto:i.lassoued@tamimi.com\">i.lassoued@tamimi.com</a>.\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong><em>Note: This article first appeared in Al Tamimi &amp; Company Law Update, Issue 295 Dec 2016 – Jan 2017, pp.14-17 and has been updated since then for the purpose of this publication.</em></strong></p>\r\n\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<hr size=\"1\" />\r\n\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2040/all-info</p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref2\">[ii]</a> Ibid.</p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref3\">[iii]</a> Ibid.</p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref4\">[iv]</a> Article 1 Section 7 US Constitution. See also E Rybicki, ‘Veto Override Procedure in the House and the Senate’, Congressional Research Service http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid=%270DP%2BP%2CC%3E%23P%20%20%0A</p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref5\">[v]</a> https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2040/all-info</p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref6\">[vi]</a> Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v. Italy : Greece intervening), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2012, p. 123-124</p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref7\">[vii]</a> Important note: Donald Trump will be inaugurated on 20 January 2017, this article was written end of December 2016.</p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref8\">[viii]</a> <a href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/09/23/veto-message-president-s2040\">https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/09/23/veto-message-president-s2040</a></p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref9\">[ix]</a> <a href=\"http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37504158\">http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37504158</a></p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref10\">[x]</a> <a href=\"https://www.rt.com/usa/360975-senate-overrides-veto-jasta/\">https://www.rt.com/usa/360975-senate-overrides-veto-jasta/</a></p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref11\">[xi]</a> Correct as of 21 February 2017</p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref12\">[xii]</a> <a href=\"https://treasury/gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0597.aspx\">https://treasury/gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0597.aspx</a></p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"><a href=\"#_ednref13\">[xiii]</a> <a href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/09/23/veto-message-president-s2040\">https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/09/23/veto-message-president-s2040</a></p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref14\">[xiv]</a> <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/10/us/politics/house-911-victims-saudi-arabia.html?_r=0\">http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/10/us/politics/house-911-victims-saudi-arabia.html?_r=0</a></p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref15\">[xv]</a> http://www.icj-cij.org/presscom/files/4/18354.pdf</p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref16\">[xvi]</a><a href=\"http://ticdata.treasury.gov/Publish/mfh.txt\">http://ticdata.treasury.gov/Publish/mfh.txt</a></p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<p class=\"MsoEndnoteText\"><a href=\"#_ednref17\">[xvii]</a>New York Times article dated 19 April 2016 ‘Saudi Threat to Sell U.S. Assets Could Hurt, but Mostly the Saudis‘,http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/20/business/international/saudi-threat-to-sell-us-assetscould-hurt-but-mostly-the-saudis.html?_r=0</p>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n</div>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"></p>'),
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(102011, 5546, 'content', '<p class=\"p1\">December 2016 - January 2017</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The word “Ministry” has been replaced by the expression “Federal Authority and the word “Minister” by the expression “Head of the Federal Authority”.</li>\r\n 	<li>UAE national employees shall be hired on a renewable three year fixed-term contract, with the exception of those employees on temporary and special contracts.</li>\r\n 	<li>The probation period for new hires has been increased to six months and can be extended by a further three months.</li>\r\n 	<li>The Decree provides that employees who join the national service shall take the balance of their leave entitlement by 31 December of the year following the year in which their service terminated or opt to receive pay for leave not taken, as specified by the implementing regulations.</li>\r\n 	<li>Employees with chronic medical conditions can now apply for extended sick leave with full pay to be granted at the discretion of the medical committee.</li>\r\n 	<li>Maternity leave for women employed in permanent job positions has been increased to three months with full pay.</li>\r\n 	<li>The sabbatical leave entitlement is now one month.</li>\r\n 	<li>Special leave to accompany a second degree relative for overseas treatment has been reduced to one month with full pay for the first fifteen days, with an option to extend for one month.</li>\r\n 	<li>Special leave to accompany a first degree relative for local treatment has been reduced to one month with full pay for the first fifteen days, without an option to extend.</li>\r\n 	<li>The additional leave available to employees enrolled at accredited institutes and schools is one day to sit an exam overseas and may not exceed fifteen days per year.</li>\r\n 	<li>The written investigation requirement for imposing administrative penalties has been cancelled.</li>\r\n 	<li>Employees that violate policy could potentially be subject to an additional penalty of demotion to a position in the next lower pay grade.</li>\r\n 	<li>Gratuity is to be calculated as follows:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>\r\n<div>on one month’s base pay for each year of the first five years of service, using the average pay for the last   five years; and</div></li>\r\n 	<li>on one and a half months’ base pay for each additional year, using the average pay for the last five years.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(101984, 5544, 'content_description', 'The Chairman of the Securities and Commodities Authority of the United Arab Emirates (‘SCA’) issued, on 28 April 2016, the Resolution on Corporate Discipline and Governance Standards of Public Joint Stock Companies (Resolution No. 7 R.M. of 2016) (‘New Governance Rules’) in order to:'),
