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(205807, 6988, '_yoast_wpseo_title', 'Dispute resolution in the UAE | Al Tamimi & Company'),
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(188116, 6956, 'content', '<h4>• Regulatory Issues • Risk Management • Compliance • Licensing • Corporate Governance</h4>\r\nRegulatory expertise at Al Tamimi &amp; Company reflects the growth of regulated business activities across the GCC region. We lead the market in providing a complete range of regulatory services. We understand that compliance with regulation is key to any successful business strategy.\r\n\r\nOur Regulatory experts are drawn from all our specialist practice areas, including Corporate / Merger &amp; Acquisitions, Commercial, TMT, Construction, Healthcare, Real Estate, Hotels &amp; Leisure, Intellectual Property and Dispute Resolution. Our Regulatory experts are a mix of English and Arabic speaking lawyers of the highest calibre. We offer a genuine ‘one-stop shop’ for regulatory compliance at federal and local level. This capability truly sets us apart.\r\n\r\nWe are often asked to draft or amend laws, and we have excellent relationships with regulators. This puts us in the best position to advise private business on matters of law, legal interpretation and the ‘approach’ taken by regulators in securing compliance at federal and local levels.\r\n\r\nWe believe in the importance of helping our clients to achieve compliance and regularly host regulatory specific workshops and client seminars.\r\n<table style=\"height: 497px;\" width=\"837\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"213\">·        Corporate governance\r\n\r\n·         Corporate and commercial regulatory advice\r\n\r\n·         Due diligence reporting\r\n\r\n·         Legislation &amp; policy\r\n\r\n·         Licensing and permit applications and compliance\r\n\r\n·         Operational regulatory compliance;\r\n\r\n·         Regulatory investigations and crisis management</td>\r\n<td width=\"213\">·         Charities and Foundations\r\n\r\n·         Competition\r\n\r\n·         Consumer protection, product conformity and standards\r\n\r\n·         Customs\r\n\r\n·         Environmental\r\n\r\n·         Health and safety\r\n\r\n·         Import/export controls\r\n\r\n·         Legal updates\r\n\r\n·         Procurement\r\n\r\n·         Utilities regulation</td>\r\n<td width=\"213\">·         Construction\r\n\r\n·         Energy\r\n\r\n·         Healthcare\r\n\r\n·         Logistics and trade\r\n\r\n·         Projects\r\n\r\n·         Rail\r\n\r\n·         Retail\r\n\r\n·         Sports and Events Management</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>'),
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(188216, 6959, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">Ours is an age governed by speed, whether through electronic ‘smart’ services, a heavy dependence on smart phones or the growing dominance of online transactions. It seems we can process 90% of our daily tasks with a click online, apparently making life easier and faster.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The law has been slow to catch up with the pace of technological change. In this article we consider the attitude of the Dubai Courts to information communications technology (ICT) in disputes involving real estate. Real estate transactions are overwhelmingly conducted through electronic or digital communications, and the question must be asked: how are parties’ rights protected by digital evidence in the circumstances of a dispute?</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Relevant legal background</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Article 17 of the UAE Law of Evidence (No.10 of 1992 amended by Federal Law No.36 of 2006) stipulates the following at Clause 4:</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><em>Electronic writings, correspondence, registers and documents have the same probative force given by this Law to formal and informal writings and correspondence, whenever it satisfies the conditions and provisions set out in the Law on Electronic Transactions and Commerce.</em></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Article 2 of the Federal Law on Electronic Transactions and Commerce (No.1 of 2006 ) says:</p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Matters for which no specific provision is laid down in the Law shall be governed by the international commercial laws affecting Electronic Transactions and Commerce and the general principles of civil and commercial practice.</li>\r\n 	<li>This Law applies to Electronic Records, Documents and Signatures that relate to Electronic Transactions and Commerce but does not apply to:</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Transactions and issues relating to personal law such as marriage, divorce and wills;</li>\r\n 	<li>Deeds of title to immovable property;</li>\r\n 	<li>Negotiable instruments;</li>\r\n 	<li>Transactions involving the sale, purchase, lease (for a term of more than 10 years) and other disposition of immoveable property and the registration of other rights relating to immoveable property;</li>\r\n 	<li>Any document legally required to be attested before a notary public; and</li>\r\n 	<li>Any other documents or transactions exempted by special provision of law.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">From Article 2(2)(d) above it is clear that electronic documents have limited probative value in certain transactions relating to the sale and purchase of real estate.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Despite this limitation, there have been a number of cases where the Dubai Court of Cassation has in fact accepted electronic evidence in real estate disputes.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Case Study 1</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">One such case involved a dispute whereby a claimant buyer of a real estate unit filed a claim to dispute the price of the unit. The defendant developer had sold the unit as a hotel apartment but later it was discovered that the developer did not have sufficient approvals to classify the unit as such. The buyer filed a claim disputing the price. The first instance court rejected the claim as there was no mention in the sale contract of the unit type or classification as a hotel apartment. On appeal, the Dubai Court of Cassation reversed the lower court’s judgment and remanded the case back to the court to review the case again, ordering it to take into consideration an email by the developer classifying the apartment as a hotel apartment.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Case Study 2</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">However, in a recent judgment the Dubai Court of Cassation has applied a much stricter interpretation of the UAE Law of Evidence and Federal Law on Electronic Transactions and Commerce.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Factual background</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A real estate company (‘the Seller’) entered into sale and purchase agreement with an individual (‘the Buyer’) for the purchase of several unit (‘the Original SPAs’). The Buyer paid part of the purchase price under the Original SPAs and later the Buyer agreed to terminate the Original SPAs. The Buyer then entered into two separate sale and purchase agreements (‘the New SPAs’) for the unit in question (‘the Unit’) and another unit. The Buyer made some payments under the New SPAs but did not settle the balance of the purchase price despite full completion of the project. The Unit was registered under the Buyer’s name on the Interim Property Register at the Land Department in Dubai.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A dispute arose between the Seller and the Buyer as to whether the amounts paid under the Original SPAs should be deemed payment of amounts due under the New SPAs based on emails between the Seller and Buyer. The Buyer believed that it had been agreed in the emails that he had settled certain amounts under the New SPAs, whereas the Seller did not and contended that the Buyer was in breach of the New SPAs for non-payment of dues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Seller applied to the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes (‘the Centre’) for the appointment of an expert to examine the breaches by the Buyer. The Centre appointed an expert who reviewed the matter and concluded in his report that the Buyer had requested a statement of account reflecting in an email sent to the Seller the transfer of the amounts paid under the Original SPAs to his debts under the New SPAs. The expert therefore concluded that the Buyer had a credit balance with the Seller based on the transfer of those payments.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Findings of the Court of First Instance</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Seller filed a claim before the Dubai Courts Court of First Instance claiming the remaining amount outstanding for the Unit plus interest despite the expert report issued at the Centre. The Seller argued that the Buyer had agreed to rescind the Original SPAs and that the Seller would retain the amounts already paid as compensation for the losses suffered due to the Buyer’s breach of the Original SPAs. The Seller asked that the Buyer be ordered to pay the balance owed on the Unit under the New SPAs, in addition to a late penalty with legal interest, , without regard to any payments paid under the Original SPAs.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Buyer filed a counterclaim and sought confirmation that the sale and purchase agreement for the Unit was complete, valid and enforceable. He also sought to compel the Seller to complete the formalities for registering the Unit under the Purchaser’s name in the Property’s Register, and for the Seller to pay compensation for the damage caused by its denial of enjoyment of the Unit to the Buyer from the contract’s signing date up to the Unit’s handover date.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Court of First Instance ruled that:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The Buyer was liable to pay the Seller the remaining balance as stated by the Court expert with an interest rate of 3% per month in case of late payment; and</li>\r\n 	<li>The counterclaim was dismissed. It was  premature as the full payment for the Unit had not been made.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>The Court of Appeal decision</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Seller and the Buyer each appealed. After considering both appeals, the Court of Appeal decided to appoint a tripartite committee of accounting experts. The committee concluded that the Seller had not (but should have) transferred amounts paid by the Buyer under the Original SPAs to the New SPAs. The Buyer made payments to the Seller for the Unit in installments and there were no outstanding amounts owed by the Buyer to the Seller in respect of the Unit.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the Court of First Instance, finding that:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The Seller\'s claim had failed; and</li>\r\n 	<li>The Buyer\'s counterclaim was successful. The sale contract was declared valid and enforceable in respect of the Unit, but the Buyer’s compensation claim was dismissed.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Appeal to the Court of Cassation</strong>\r\n\r\nThe Seller and the Buyer further appealed again to overturn the Court of Appeal’s ruling. The Court of Cassation overturned the Court of appeal and determined that the sale contract was neither valid nor enforceable as the evidence supporting the payments was in the form of an email that did not originate with the Seller. The Court of Appeal had wrongly ignored Article 2(d) of the Federal Law on Electronic Transactions and Commerce. This section excludes transactions involving the sale, purchase, lease for a term of more than 10 years and other disposition of immoveable property and the registration of other rights relating to immoveable property. In other words, the email could not be given any relevance as far as property title was concerned.\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In light of the huge tendency towards smart and electronic transactions and considering the importance of the property sector for the UAE economy, an amendment to UAE legislation may be necessary to include evidence based on electronic correspondence relating to property transactions. At present, UAE civil procedure struggles to cope with the smart transformation occurring not only on a national level but also internationally, making the UAE less attractive to international parties that may engage in real estate transactions. Until the law is changed, it is important for parties to real estate transactions to ensure that any important communication is made through physical letters, ideally via Notary Publics, or other non-electronic means of communication and not to rely solely on electronic correspondence which may be challenged in court.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188272, 6961, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">A leasehold interest consists of usufruct, that is, the right to enjoy the use and advantages of demised premises, short of destroying or damaging it. That property right is delivered by the landlord to the tenant in consideration of payment of specified rent. The landlord retains ownership of the demised premises and the tenant must surrender the demised premises to the landlord at the end of the lease term. The landlord also has the right to recover the demised premises for non-payment of rent. Providing the property is returned in a fit state, granting the right of leasehold should represent a secure investment for the landlord rather than a risk. At the same time, a leasehold right is beneficial to the tenant because it guarantees him the usufruct of property which it would be beyond his financial means to acquire.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In view of the benefits which leasehold provides to the landlord and the tenant, it is commonly used as a means of legally structuring the financing and acquisition of property, as it can be adapted and modified to give the tenant ownership of the demised premises during or at the end of the lease term. Therefore, leasehold, in addition to acquiring usufruct rights over premises during the lease, can become a means of acquiring title to the premises. This provides security to the landlord while enabling the tenant to easily acquire title to the demised premises. This is known as a ‘leasehold ending with ownership’ and is used in certain financial transactions carried out by Islamic banks and financial institutions.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Long-term leases ending with ownership have led to issues and ambiguities concerning their legal essence, particularly in regard to the consequences of termination. Should this type of contract be regarded as a lease, where the landlord keeps the money paid for the enjoyment of the premises, on the basis that a lease is a time-based contract and the parties are not returned to the positions they occupied prior to the contract? Or should it be regarded as a contract of sale which, if terminated, would restore the parties to their original positions and under which the tenant would recover the money paid?</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Claim</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Dubai Court of Cassation in a recent Judgment (Cassation number 178-182/2015 Property) addressed the legal essence of a long-term lease ending with ownership.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The background of the case was that the parties to the dispute had entered into a long term lease (deferred usufruct) for a plot of land against the payment of specific consideration. The lease was registered in the Interim Real Estate Register at the Dubai Land Department. The claimant landlord (the ‘Landlord’) alleged that the defendant tenant (the ‘Tenant’) was in full breach of the contract, having failed to execute the construction works agreed upon. Those works became impossible to complete by the contractual deadline. The Landlord further alleged that the Tenant had failed to make agreed payments and failed to pay the fee for registration of the contract with the Interim Real Estate Register. The Tenant filed a counterclaim seeking to restore the position that existed before the contract was made and recover the money paid to the Landlord.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>The Court of First Instance</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Court of First Instance ordered the contract to be terminated due to a breach by the Tenant and that the original position be restored by having the Landlord return all the sums of money paid by the Tenant.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>The Court of Appeal</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Landlord appealed and the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal and upheld the primary Judgment.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>The Court of Cassation</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Landlord appealed to the Court of Cassation arguing that the Court of Appeal erred in treating the long term lease as a contract of sale when it was explicitly clear from all its terms that the parties were in a landlord-tenant relationship and that the rental amount and the lease terms were specified at various places in the contract. The Court of Appeal should not have departed from plain meaning of the contract and should not have characterised it as sale and purchase contract, contrary to the facts. The Landlord asked the Court to enforce the contract’s breach and termination clauses.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Landlord stressed that a lease is a continuing contract which meant that the Landlord would keep the rent for the period that lapsed before the contract was invalidated or terminated, in consideration of the Tenant’s obligation to return the usufruct he enjoyed in the demised premises during that period.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In other words, the effects produced by the contract prior to invalidation or termination survived because that invalidation or termination only had a prospective effect, or consequences for the future. This was because a lease is a time-based, fixed-term contract in which time is of the essence without retroactive effect. The payments the Tenant had made in performance of his obligation could not be recalled and the effects produced prior to termination remained.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Court of Cassation held that the trial court had the discretion to characterise contracts and determine the intent of the parties. Characterisation of a contract is done by reference to the facts, evidence and the terms of the agreement underlying the claim. According to the terms of the agreement, the parties intended to enter into a sale-purchase contract whereby the Tenant purchased a plot of land for a price which he was bound to pay in monthly installments. The contract stated that the plot should be delivered to the Tenant only upon payment of the full price. The Court of Cassation found that this was clearly inconsistent with the nature of leasehold where rent is only payable in consideration of a tenant being provided periodic enjoyment of the demised premises. The Court of Cassation noted, however, that the Tenant breached the contract by not paying the installments due despite the Landlord having registered the contract in the tenant’s name.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Dubai Court of Cassation therefore regarded the agreement of a lease ending with ownership as a contract of sale, rather than a strict lease. The Court consequently applied the legal effects of a contract of sale, including the effects of termination such that the parties were restored to the positions they occupied prior to the contract and any sums paid were returned.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188325, 6962, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">The United Arab Emirates (‘UAE’) is witnessing advanced steps in the development and prosperity of its economy and legislation, as well as significant developments in its judicial process. However, we still see that many international clients that operate or have significant economic activities in the UAE prefer to submit their disputes to foreign jurisdictions, arbitration, or other forums, as an attempt to avoid litigation in the national courts, as they are considered relatively new when compared to other jurisdiction.