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(101986, 5544, 'pageSummary', 'The Chairman of the Securities and Commodities Authority of the United Arab Emirates (‘SCA’) issued, on 28 April 2016, the Resolution on Corporate Discipline and Governance Standards of Public Joint Stock Companies (Resolution No. 7 R.M. of 2016) (‘New Governance Rules’) in order to:'),
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(101994, 5544, '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc', 'The purpose of this article is to compare the New and Repealed Governance Rules and highlight some of the provisions that are related to ‘Related Parties’, ‘Insiders’ and ‘Conflict of Interest’ that we consider would benefit from clarification from SCA.');
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(101995, 5545, 'content', 'December 2016 - January 2017\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The leasing of premises in the Emirate of Dubai is generally regulated by Law No. 26 of 2007 (as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008) (the “Dubai Tenancy Law”). However, the leasing of premises located within the Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”) is governed by the DIFC Real Property Law No. 4 of 2007 (the “DIFC Tenancy Law”), which is based on common law principles. Both Dubai Tenancy Law and DIFC Tenancy Law apply to residential, commercial, industrial and retail premises. This article focuses on the material differences between the two laws.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">When entering into, renewing or terminating tenancy agreements, it is important to consider the provisions of the relevant law and what rights or obligations may apply.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Registration</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Article 4(a) of the Dubai Tenancy Law prescribes registration of all tenancy agreements with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (“RERA”) in the Ejari system. Whilst there are no penalties for non-registration stated in the Dubai Tenancy Law, a tenant who fails to register is likely to face practical problems, when, for example, renewing trade licenses, visa sponsorships and utility connections. The Ejari registration fee is currently set at AED 215 and upon successful registration, the tenant obtains an Ejari registration certificate evidencing registration of its tenancy agreement with RERA.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">This differs from the position under Article 54 of DIFC Tenancy Law, under which the landlord is obliged to register tenancy agreements with a term exceeding one year, with the Registrar of Real Property (the “Registrar”), within 28 days from the date of the contract, failing which the landlord can be subject to a fine of USD 1,000. For all tenancy agreements with a term of one year or less, registration with Registrar is optional. The landlord can complete the registration of DIFC tenancy agreements, online through the DIFC client portal and the registration fee is currently set at AED 367.50.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Terms of the lease</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Whilst the terms and conditions of the signed tenancy agreement regulate the relationship of landlord and tenant (so long as it is not against public policy), if the contract is silent on a matter, the parties may rely upon the provisions of Dubai Tenancy Law on that particular issue.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Under the DIFC Tenancy Law, the parties have the freedom to contract and the terms of the tenancy agreement will generally govern their relationship. This approach is driven by the fact that the DIFC Tenancy Law does not elaborate on the rights and obligations of the two parties and focuses only on issues such as registration, effects of termination, effects of the surrender of a lease and the implied powers of the landlord.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Renewal and Renewal Rent</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">The renewal rent in Dubai is governed by Decree No. 43 of 2013 which determines the permitted increase in rent in Dubai upon renewal of a tenancy agreement (“Decree 43”). Therefore, any increase of rent upon renewal by the landlord must comply with Decree 43. The parties to the contract can access the rental increase calculator managed by RERA at the DLD website (http://www.dubailand.gov.ae/English/Pages/rental-increase-calculator.aspx), which determines the permissible increase in the rent upon renewal of the tenancy agreement.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The tenant has a right to notify the landlord whether it intends to renew the tenancy agreement upon expiry, subject to compliance with the terms of the tenancy agreement. If the tenancy contract is silent about the renewal notification, then Article 14 of Dubai Tenancy Law applies and requires either party to the contract to serve a minimum of 90 days’ written notice prior to the expiry date, notifying the other party of any amendment to the terms of the tenancy contract (including renewal for a successive term). The landlord does not have the right to terminate the tenancy agreement upon expiry except on four limited grounds, which are set out in Article 25 (2) of Dubai Tenancy Law. The four grounds are:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>personal use of the property by the landlord or for use by his first degree relatives;</li>\r\n 	<li>sale of the property;</li>\r\n 	<li>demolition of the property; or</li>\r\n 	<li>comprehensive maintenance of the property.