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Recent cases, including the case that is the focus of this article, have reaffirmed the strength and power of the UAE judiciary and its absolute neutrality. Based on this confidence, Al Tamimi &amp; Company, Sharjah Office, represented a private company in its dispute against an entity wholly owned by the Government of Sharjah before the Federal Court in the Emirate of Sharjah itself (the ‘Court’). The case had a significant financial claim, exceeding half a billion United States dollars (approximately two billion dirhams), for the purchase of oil supplies for the power plants of the Emirate of Sharjah. The case was registered in 2011, wherein the government entity filed a counterclaim on the efficiency of supply by the private company.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Court decided to appoint technical experts to examine the merits and technical issues of the dispute. The Court decided not to appoint experts from the roll approved by the Ministry of Justice but to appoint international experts in accounting and auditing from the ‘big four’ international offices and further appointed an international expert in the field of oil. The Court ultimately issued its ruling in favour of the private company and rejected most of the requests by the governmental entity.</p>\r\nThe Sharjah Court of First Instance issued its  judgment on 31 July 2016, obliging the government entity to pay the private company an amount of AED 1,709,220,465. On appeal before the Federal Court of Appeal of Sharjah, the court issued its judgment on 14 February 2017, affirming the ruling of the Court of First Instance. Both parties appealed the matter before the Federal Supreme Court in the capital of Abu Dhabi, and the Federal Supreme Court decided to reject the appeal by the Sharjah governmental entity and accept the appeal of the private company, regarding the date of starting to calculate the interest rate. The amount payable and enforceable under this UAE federal judgment amounted to AED 1,820,000,000. This is a great testament to the credibility of the judiciary in the UAE and its absolute neutrality, no matter the opponent, even if it is a government authority, and no matter the claim amount.\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In this context, we conclude that the UAE judiciary is constantly evolving and has the credibility and impartiality that puts it in the ranks of modern and renowned jurisdictions in terms of both judicial integrity and investor protection.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">It is also necessary to emphasise that the federal judiciary understood the importance of using the necessary foreign expertise to assist in adjudicating the cases before it and accepted the fees charged by such foreign experts. Wherein in this case the courts accepted the fees provided by the offices of each appointed expert, which amounted to AED 1,000,000 (approximately two hundred and eighty thousand US dollars). The court was focused on receiving objective and competent expert evidence in order to protect the rights of the parties.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Therefore, we reaffirm the existing evidence of the power of the UAE judiciary and its perpetual development and absolute neutrality and we desire the continuity of the same.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188388, 6967, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">Dubai Law 1 of 2017 has introduced a new mechanism for disposing of criminal complaints. The law seeks to provide efficiency and lessen the workload across the judicial authorities. Prior to this new initiative, criminal complaints were investigated by the public prosecutor and referred to the criminal court for trial and sentencing. The new penal order permits a prosecutor, within the limits set out in the law, to find the defendant guilty of certain misdemeanours and issue a penalty for the crime committed without the matter being referred to court.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A penal order can be issued by a public prosecutor for crimes classified as misdemeanours, in other words those punishable by a fine and/or a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years. The penal order must be restricted to the payment of a fine. The fine must not exceed half the maximum amount of a fine permitted under the UAE Penal Code for the relevant crime and additional punitive measures as outlined in Articles 82 - 85 of the UAE Penal Code such as confiscation of assets.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The effect of the issuance of a penal order is to terminate the criminal case without referring the prosecution to the competent court under the normal procedures unless the accused raises an objection to the penal order. Any objection must be made within seven days of the penal order being issued in the presence of the defendant or, if the defendant is absent, within seven days of notification of the penal order to the defendant by the public prosecutor.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Article 3 of Dubai Law 1 of 2017 sets out the reasons for the introduction of the penal order: to expedite the determination of criminal actions, reduce the burden on the criminal courts, streamline proceedings and the administration of justice for minor crimes, and reduce the time, effort and expense incurred by the parties involved in criminal prosecutions. Furthermore, the law serves the interests of individuals by enabling the public prosecutor to dispose of minor crimes without the need to maintain precautionary measures such as the confiscation of the accused’s passport for long periods of time during the course of the investigation and the court process.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The law has provisions to protect the rights of the accused. Article 6 stipulates that once the public prosecutor receives the case file from the police, the accused should be notified of the referral of the case and should be informed of the charges filed against him and the evidence supporting the charge, so that he may prepare his defence. In cases where the accused fails to attend and submit his defence to the public prosecutor, the penal order will be issued in absentia against the accused. The law states that the Attorney-General of Dubai will determine and publish a full procedure for the notification of the prosecution to the defendant by the public prosecutor.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">After the penal order is issued, it is reviewed by a member of the prosecution whose grade is not lower than a Chief Prosecutor in rank. He may amend or revoke the order within seven days of its issue. As a long stop, the Attorney-General of Dubai can amend or revoke a penal order within 30 days of its issuance. If the order is revoked, it is void, meaning it has no legal effect whatsoever. If it is amended or approved, the order is processed for execution subject to any objection as described above.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">If there are multiple defendants and one or more of them objects to the penal order, the order is revoked in respect of the objecting parties only. The prosecutor is obliged to refer the case to the criminal court to issue its judgment as per the normal criminal procedures against the objecting parties.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The accused may withdraw any objection he has made to a penal order against him prior to the first hearing scheduled before the court. In that case, the penal order becomes final and binding. A penal order becomes final, and is immune to objection or appeal by any means, if the time limit for the objection elapses or if the accused pays the fine specified pursuant to the penal order. The law was issued on 30 January 2017. However, since the law stated that the list of crimes which could be disposed of by a penal order will be issued at a later date, the law was not implemented until December of 2017.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Public Prosecution issued decision no. 88 of 2017 which contained a list of the crimes that may now be disposed of by a penal order and that list included the issuing of bad cheques for a value not exceeding AED 200,000, certain types of defamation, and attempted suicide. The Public Prosecution is now issuing penal orders and disposing of cases using this new mechanism.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188465, 6968, 'content', 'Grazie ai floridi rapporti commerciali intercorsi tra l’Italia ed i paesi del Medio Oriente, un numero sempre maggiore di aziende italiane ha scelto questa regione strategica come fulcro dei propri interessi commerciali.\r\n\r\nAl Tamimi &amp; Company assiste società italiane che intendono investire nella regione mediorientale da oltre 25 anni.\r\n\r\nIl nostro Studio fornisce assistenza ad aziende operanti in ogni settore commerciale ed i nostri clienti possono contare sulla nostra profonda conoscenza delle leggi, della lingua e delle regolamentazioni di tutti quei Paesi in cui siamo presenti.\r\n\r\nPertanto, forte di tale esperienza e grazie alla presenza di professionisti italiani nel nostro team, lo Studio è perfettamente in grado di comprendere le problematiche che i nostri clienti italiani interessati ad investire in questa regione si apprestano ad affrontare.\r\n\r\nL’ Italy Group nasce quindi come uno speciale strumento di supporto per tutte le società italiane che vogliano investire, operare o ampliare la loro presenza in Medio Oriente, fornendo assistenza nelle seguenti aree del diritto:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><strong>Diritto bancario e finanziario</strong></li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Diritto della concorrenza</strong></li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Costruzioni e infrastrutture</strong></li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Diritto commerciale e societario</strong></li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Fusioni e acquisizioni</strong></li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Diritto del lavoro e delle assicurazioni</strong></li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Family business</strong></li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Proprietà intellettuale</strong></li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Contenzioso e arbitrato</strong></li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Diritto immobiliare</strong></li>\r\n 	<li><strong>Diritto tributario</strong></li>\r\n</ul>\r\nInoltre, lo Studio vanta la collaborazione di prestigiosi studi legali italiani; questo ci permette non soltanto di offrire supporto alle imprese italiane che intendano operare in Medio Oriente, ma anche alle imprese mediorientali che fossero interessate ad investire in Italia.'),
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(188530, 6971, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Introduction</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The UAE legislator provides in the UAE Civil Procedures Code (“CPC”) that arbitration awards issued in UAE (i.e. domestic arbitration awards) are not enforceable until the Court ratifies the award. However, the CPC does not specify which local Court has jurisdiction to enforce domestic arbitration awards.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">This lacuna in the law raises a number of questions, which this article will consider in the context of a recent case. For example, does the location of the relevant arbitration centre play a part in determining the Court that has the jurisdiction to enforce the award or do the general rules on judicial jurisdiction laid down in the CPC determine this issue?</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A recent Dubai Court of First Instance (“Dubai CFI”) determined a ratification request in respect of an arbitration award issued by Dubai International Arbitration Centre (“DIAC”). The final judgment highlighted the basis upon which to determine the competent Court to enforce domestic arbitration awards issued in UAE.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Background of case</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A bank (the “Respondent”) entered into an agreement with the opponent (the “Claimant”) to sell certain properties with commission being paid to the Claimant. The agreement contained an arbitration clause, which stated that any dispute between the parties should be referred to DIAC with DIAC’s rules applying.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A dispute ensued and the matter was referred to DIAC with the Claimant being the successful party. The Claimant filed a case before the Dubai CFI to ratify the arbitration award.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Respondent’s defence including the argument that the Dubai CFI should not ratify the award due to lack of jurisdiction, asserting that the matter should be heard before the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance (“AD CFI”) rather than Dubai CFI.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Respondent took the position that the general rules related to the UAE Courts’ jurisdiction, as laid down in the CPC, should be followed in order to determine the competent Court for the purposes of reviewing the ratification request.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Respondent argued that the subject matter of the arbitration award is a commercial dispute, and thus Article 31/3 of the CPC, which determines the applicable Court that has jurisdiction to review the commercial disputes, should apply. Article 31/3 provides that “in the commercial matters jurisdiction shall be vested in the court in whose area the defendant has his domicile or the court in whose area the agreement was made or was performed in whole or in part or in the court in whose area the contract should have been performed.”</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Respondent submitted to CFI that if it applied Article 31/3 to this ratification case, it would reach the following conclusion:</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">     (i) The Respondent was domiciled in Abu Dhabi; and</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">     (ii) The contract was made and performed in Abu Dhabi.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Claimant argued that the Respondent has a branch in Dubai, and thus the ‘area’ of the Respondent should be Dubai with the CFI having jurisdiction to review the ratification case. In response, the Respondent asserted that its main branch, which contracted with the Claimant, is located in Abu Dhabi and a decision that the Dubai CFI had jurisdiction would be contrary to public policy considerations.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Court’s Judgment:</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The CFI accepted the Respondent’s defence and rejected the Claimant’s ratification case due to lack of jurisdiction holding that the Abu Dhabi Court is the competent Court with jurisdiction to review the ratification case.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Claimant challenged the judgment issued by the Dubai CFI before the Dubai Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal issued a judgment (No. 272/2013), in which it upheld the Dubai CFI decision.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Dubai Court of Appeal stated that Article 31/3 of the CPC should be applied, which determines the Court’s jurisdiction for commercial disputes. The Dubai Court of Appeal confirmed the Dubai CFI decision, namely; that the domicile of the Respondent, the performance of the disputed contract and the place in which the contract was made, was the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal held that the competent Court to review the ratification case related to the arbitration award was the AD CFI, and not its Dubai equivalent. The Claimant did not challenge the judgment issued by Dubai Court of Appeal and thus the judgment became final and binding.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">It is clear from this case that matters such as the place of the arbitration centre have no relevance in determining which UAE Court has jurisdiction to review ratification and/or the nullification requests related arbitration awards issued in UAE. Further, the Court that has jurisdiction to review ratification and/or nullification requests regarding arbitration awards issued in UAE is the Court that would otherwise have jurisdiction to review the subject matter of the arbitration award (had the dispute not been referred to arbitration). In summary, the general rules on judicial jurisdiction laid down in the CPC are determinative.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188583, 6973, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">There has been an increasing interest of foreign investors in the use of special purpose vehicles (‘SPV’) in the structuring of securitisation transactions in the UAE. The financial free zones in the UAE i.e. the Abu Dhabi Global Market (‘ADGM’) and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) have played a pivotal role in attracting this interest by providing an option of a flexible, robust, simple and efficient SPV regime that is well suited as a legal entity for securitising a portfolio of assets.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Businesses that wish to transform their illiquid assets to cashflow usually opt for either a factoring or securitisation structure, both of which enable a business to sell its assets (usually account receivables, i.e. outstanding monies owed to that business) to third parties at a discounted price. While under a factoring transaction, third parties are typically banks and financial institutions, under a securitisation structure, the idea is to procure funding from not just the banking sector but from the wider investment and capital markets.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Under a securitisation structure, the twin objectives of transferring assets for the benefit of investors and, at the same time creating a capital market instrument can be achieved by using a SPV. SPVs are specifically and solely created for the purpose of: (i) holding assets sought to be transferred by the originator, the assets, once transferred, are ring fenced for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the SPV; and (ii) the issuance of financial instruments by the SPV, providing exposure to the underlying assets transferred to the SPV. Investors do not have to acquire or purchase all of the assets of the originator directly, but they do so indirectly through the securities issued by the SPV with their investment decision depending on their risk and investment appetite. In practice, while the assets of the originator are transferred to the SPV, making the SPV the legal owner of the underlying assets, the SPV is a conduit between the assets and the ultimate investors, making the holders of the securities the ultimate beneficiaries of the underlying assets.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Under the laws of UAE, the restrictions on foreign shareholding and filing requirements often make it difficult for foreign investors to set up an onshore SPV and implement a securitisation transaction. Also, UAE law does not recognise the notion of a trust removing the availability of a critical structuring tool employed in securitisation. However, the basis of the ADGM and DIFC legal framework is English and common law meaning trust structures can be used in connection with its SPV regime. For purposes of this Article we will limit ourselves to benefits of securitisation structure under ADGM.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A typical securitisation structure under ADGM\'s ambit can be explained as below.</p>\r\n\r\n<h1 align=\"LEFT\"> <img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7009\" src=\"http://www.tamimi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Capture1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1197\" height=\"298\" /></h1>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">By virtue of being incorporated in the ADGM, the SPV regime offers a number of benefits including:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>No foreign ownership restrictions. ADGM entities are not subject to any requirement of minimum shareholding by UAE nationals. Therefore, 100 per cent of the SPV may be owned by a foreign national or group of foreign nationals.