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p6\">The crucial pre-condition for the landlord to seek eviction of the tenant is a prior 12 months’ notice (served by the Notary Public or registered mail) on the tenant and providing its reason for termination and the proposed eviction date.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In the event that there is no discussion of renewal between the parties, and the tenant continues to occupy the leased premises upon expiry of the tenancy agreement without any objection from the landlord, the tenancy agreement is renewed for the same term or for a period of one year (whichever is shorter) on the same terms as the original tenancy agreement.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The DIFC Tenancy Law does not provide an automatic right of renewal for tenants and any right to renew for a successive term must be included in the tenancy agreement. Without such express terms to renew, the tenant will be required to vacate upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. It is important to note that Decree 43 also applies to the DIFC and therefore the landlord must comply with the permissible rent increase limits upon renewal. From a practical point of view, Decree 43 is often difficult to implement in cases where the tenancy agreement does not contain an automatic right of renewal and if discussions between the landlord and tenant on renewal fail. In such cases, the tenant will be forced to vacate the leased premises upon the expiry of the tenancy agreement. On the other hand, if the tenancy agreement does contain an automatic right of renewal, then upon the expiry date, the tenancy agreement shall be deemed to be automatically renewed and if the landlord and tenant fail to agree upon the renewal rent (which is in compliance with Decree 43), then the matter can be referred to the DIFC Small Claims Tribunal for resolution.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Dispute Resolution</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Rental Disputes Settlement Centre (“RDSC”) has exclusive jurisdiction over the tenancy disputes in Dubai (excluding tenancy disputes within the DIFC), rent disputes arising out of a lease finance contract, and disputes arising out of long term lease contracts. The RDSC is made up of two levels of litigation. The first level is the First Instance Circuit which consists of a judge and two real estate experts. Some of the judgments issued by the First Instance Circuit may be appealed within 15 days to the Appeal Circuit. The Appeal Circuit’s decisions are final and may not be appealed further.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The filing fee for an eviction claim is 3.5% of the annual rent with a minimum of AED 500 and a maximum of AED 20,000. If any outstanding amounts are owed, the fee is 3.5% of the claim amount with a minimum of AED 500 and a maximum of AED 15,000. Once the claim has been filed and served, there will be a series of hearings approximately two weeks apart during which parties formally appear and file memoranda (or pleadings) which set out the claim, defence and all other evidence upon which the parties rely. Normally all arguments, pleadings and documents submitted to the RDSC are made by written submissions. The number of hearings (and hence the time it will take to set the matter down for judgment) will depend on the length of time taken to serve the defendants, which is required at all stages of the proceedings, and the complexity of the issues and memoranda that are filed. The execution stage is handled by the RDSC to increase efficiency. The execution fee for eviction claims is 1% of the annual rent with a maximum of AED 5,000, while the execution fee for a monetary claim is AED 135.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The DIFC Small Claims Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction over tenancy disputes in the DIFC, where the claim amount does not exceed AED 500,000. The filing fee is 5% of the value of the claim, with a minimum of USD 100. Upon the filing and serving of a claim form, the Defendant has 7 days to admit the claim, defend the claim, or challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. If the claim is admitted, the Tribunal will issue a judgment on the claim. If the claim is defended, the Tribunal will schedule a consultation hearing, at which the parties will attempt to settle their dispute amicably. If a settlement is reached, the Tribunal will issue a consent order recording the terms of the settlement. If no settlement is reached, the Tribunal will either schedule a further consultation or make arrangements for the hearing of the claim. The hearing of the claim is relatively informal, with both parties ordinarily being unrepresented and the hearing being held in private. A winning party’s recovery of its costs is usually limited to the Court or Tribunal fees that it has paid, unless the other party has acted unreasonably. The Tribunal’s order is enforceable in the same way as a Court of First Instance order and appeals from the Tribunal are to the Court of First Instance.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Termination of Tenancy Agreement </strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Article 25(1) of the Dubai Tenancy Law set out the following events of default which permit the landlord to seek early termination of the tenancy agreement:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>failure to pay outstanding rent despite receipt of 30 days’ notice from the landlord (or a shorter notice period agreed in the tenancy agreement);</li>\r\n 	<li>subletting the leased premises without prior written consent of the landlord;</li>\r\n 	<li>illegal or immoral use of the leased premises which is not in accordance with public order;</li>\r\n 	<li>abandoning commercial leased premises without reason for 30 consecutive days or 90 non-consecutive days within a year, unless agreed otherwise between the parties;</li>\r\n 	<li>any change caused to the leased premises rendering it unsafe for use or damages its original state;</li>\r\n 	<li>unauthorised use of the leased premises or use which is in violation of planning, construction and use of land regulations in force in Dubai;</li>\r\n 	<li>condemnation of the leased premises as evidenced by a technical report issued/ approved by Dubai Municipality;</li>\r\n 	<li>breach of the tenant’s obligations as stated in the tenancy agreement or applicable laws despite receipt of 30 days’ notice period from the landlord; or</li>\r\n 	<li>requirements to demolish or reconstruct the leased premises upon receipt of request to do so from the competent government authorities.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p6\">Should the landlord wish to terminate the tenancy agreement prior to its expiry pursuant to an event of default, a prior written notice of default to the tenant with a 30 days’ notice period should be served through the Notary Public or by registered mail.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">We often receive queries from our clients on the position of unilateral termination or early termination of a lease due to a change in the financial circumstances of the tenant. UAE law does not recognise the right of unilateral termination (without a court order) or early termination at the option of either party. Therefore, any commercial understanding between parties agreeing to such termination rights must be recorded in writing.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Article 62(4) of the DIFC Tenancy Law allows the landlord to terminate and re-enter the leased premises upon the occurring of any of the following events of default:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Outstanding rent which is more than 30 days overdue (there is no requirement to serve a default notice on the tenant).</li>\r\n 	<li>Breach of any term of the tenancy agreement (either express or implied) and the tenant’s failure to remedy the breach, despite having received a default notice from the landlord providing 30 days to remedy the breach. The parties to the tenancy agreement may choose to increase the prescribed 30 days’ notice period but cannot reduce this period.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p6\">Upon termination of a tenancy agreement due to tenant’s default, Article 60 of the DIFC Tenancy Law requires the Registrar to record the termination in the register.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Conclusion</strong> </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Tenancy laws in Dubai are the same for residential, commercial and industrial leases. With a maturing real estate sector in Dubai, there is a need for introduction of a new specialised law which is equipped to regulate the different needs for each sector. We are aware that the DLD and RDSC are currently working to introduce a new tenancy law(s) and we are of view that such new law will improve the leasing sector and thereby elevate the overall real estate market in Dubai.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> The tenancy law in the DIFC similarly applies to residential, commercial and industrial leases. It generally upholds the parties’ freedom to contract, though the rent caps in Decree 43 are applicable to premises in the DIFC despite any terms that expressly permit the landlord to increase rent in a manner contrary to Decree 43. However, practically, Decree 43 offers limited protection to tenants in the DIFC. This is because there is no automatic renewal of tenancies on the same terms and the DIFC Courts will uphold clauses permitting landlords to terminate at will if the tenant is unwilling to pay an excessive rent.</span></p>'),
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(101965, 5543, 'content', '<p class=\"p1\">Cloud computing is a particular innovation that is growing rapidly worldwide with more and more businesses, government entities, and consumers adopting cloud services.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> As you are probably aware, cloud computing is a type of computing that relies on sharing computing resources through remote access and universal data storage, rather than having local servers or personal devices to handle applications. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> If GCC countries are serious about positioning their major centres as strategic business hubs, they need more high specification data centres to store the increasing volume of data and to attract leading international cloud providers.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Customer Experience</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">From a consumer perspective, there are three main reasons why having more local data centres and internet exchange points are important to the overall customer experience for cloud services:</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>local exchange of data or hosting reduces latency as data passes via a more direct local route;</li>\r\n 	<li>use of more direct route reduces packet loss, consequently increasing data transfer speeds; and</li>\r\n 	<li>local Internet Service Providers (‘ISP’) can reduce their upstream data transit download charges payable to offshore wholesale internet access suppliers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Regional Snapshot</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">According to datacentermap.com there are currently 104 co-location data centres across 14 Middle East countries.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> By comparison there are:</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>359 across 14 countries in Asia;</li>\r\n 	<li>1088 across 23 countries in Europe; and</li>\r\n 	<li>1,798 in North America.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s1\">There are 8 listed in the UAE. Malta and Lithuania also have 8. Cyprus has 12. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Cloud Readiness</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Based on a scorecard system developed by BSA – The Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) to measure ‘cloud readiness’ of a country, there are some aspects in the current legal and regulatory regimes of GCC countries that may need to be addressed for the GCC to be assessed as a more favourable environment for cloud computing. </span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> By way of example only, in the UAE context (which broadly represents a median for the regional regimes) the following are likely to be seen as potential issues:</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>There is no express data breach notification law. Data breach notification laws are laws that require an entity that has been subject to a data breach to notify their customers and other parties about the breach, and take other steps to remediate injuries caused by the breach.