</li>\r\n 	<li>Tax Residency. All ADGM registered companies are eligible to apply a Tax Residency Certificate from the UAE Ministry of Finance to benefit from the UAE’s Double Tax Treaty network. This is subject to meeting the criteria of Ministry of Finance. In addition to this, there are no (a) withholding taxes, or (b) restrictions on repatriation of profits.</li>\r\n 	<li>No Office Space Required. Unlike an ordinary ADGM company limited by shares, an ADGM SPV is not required to take office space, however, they must provide a registered address on Al Maryah Island. This will ordinarily be the address of its appointed service provider and is similar to the registered office requirement in other jurisdictions. This exemption of office space removes a significant cost of setting up of an SPV.</li>\r\n 	<li>Migration or continuance of existing corporate entities. ADGM permits the relocation and redomicile of companies to ADGM from other jurisdiction. A company that is incorporated outside ADGM may apply for the issuance of a certificate confirming that it continues as a company registered under the ADGM Companies Regulations. The company must be authorised to make such an application by the laws of the jurisdiction under which it is currently incorporated.</li>\r\n 	<li>Legal and Regulatory. In terms of legal and regulatory aspects governing the SPV, the direct applicability of common law ensures a high level of legal certainty and provides comfort to foreign investors coming from a common law background. In particular, SPVs have access to ADGM’s sophisticated regime for registration and enforcement of security interests, which is often a critical factor in selecting a jurisdiction in which to incorporate SPVs for a securitisation transaction.</li>\r\n 	<li>Holding Company. While the DIFC and the ADGM options allow for securitisation transactions, the ‘holding’ company concept is radically different in both centres. It must be noted though that the name ‘special purpose vehicle’ inherently means an entity created for a special purpose, and implies a temporary nature. However, the ADGM does allow these SPVs to function as ultimate holding companies, which, in theory, can continue in perpetuity.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIn addition to these benefits, there are certain other benefits that may incentivise foreign entities to set up SPVs under the ADGM regime for a securitisation structure, such as: independent ADGM Courts; an efficient timing for set-up; no restriction on the number of shareholders; a quick and easy fully digital registration process; no attestation requirement for corporate documents; which may incentivize foreign entities to set up SPVs under the ADGM regime for a securitisation structure.\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">However, an SPV set up for a securitisation structure cannot conduct ‘financial services’ in or from the ADGM, unless it is appropriately authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority. This would depend upon the business plan discussed and submitted with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority. Subject to the review of this plan and objectives of the structure, an SPV is advised by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority on the kind of licensing they are required to adhere to under the financial regulations of the ADGM.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The financial participants interested in setting up a securitisation structure within the UAE may consider ADGM as a potential option in addition to already existing options under the DIFC, given the benefits these financial free zones offer and provide set-up and regulatory mechanism similar to a lot of common law jurisdictions. We will be happy to discuss this and assist with potential set-ups in either of these financial freezones.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188636, 6974, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">Laws relating to Emiratisation in the UAE are not a new phenomenon and a reasonably comprehensive legislative framework has developed obligating employers in the UAE to positively discriminate in favour of UAE national employees. Until recently, there has been a distinct lack of enforcement in relation to legal requirements surrounding Emiratisation. However, that is changing and this article explores recent developments in the financial sector to promote Emiratisation.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Legal Framework</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In terms of current framework, there are a number of laws which deal either directly or indirectly with Emiratisation and which apply, broadly, to all entities established outside of the free zones. Whilst entities in the free zones are encouraged to act in the ‘spirit’ of Emiratisation, there is generally no legal requirement to do so.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">As a starting point, preferential treatment for UAE national employees was originally documented in the UAE Labour Law (Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 (as amended)) which provides that work is an inherent right for UAE nationals and that non-nationals may be engaged in the UAE only where suitable UAE national employees are not available. This position is supported by a number of ministerial decisions. For example, Ministerial Decision 41 of 2005 requires all commercial entities to ensure that 2% of the workforce is comprised of UAE national employees. More recently, entities with over 1,000 employees are required to engage two UAE national employees in data entry positions.</p>\r\nThe banking and insurance sectors have previously been subject to a higher Emiratisation threshold and we explore this further below.\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Emiratisation in the Banking and Insurance Sectors</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Since 1999, a 4% quota has been applied by the Central Bank to entities in the banking sector meaning that 4% of the workforce must be comprised of UAE national employees. The quota is cumulative, mandating a year on year increase of 4%. Interestingly, there is no minimum threshold, so even a bank with 1 employee is therefore required to comply with the 4% requirement. A similar approach has been taken by the Insurance Authority which has applied a quota of 5%.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Historically, entities in the banking and insurance sectors have consistently met and, in some cases, exceeded Emiratisation requirements. This is almost certainly attributable to the banking and insurance regulators: the UAE Central Bank and the UAE Insurance Authority. Both have taken steps to encourage Emiratisation and ensure that entities falling within the remit of their regulations take all actions necessary comply in that regard.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">It appears that both the Central Bank and Insurance Authority recognise that the sectors regulated by them are now plateauing in terms of Emiratisation figures. In light of the UAE Government’s ‘Vision 2021’, there are indications that the Central Bank and Insurance Authority consider increasing Emiratisation is a priority for the banking and insurance sectors.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Changes Afoot</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">To date, the Central Bank’s Emiratisation targets have been focussed on retail banks which, traditionally, have a large employee population. Representative offices, which tend to have a smaller presence, were largely outside of the scope of Emiratisation targets and obligations. This is no longer the case.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Earlier this year, a notice was issued to all representative offices in the UAE mandating the engagement of one UAE national employee per office by December 2017. There are no further criteria regarding the hire. For example, it is not necessary for the UAE national employee to be hired in a certain role or at a specified level of seniority. There is also no minimum threshold under which the requirement will not apply and therefore offices with only one employee are required to engage one further (UAE national) employee.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In addition to the inclusion of representative offices in the Emiratisation quota system, there have been further developments in respect of the method of setting quotas moving forward. Historically, the quota system was relatively straightforward with each eligible entity being required to meet a 4% or 5% (depending on sector) cumulative year on year quota whereby the workforce was made up of at least a specified number of UAE nationals. This approach has been replaced with the introduction of a points based system: simply put, banks and insurance companies will be allocated target points on an annual basis which will form the basis of their Emiratisation quota. The change is important in that the Central Bank and Insurance Authority are recognising broader efforts relating to Emiratisation and not simply the number of UAE nationals compared to the total number of employees in a workplace.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Very broadly, target points will be calculated with reference to operating income for banks and gross written premiums for insurance companies. Essentially, a revenue based quota. Once the target number of points is set, there are two main ways in which points can be accrued: input points and output points.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Input points can be obtained for training and development efforts. The idea appears to be to incentivise entities to invest in their existing UAE national workforce by encouraging and funding ongoing training and development such that the employees are likely to progress in the organisation and remain in the private sector.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Output points are issued for more tangible Emiratisation efforts, for example, the number and quality of jobs created by an entity for UAE national employees. Perhaps unsurprisingly, hiring UAE nationals in more senior or niche roles will attract more points. For instance, an UAE national hired in a senior management role gives five points, while an UAE national hired for a non-managerial role provides just one point.