</li>\r\n 	<li>ISPs are subject to mandatory filtering and censoring. For example, The UAE‘s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (‘TRA’) has established the ‘Internet Access Management’ regulatory policy that regulates access to the content available on the Internet in the UAE. The policy includes a list of categories of prohibited content that contradicts with UAE’s Islamic identity, culture, tradition, laws, and regulations. ISPs are obliged to block access to the websites and pages that contain content that fall within these prohibited categories.</li>\r\n 	<li>There are no safe-harbour provisions which protect ISPs. <em>Federal Law No. (7) of 2002 Pertaining to Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights</em> (“Copyright Law”) contains no “safe harbour” provisions designed to immunise intermediaries from liability for copyright damages. The Copyright Law contains no provision dealing expressly with secondary liability at all.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s1\">There is also an aspect of the UAE legal system that could potentially be misconstrued as a regulatory hurdle. The UAE uses the inquisitorial system, which is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where the role of the court is primarily that of an impartial referee between the prosecution and the defence. Under the inquisitorial system, which is tied to common Civil Law, the truth is uncovered through questioning those most familiar with the dispute by a judicial authority. It’s up to an ‘independent’ prosecutor or investigating magistrate to distinguish between reliable and unreliable evidence. Accordingly, under <em>Federal Law No. 35 Concerning the Penal Procedures Law</em>, the Public Prosecution (not the police) , in proceeding with an investigation, can order a person in possession of something which the Public Prosecution deems should be seized or perused, to submit it (see Article 78). This could include data held by data hosting providers.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> Those more used to an adversarial system, where judges focus on the issues of law and procedure and act as a referee in the contest between the defence and the prosecutor, are often uncomfortable with the investigative powers of the public prosecution. However, the inquisitorial system is not unique to the Middle East. If the cloud related aspects of a business are in France, Germany, or Japan the public prosecutions will have similar powers.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Proposed Cloud Regulation in KSA</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">To address objectives that include encouraging investment in a local cloud industry Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (‘CITC’) has recently undertaken public consultation on the proposed regulation of cloud computing.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The CITC is proposing a Cloud Infrastructure and Services License (‘CISL’) for Cloud Service Providers (’CSPs’) with data centres, or other key cloud infrastructure, in the Kingdom and those processing or storing sensitive user content.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> The proposed regulations seek to address many of the gaps outlined above. For example: </span></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The draft regulations provide that a CSP will not incur liability based only on the fact that unlawful content or user content stored or processed by the CSP’s cloud system infringes a third party’s intellectual property rights.  Nor will the CSP have an obligation to actively monitor their cloud system for content that infringes a third party’s intellectual property rights. However, a CSP must remove or render inaccessible content on their cloud system that infringes a third party’s intellectual property rights if they are ordered to do so by the CITC or any other authorised entity in the Kingdom.</li>\r\n 	<li>Further, CSPs must inform cloud users and the CITC, without undue delay, of security breaches or information leakages, depending on the affect or likely affect of such breaches or leakages.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p6\">There are some aspects of the proposed regulation that do require careful consideration. It is proposed that no ‘Level 3’ user content can be transferred outside Saudi Arabia. While the higher Level 4 classifies concerns highly sensitive or secret content belonging to concerned governmental agencies or institutions (and it is understandable that there may be a reason to localise such content), the ‘Level 3’ classification in the proposed regulations is much broader and includes ‘sensitive’ user content of private sector companies or organisations. What is ‘sensitive’ is not defined.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> However, overall, the CITC’s proposed cloud-specific regulations should be welcomed as a positive move to benefit users of cloud services and for the development of the cloud industry in Saudi Arabia, and will hopefully act as a prompt for appropriate cloud-specific regulation in other GCC jurisdictions.</span></p>'),
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(101980, 5544, 'content', 'December 2016 - January 2017\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>list a set of new corporate governance rules in accordance with, and to adhere to, the Commercial Companies (Federal Law No. 2 of 2015) (‘CCL’); and</li>\r\n 	<li>repeal the UAE Ministerial Resolution on Governance Rules and Corporate Discipline Standards (Ministerial Resolution No. 518 of 2009) (‘Repealed Governance Rules’).</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"p4\">The purpose of this article is to compare the New and Repealed Governance Rules and highlight some of the provisions that are related to ‘Related Parties’, ‘Insiders’ and ‘Conflict of Interest’ that we consider would benefit from clarification from SCA.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">It is worth mentioning that any capitalised terms used in this article have the same meaning to those mentioned in the New Governance Rules, unless provided otherwise in this article.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Definitions</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">For the purposes of this article, it is important to refer to the following definition under the New Governance Rules:</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">‘<strong>Deals</strong>: Transactions, contracts or agreements entered into by a public joint stock company that is listed in the market and do not fall under the main activity of such company or by way of including preferential terms that are not usually granted by the company to its clients, in addition to any other deals to be specified by SCA from time to time by virtue of a resolution, instruction or circulation issued thereby.’</p>\r\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Related Parties</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The new definition of the term ‘Related Party’ (which is now exactly the same as the definition provided in the CCL) was amended under the New Governance Rules to limit the Related Parties to the Chairman, Board Members, members of the Senior Executive Management, and the employees of the Company, in addition to the companies to which any of such persons own at least 30 per cent of their share capital, as well as Sister and Allied companies and Subsidiaries.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The reason for such limitation can be regarded to the fact that these are the only persons that hold an obligation to disclose any dealings they have or intend to have with the Company. Expanding the scope of the definition to include parties who have no direct relation with the Company, such as Relatives, is impractical and it makes no sense to burden such parties with disclosure obligations toward the Company, thereby making it impossible to implement in reality.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> Another major difference between the old and new definition with regards to Related Parties is that the new definition considers companies where at least 30 per cent of its shares are owned by the Chairman, Board Members, members of the Senior Executive Management, or the employees of a publicly listed company to be a Related Party while the old definition considered Related Parties to be companies controlled by such persons, which is no longer the case. The issue of whether owning 30 per cent of the shares has to be directly or indirectly is raised again since the New Governance Rules is silent in this regard. In our opinion, the 30 per cent shareholding can be either direct or indirect since, again, indirect owners have the same benefits as direct owners.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">With regard to the Deals concluded with Related Parties, the main difference between the two rules is that the New Governance Rules have set an obligation, in accordance with Article 152 of the CCL, that any Deals between the Company and a Related Party has to be approved by the Board of Directors, if the value of the Deal is 5 per cent or less than the Company’s capital, and the approval of the Company’s general assembly, if such value exceeds 5 per cent. The Repealed Governance Rules, on the other hand, only required the approval of both the Board of Directors and general assembly if the Deals’ value is 10 per cent or more of the Company’s total assets.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Another difference is that the New Governance Rules further stipulate that any Deals which value exceeds 5 per cent of the Company’s capital has to be evaluated by a valuator that is accredited by SCA before obtaining the approval of the Company’s general assembly, in order for such Deal to be concluded. Such obligation did not exist in the Repealed Governance Rules.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">However, the main issue that rises in this regard is whether the value of the Deals should be aggregated or if the calculation is per each Deal per se (i.e. whether the obligation to obtain the approval of the general assembly for Related Party Deals that exceeds 5 per cent of the Company’s capital is required for the accumulative value of Deals concluded between the Company and a specific Related Party or is it calculated per each Deal only, irrelevant to whether it is the same Related Party in each Deal or not). The problem is that the wording of ‘Deals’ in Article 15 of the New Governance Rules (which is the same as Article 152 of the CCL) comes in the context of a plural, which may mean that if the value of the total Deals concluded with a certain Related Party, whether all Deals are to be concluded at the same time or on different occasions throughout the year for example, exceeds 5 per cent of the Company’s capital, then the approval of the general assembly will be required.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s3\"> The problem is that the New Governance Rules were issued recently and, therefore, have not been put into practice, which creates substantive confusion in this regard. Our interpretation is that, even if there are several Deals with a single Related Party, whether they are all at the same time or on different occasions, each Deal will still require a separate evaluation as long as such Deals are not related to each other. This can be based on the following:</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>From a practical perspective, it will create many practical issues to have to wait till the aggregate value of the Deals concluded with a certain Related Party exceeds 5 per cent of the Company’s capital and then evaluate such Deals, since some Deals may have already been carried out or finalised, or the valuation of certain Deals at the time of concluding it with the Company may be different from the time on which it will be evaluated once the aggregated value of Deals concluded with Related Party has exceeded 5 per cent of the Company’s capital;</li>\r\n 	<li>If the New Governance Rules do mean the aggregate value of the Deals concluded with a certain Related Party, then it should have mentioned a time frame for such Deals (i.e. Deals concluded, for example, in the last six or twelve months, since not all Deals have to be concluded at the same time; and</li>\r\n 	<li>The definition of ‘Deals’ is already mentioned in the plural context in Article 1 of the New Governance Rules; therefore, it can mean a single or more than one Deal.