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Non-Compliance</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">There have been no announcements in terms of penalties for representative offices which fail to engage an UAE national by the deadline which has recently passed. We are aware that some representative offices are struggling to recruit suitable UAE nationals into identified roles, despite very real attempts to do so.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In comparison, there has been significantly more visibility in respect of penalties for failure to meet points targets. In that regard, it is understood that monetary fines will be levied against those entities which fail to meet targets and that the quantum of such fines will directly correspond with how close an entity is to meeting its target. Interestingly, fines have been expressed as a penalty in the initial stages of implementation of the new scheme. It remains to be seen whether more onerous penalties will be placed on those entities which fail to meet targets going forward.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>The Future</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The changes identified above demonstrate a clear commitment by the Central Bank and Insurance Authority in relation to Emiratisation. However, more broadly, there have been a number of decrees issued in the past 12 to 18 months dealing with Emiratisation and in light of Vision 2021, we would anticipate that further requirements would be implemented to encourage Emiratisation in the private sector.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188714, 6976, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">The legal profession has always been identified as being traditional, unsusceptible to change, and guided by precedent as opposed to innovation. However, despite the fact that in comparison to other industries legal innovation has lagged behind, the scope, pace and reach of innovation and technology in the legal industry has, over the last years made significant strides.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Law firms across the globe are under tremendous pressure to adapt to a market place led by increasingly price-conscious clients (who themselves are under tremendous internal pressure to cut costs), and affordable, innovative technologies, coupled with an ever growing pool of service providers whose business models are not based on the traditional service delivery charged by the hour. The result is that innovation and technology are rapidly changing the way legal services are being delivered and by whom.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">An International Bar Association hosted seminar in London recently considered ‘Building the Law Firm of the Future’ – a look at how different law firms will be in 5 to 10 years’ time.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The panel of leading in-house General Counsels explored the ever-increasing divide between traditional law firm models and their clients’ expectations, aptly entitled ‘Clients are from Mars, law firms are from Venus - Why the dynamics driving clients are leading them to insist on greater innovation, and how law firms can respond’. The panel looked at the divide between the traditional model of the provision of legal services and the requirements of today’s corporate clients, and at the significant internal changes that many corporate clients are making to address this divide.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The clear message that came across is that there has been a shift in terms of the clients’ expectations from their lawyers; today, clients are turning to law firms to provide them with:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><strong>predictability and transparency on timelines and fees:</strong> the hourly fee arrangement on the basis of charging clients is coming under pressure, and ‘Alternative Fee Arrangements’ (AFA’s) - which include fixed fee arrangements, are gaining momentum and becoming more popular with certain corporate clients. Corporate clients across the board are themselves under a tremendous amount of pressure to work within tight budgets and keep costs low, whilst requiring provision of value added legal services;</li>\r\n 	<li><strong>proactive and collaborative lawyering rather than reactive lawyering: </strong>lawyers that can provide proactive commercial solutions to their client’s current and potential business issues, rather than reactive legal advice to problems that have already arisen. As lawyers we interact with many clients in the same industries, and our clients expect us to leverage on this (without breaching confidentiality obligations), by providing them with insights into how others are solving the same or similar challenges, what technologies other industry players are adopting, etc.; and</li>\r\n 	<li><strong>commercial advice Vs. legal advice: </strong>following on from the previous point, corporate clients are increasingly looking for lawyers who can help them drive their businesses; industry experts as opposed to practice area experts; lawyers with commercial acumen and knowledge of the client’s industry and its requirements.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAs part of this shift, there is also an increased emphasis on technology and the impact it has across the board for the legal industry (and not just the client/lawyer relationship). Technology is changing the way that traditionally law firms provide legal services. This in turn has led to the democratization of the industry and has introduced new forms of competition and a search for better and more efficient ways of providing legal services.\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">More corporate clients are adopting new delivery models for legal services such as:</p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Increasing the internal corporate legal team and keeping more of the work in-house;</li>\r\n 	<li>Increasing the procurement of services from alternative service providers with delivery models that differ from the traditional law firm model, and which are often seen as being better aligned with the company’s risk tolerance and enterprise objectives than law firms. There is an increased willingness to procure services from alternative legal services providers (such as the ‘Big 4’, and other low-cost firms that provide clients with fixed fees and template documents), which are able to adopt more competitive fee structures, and which are often closer to the clients’ core business;</li>\r\n 	<li>Utilising technology, process, and \'the right person for the right task’ to promote efficiency, mitigate risk, and reduce cost; and</li>\r\n 	<li>Rejecting the outdated belief that only lawyers are capable of and should perform ‘legal’ tasks. Legal problems are increasingly viewed as business challenges which in turn raise legal issues.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">To address these issues, international firms have started to invest in and implement changes, and are more willing to adopt innovative approaches to the delivery of their services. Many international firms today have dedicated ‘Innovation Teams’ that are tasked with looking at new technologies and provide innovation strategies for the firms’ future. Legal tech applications range from speeding up document searches to helping to predict the outcome of lawsuits, to managing complex cross-border M&amp;A transactions through the deployment of project management tools and software. Smart contracts are an example of an area in which firms are investing – as a tool to save on costs and time and ensure predictability and consistency of results.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Other firms realise that new skills sets and talent pools of lawyers will be required to meet the client demands. A tech savvy lawyer will often be more valuable to the law firm of the future than the quintessential lawyer. To address this, there is a growing trend amongst international firms to enrol associates on coding courses so that they learn how to code contracts and other legal documents.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The retail segment of the legal industry is witnessing a surge in ‘disruptive technology’. What this means is simply that changes are predominantly occurring in the lower end of the market, whereby technology and innovation allow entry of new clients in the marketplace by creating ease of access to legal services at lower costs and higher efficiency.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Disruptive technology comes in many shapes and sizes, ranging from companies such as LegalZoom, Axiom, Legal Geek, etc. to specifically developed software and applications. LegalZoom, for example is a highly rated legal technology company with an estimated 3 million customers, which is successfully using technology to improve access, promote efficiency, and reduce the cost of legal services. The company is also able to bring new customers into the market and create templates for how, when, and at what service level lawyers are required for different tasks and functions.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Lex Machina is a legal analytical software tool that provides data allowing companies and law firms to develop strategies and win cases. Through the use of its Lexpressions engine, the app is able to mine and interpret data from millions of pages of litigation and to access information about judges, lawyers, parties, and the subjects of lawsuits. Armed with this data, lawyers can predict the behaviours and outcomes that different legal strategies will produce.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Other law firms have developed their own ‘disruptive’ technologies in how they are delivering their services and the platforms they are using. For example, such firms have established ‘offshore’ low cost legal centres which, through the adoption and implementation of innovative technologies have enabled these centres to become a source of profit for the firms. Other initiatives include firms that are providing flexible legal arrangements such as lawyers to clients and/or projects on a secondment or temporary basis.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Many law firms are investing heavily in legal technology. The law firm of the future will provide its clients with access to technology platforms enabling them to continuously monitor progress and receive regular updates on their litigation matters and working files.