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p class=\"p4\">Having said this, we do not believe that this should mean that the Company has the right to break down a Deals’ value that exceeds 5 per cent of the Company’s capital to more than one transaction, whereby the value of each transaction is less than 5 per cent of the Company’s capital. In this case, the Company still has an obligation to evaluate the aggregate value of such Deal and obtain the approval of the general assembly.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"> Bearing in mind the definition of ‘Deals’ mentioned above, it is further worth mentioning that Article 15 of the New Governance Rules may seem to contradict with Article 152 of the CCL in terms of whether the valuation of Deals whose value are less than 5 per cent of the Company’s capital is required or not. The wordings of Article 152 of the CCL appear to mean that such evaluation is required, while the New Governance Rules explicitly mentions that it is not. Taking into consideration that the New Governance Rules are enacted by SCA, which is the regulatory body whose objectives include ensuring the compliance of publicly listed companies with the CCL, it is therefore understood from the New Governance Rules that SCA’s interpretation of Article 152 of the CCL is reflected in Article 15 of the New Governance Rules. This means that the valuation of Deals, whose values are less than 5 per cent of the Company’s capital, is not required.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">As for disclosure by Related Parties, the main difference between the two rules is that the New Governance Rules have set an obligation that any Deals between a Related Party, on one side, and the Company, a Subsidiary, or a Sister Company, on the other side, has to be disclosed to the Board of Directors, whatever is the value of the Deal. The Repealed Governance Rules, on the other hand, only required the disclosure if the Deals’ value is 10 per cent or more of the Company’s total assets. The New Governance Rules further introduced a new obligation on the Company, under Article 16, to maintain a register for Related Parties, where the names of such parties are to be recorded together with their Deals, in detail, and actions taken in relation thereto. The Company (i.e. the Board of Directors) also has an obligation under the same article to provide documents and information of the Deals with Related Parties and the nature, size, and details of each Deal to the general assembly.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">In all events, Deals with Related Parties have to be disclosed to SCA, as per Article 17 of the New Governance Rules, as was also stipulated under the Repealed Governance Rules, by way of notice sent by the Company’s Chairman. Such notice is to include the data and information of the Related Party, the details of the Deal, the nature and the benefit of the involvement of the Related Party in the Deal, together with a written confirmation that the terms of the Deal with the Related Party are fair, reasonable, and in favor of the Company’s shareholders.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The main issue here is whether or not there is an obligation to obtain the approval of the Board of Directors or the general assembly (whichever is applicable in accordance with Article 15 of the New Governance Rules) if the Deals are concluded between the Related Parties themselves, without having the Company as a party to such Deal, such as having a Deal concluded between a Board Member and a Subsidiary. Unfortunately, the New Governance Rules are silent in this regard; therefore, it is indirectly interpreted that no approval is required since the definition of the Company does not include Subsidiaries or Sister or Allied companies. On the other hand, the ‘Related Party’ provisions are applicable only if the Company is entering into a transaction with a Related Party. In all events, such a Deal has to be disclosed to the Board of Directors, as per Article 18 of the New Governance Rules, and the Board of Directors will then have the right to discuss the matter and decide the best course of action to be taken that serves the best interest of the Company. Such Deals will have to also be disclosed to SCA and the Market. Additionally, the details and conditions of the said Deals and the conflict of interest of the Related Party are to be included in the annual financial statements of the Company presented to the general assembly meeting, in addition to publishing such details on the websites of both the Market and the Company.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The Repealed Governance Rules stipulated, however, that if the concerned Related Party fails to disclose the Deal with the Company, Subsidiary, or Sister Company, the Board of Directors, or any shareholder holding 5 per cent or more of the Company’s shares, may bring a claim against the Related Party before a competent court requesting to suspend such Deal and compel the said Related Party to pay the Company any profits or benefits gained. Such clause exists in Article 19 of the New Governance Rules giving such right only to the shareholders holding 5 per cent or more of the Company’s shares but, it is silent on whether or not the Board of Directors shall have the same right. We believe that the Board of Directors may still bring such a claim against the relevant Related Party as a penalty for failing to disclose since the Board of Directors holds the obligation to take any and all actions that serves the best interest of the Company.