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188767, 6978, 'content', '<h2 align=\"LEFT\"><strong> </strong><strong>  i. Registering a Limited Liability Company with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce:</strong></h2>\r\n<h4 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>What is a Limited Liability Company under Qatari Law?</strong></h4>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A Limited Liability Company is a company that is formed by one or more persons and the number of partners in a Limited Liability Company shall not exceed 50 persons. A partner in a Limited Liability Company is liable for only its share in the company’s capital.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>What are the foreign investment rules for a Limited Liability Company?</strong></h4>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The general rule for foreign investment in Qatar, in any type of company, is that a local Qatari partner must hold 51% of the shares in that company.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The most common vehicle for use in Qatari-Foreign joint ventures is a Limited Liability Company, in which 51% of the shares are held by a Qatari national and 49% are held by the foreign investor.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>What is the minimum share capital for a Limited Liability Company?</strong></h4>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Commercial Companies Law no. 11 of 2015 (the “Commercial Companies Law”) does not set a minimum share capital for a Limited Liability Company. Foreign investors must, however, take into consideration that the share capital of the Limited Liability Company should cover the initial expenses of the company. Such initial expenses could include the cost of leasing a premises and costs related to employees.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Can the partners in a Limited Liability Company agree to the percentage of profit distribution?</strong></h4>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Commercial Companies Law states that the profits of a Limited Liability Company should be distributed in accordance with the percentage of shares held by the partners unless agreed otherwise. As such, partners in a Limited Liability Company often agree to a different method of profit distribution in the memorandum of incorporation.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Are there any options that allow for 100% foreign ownership in a Limited Liability Company?</strong></h4>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">While the general rule under the Qatar Foreign Investment Law No (13) of 2000 (as amended) (the “Foreign Investment Law”) is that any foreign investor seeking to do business in Qatar must have a Qatari partner holding at least 51% of the shares; however, Article (2) of the Foreign Investment Law sets out certain exemptions applicable to certain sectors of business. These sectors include agriculture, industry, health, education, tourism, development, exploitation of natural resources, energy, mining, business consultancy, technical consultancy, information technology, cultural, sports and entertainment. Foreign investors operating in one of these sectors may apply for the registration of a Limited Liability Company with 100% foreign shareholding.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Establishing a Branch of a Foreign Company: What is a Branch of a Foreign Company under Qatari Law?</strong></h4>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A branch of a foreign company is registered in Qatar to facilitate the foreign company in the performance of its contract(s) in Qatar (as described below). The branch does not have a separate legal personality from the foreign company.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>What are the rules for registering a Branch of a Foreign Company?</strong></h4>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Article (3) of the Foreign Investment Law, subject to an exemption from the Minister of Economy and Commerce, permits a branch/temporary registration of a foreign company to be registered in Qatar if that foreign company has a contract or sub-contract in Qatar which facilitates the rendering of a service or implies public benefit. This usually means that the foreign company must have a contract/sub-contract with the Government of the State of Qatar or a quasi-governmental body. Such a branch is only entitled to perform the specific contract in respect of which it has been registered (save to the extent other permitted contracts are registered under the same commercial registration) and the registration will lapse on completion of that contract. A branch exemption may, however, be extended if either the original contract is extended in time or a new contract is entered into which falls within Article (3).</p>\r\n\r\n<h3 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>      ii. Establishing a Branch or a Limited Liability Company in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC):</strong></h3>\r\n<h4 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Why register a Branch or Limited Liability Company in the QFC?</strong></h4>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The main advantage of registering a branch or a Limited Liability Company in the QFC for foreign investors is that the QFC allows 100% foreign ownership and unlimited repatriation of profits. Further, since the QFC is not a free zone or a separate geographical zone, all entities in the QFC operate on a fully onshore basis with the ability to access the local market.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>What activities can be carried out from the QFC?</strong></h4>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The QFC allows foreign investors the opportunity to establish and provide a broad range of professional and financial services. These include the regulated activities of deposit taking; providing credit facilities; providing custody services; dealing in investments; managing investments; advising on investments; arranging deals in investments; arranging credit facilities; arranging the provision of custody services; operating a collective investment funds; carrying out a contract of insurance; effecting a contract of insurance.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Additionally, it includes non-regulated activities of: ship broking and shipping agents; provision of classification services and investment grading and other grading services; company headquarters, management offices and treasury operations and other related functions for all kinds of business, and the administration of companies generally; providing professional services including but not limited to audit, accounting, tax, consulting and legal services; holding companies, and the provision, formation, operation and administration of trusts and similar arrangements of all kinds; provision, formation, operation and administration of companies.</p>\r\n\r\n<h4 align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Are there any operational restrictions on QFC entities?</strong></h4>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Regulated and non-regulated activities permitted under the umbrella of QFC do not include trading activities. QFC companies thus are not allowed to perform any trading activities in Qatar or import or export any goods or materials. Further, due to the nature of the regulated and non-regulated activities permitted by the QFC, there is a restriction on QFC entities ability to hire blue collar workers.</p>'),
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(188820, 6979, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">The Vision 2030 of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as announced on 25 April 2016, is the plan for the post-oil era with the rise of new energy efficient producing technologies. The Vision aims to usher the Kingdom into a new era of innovations and modernity in all aspects of life pertaining to the 21st Century. To this end, Vision 2030 strikes a fine balance between keeping with the Kingdom’s tradition and heritage and emphasising the Kingdom’s three strategies of progress, which are:</p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>having a vital and prosperous society;</li>\r\n 	<li>maintaining a continuously growing and sustainable economy in all sectors; and</li>\r\n 	<li>attending to the ambitions and aspirations of the Kingdom’s young generation.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Vision 2030 in this context strives to harmonise between the traditions and heritage and those three strategies. To achieve the vision’s goals and maximize the benefits the Kingdom has sought to ensure that the three strategies are well integrated and consistent with each other. As such, the Kingdom’s announcement of its new Vision has prompted the launch of several national transformation programs, which in turn have kick started developments in various official departments. These developments have in turn prompted a relook at the policies in place in respect of the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) across the country. In this article, we will examine such developments in respect of the Saudi Customs.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In line with the goals of Vision 2030, Saudi Customs recently announced a number of important measures, which will simplify procedures and reduce customs clearance times. Viewed in the broader context of the Saudi government’s ambitious Vision 2030, the Saudi Customs’ introduction of these new measures reflects their desire to transform the Kingdom into an international logistical center. The key objective is to eliminate all obstacles, which impede the growth of the Kingdom as a regional and international transactional hub of commerce and trade. The Saudi Customs’ new measures thus intend to contribute to the economic development of the Kingdom and directly call for a change in the Customs’ border control policy to curb the influx of products which infringe local, regional and international entities’ IPR. We will first examine the new measures which the Saudi Customs will be implementing and then assess the efforts which the Customs are undertaking to bring its IP protection programs up to speed with these new measures.