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s3\"> In terms of shareholders’ access to Deals concluded with Related Parties, there is no material difference between both rules except that the wordings of the Repealed Governance Rules are very comprehensive on the course of action to be taken by a shareholder holding 5 per cent or more of the Company’s shares against the parties of a Related Party Deal by way of referring to the exact articles of the Evidence Law and the Civil Procedure Law. Article 2 of the New Governance Rules, on the other hand, has made a general reference that the said rules are subject to the Evidence Law and the Civil Procedure Law; therefore, a shareholder holding 5 per cent or more of the Company’s shares may file the lawsuit in accordance with the said laws that are applicable, in the event a shareholder decides to opt to the court to file a claim against the Board Member, the Board of Directors, or the Company.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Insiders</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s3\">The New Governance Rules introduced new provisions for ‘Insiders’ (Article 12) and ‘Confidentiality’ (Article 13) that did not exist under the Repealed Governance Rules. Unfortunately, the New Governance Rules do not define an ‘Insider’; therefore, it is difficult to determine who qualifies to be, or not to be, an insider. We assume that it is up to SCA’s sole discretion to determine who qualifies to be an insider on a case-by-case basis. It can be, however, assumed from Article 12 that ‘insiders’ are defined to be any of the Company’s Related Parties, their Relatives, and persons who could be considered as insiders on a temporary basis and are entitled to or have access to inside information of the Company prior to publication, such as advisors and consultants retained to advise on a certain Deal. The question is whether relatives of persons with temporary access to inside information of the Company are considered to be insiders or not. We believe that the answer is not to consider such relatives to be insiders unless they also have access to such information. In all events, persons with temporary access to inside information of the Company hold the same liability as the Board of Directors if they tip-off or whistle-blow any inside information before its publication, whether to their relatives, friends, or any third party, and whether or not such tip-off or whistle-blow is of consideration.</span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Article 12 further requires the Board of Directors to set written rules for the Company’s Board of Directors and employees regarding trading in the securities of the Company or its Parent, Subsidiary, or Sister Companies. Another obligation on the Company is to have a register for permanent and temporary insiders, and to also include in it the prior and subsequent disclosures of the insiders.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Moreover, it is worth mentioning that Article 13 of the New Governance Rules provides that the Board of Directors shall (i) take all measures to accurately maintain strict confidentiality of the Company’s data and information in a way that ensures it is not exploited; (ii) develop effective contractual arrangements that require the other parties who have access to internal data and information related to the Company and its customers to maintain the confidentiality of such data and information, and not misuse or transfer it, or cause it to be transferred directly or indirectly to other parties; and (iii) ensure that each insider signs formal declarations to confirm his/her knowledge of his/her possession of internal data and information regarding the Company and its customers, and that he/she shall bear all the legal consequences in case of leaking such information or data, or giving advice on the basis of the information in his/her possession, in addition to his/her commitment to notify the Company of any trade carried out on the securities of the Company or its Parent, Subsidiary, or Sister Companies before and after those trades.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Conflict of Interest</strong></span></p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">Another new provision that did not exist under the Repealed Governance Rules is Article 14 concerning ‘Conflict of Interests’, which mirrors the same obligations under Article 150 of the CCL. Such article simply provides that if a member of the Board of Directors has a joint interest or a conflict of interest with the Company in a Deal presented to the Board of Directors to take a decision in relation to such Deal, such member must inform the Board of Directors of the conflict of interest and record it in the minutes of the board meeting. Furthermore, such member shall not participate in the voting on the decision relating to the said Deal. This includes representatives of corporate or governmental bodies, and such disclosure extends to reach interests with the bodies that such member represents.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">If the member of the Board of Directors fails to inform the Board of such joint interest or conflict of interest, the Company or any of its shareholders may resort to the competent court to invalidate the Deal or order such member who acted in contravention of such provision to return to the Company any profit or benefit obtained as a result of entering into this Deal.</p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s3\"> The only addition introduced by Article 14 is that the Company shall maintain a special register for conflicts of interests in which such conflicts are recorded in detail, together with the measures taken in this regard. Even though the New Governance Rules are silent on this matter, we believe that the same provisions of the New Governance Rules that apply to both the Related Parties’ register and the insiders’ register also apply to the conflict of interests’ register, including the disclosure of its content to SCA, the Market and the shareholders of the Company.</span></p>'),
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