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>New Simplified Clearance Procedures</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The new measures will streamline and simplify procedures in the clearance of goods through customs. The number of procedures required to clear goods will accordingly be reduced with a view to shortening the time required for such clearance from 14 days to 24 hours. The documents required to clear the goods will also be reduced from 12 to 5. The reduced list of documents will be limited to:</p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>the invoice</li>\r\n 	<li>the certificate of origin</li>\r\n 	<li>the delivery order;</li>\r\n 	<li>the bill of lading; and</li>\r\n 	<li>a document proving the method of payment.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Saudi Customs intend to implement the new measures gradually and progressively in all ports of entry (including airports). In addition, Mr. Ahmed Al-Hagbani, the Director General of the Saudi Customs issued a circular stating that a separate certificate of origin will no longer be required if the goods bear a fixed non-removable mark indicating their place of origin. If the goods do not bear a fixed non-removable mark indicating their place of origin, a separate certificate of origin will continue to be required. These new measures will of course have a major impact on the Saudi Customs’ efforts in the prevention of entry of counterfeit products. As the new measures aim to fast track the customs clearance of goods, in tandem, the Saudi Customs also recognise the necessity of streamlining IP enforcement at the ports of entry.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Trade Fraud and IP Infringing Goods</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Saudi Customs are always working to prevent trade fraud and in particular the importation of counterfeit goods into the Kingdom. The Saudi Customs’ recent success in this area is reflected in the report issued by the World Customs Organisation (WCO). This report shows that in 2016 Saudi Customs seized goods, which infringed third party intellectual property rights more than any other customs authority of WTO member countries. Of the 146 million infringing items seized during 2016, 49 million of these were counterfeit.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">To further streamline efforts with the announcement of its new measures for fast tracking customs clearance, Saudi Customs recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Al Tamimi &amp; Company, for exchanging expertise and information in the field of anti-commercial fraud. This MOU enables Al Tamimi to register its clients’ trademarks with the Saudi Customs in order to monitor incoming shipments suspected of carrying counterfeit products. Pursuant to this registration, the Saudi Customs have also started working on a program that would enable officials to alert the concerned stakeholders of any consignment bearing one or more trademarks, which they own. Such an alert would provide the details of the consignment and allow a firm, such as Al Tamimi to check these details with the stakeholder to verify the authenticity of the products and take legal action where necessary. Such actions would entail responding to the Customs’ alert by filing a complaint that would then lead to stopping the consignment, seizure of the products in question and an investigation of the concerned importer.Saudi Customs would then determine what further action to take against the importer (imposing of a fine, destruction of the products at the importer’s cost and/or further escalation by referring the case to the public prosecution) pursuant to the results of their investigation.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The signing of the MOU with Saudi Customs on the above basis shows promising signs of better and more scrutinising border controls, which will hopefully align with the fast tracking customs clearance procedures. As a second phase, it is hope that the Saudi Customs will implement similar border control, registration and alerting procedures for patents, industrial designs and copyright.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Final Observations</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The policy developments which the Saudi Customs are implementing in the realm of IPR, are without doubt in perfect harmony with Saudi Arabia’s ambisious Vision 2030. The Saudi Customs recognise the importance of stiking a balance between the streamlining of procedures in order to speed up clearance of goods, and providing adequate and effective IPR protection at all ports of entry. WCO reports and data clearly testify to the positive spillover these developments are already having. In light of these advances, and by virtue of the MOU recently undertaken by Al Tamimi and the Saudi Customs, Al Tamimi is very well placed to assist clients interested in protecting their IPR at Saudi ports of entry.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Al Tamimi’s support for Saudi Customs</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Al Tamimi &amp; Co has the largest intellectual property practice in the Region and its dedicated IP team in the Kingdom regularly assists clients who are having difficulties clearing goods through Saudi Customs. In addition, Al Tamimi supports clients where their valuable intellectual property rights are being infringed by working with the relevant Saudi authorities to put an end to the infringement through, for example, the seizure of the counterfeit goods.</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188881, 6980, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">In our <a href=\"http://www.tamimi.com/law-update-articles/rd-and-innovations-in-the-gcc-countries-recent-updates/\">article</a> titled <a href=\"http://www.tamimi.com/law-update-articles/rd-and-innovations-in-the-gcc-countries-recent-updates/\">“R&amp;D and Innovations in the GCC Countries: Recent Updates”</a> of last year, we had looked at the era of innovation that was beginning to take shape across several countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Over the course of the past year, we have noted that more regional governments are coming to terms with the new direction in which the upcoming post-oil era is heading. Governments are now appreciating that this upcoming era demands a radical change in the relationship between the academic institutions and industrial sectors, and, that such change is of vital importance for the development of a sustainable future. Among those governments, figuring prominently in this new direction is that of Bahrain, where the first signs of development towards a knowledge based economy are quickly beginning to take shape. Following on from last year, this article focuses on the latest initiatives, which the Kingdom of Bahrain has taken to encourage and promote innovation across all sectors of its economy.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Organising Research in Higher Education Institutions</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Bahrain is now dedicating significant resources and efforts to balance the playing field between consumerism and productivism in its economy and usher in an era of sustainable development. In an attempt to jumpstart initiatives, Bahraini authorities have set in motion, plans to spread out entrepreneurial landscapes spanning an extensive range of programs, organizations, and student groups dedicated to fostering innovation on academic campuses and beyond. The most prominent of these plans is the Higher Educational Council (“HEC”) National Research Strategy Plan 2014-2024 (“Plan”). The HEC intends on ‘creating a smart Bahrain based on knowledge &amp; innovation’ (as per strategic objective 1 &amp; 2 of the Plan) by increasing:</p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>the number of patents &amp; industrial designs filed in Bahrain &amp; internationally; and</li>\r\n 	<li>the funds available for research and development for both academia and the private sector.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Simply put, the Plan, as devised, understands that building the blocks of a knowledge based economy starts with education. The Bahraini government acted on this Plan last month by introducing Resolution No. 1247/HEC/2017 Issuing the Regulations Of Scientific Research For The Higher Education Institutions (“Resolution”). Governed by this Resolution, the HEC enacted a research organisational chart requiring higher education institutions to allocate not less than 3% of gross annual revenues to scientific research. The Resolution also allows natural and legal persons to provide academic institutions with grants, endowments and even fundraising for research purposes in adherence to Decree No. (21) of 2013 which organizes fundraising for general purposes.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Finance</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Economic Development Board of Bahrain issued a framework for the testing of financial products/services based on new technologies, or new permutations of existing technologies in the Bahrain Regulatory Sandbox without the burden of heavy regulations and licensing procedures. To this end and in a joint effort, three leading Bahraini banks are currently in the process of establishing the new entity, Algo Bahrain, with one of its main missions and objectives being research and development in the sharia-compliant fintech sector. Algo Bahrain is a strategic company expected to bear fruit over the long term and to ensure Islamic banking stays ahead of the game.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Healthcare</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The National Health Regulatory Authority is teaming up with the Bahrain Industrial Investment Park to attract drug and biomedical manufacturing to the Middle East, which predominantly relies on the importing of pharmaceutical products. Such a move allows inventors such as Professor Mohammed Al Dahmani Fathallah of Biomedical Technology at Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, Dean of the College of Graduate Studies, and his team to capitalise on their discoveries. Specifically, Professor Fathallah and his team have succeeded in the “unravelling of inflammation molecular codes that affect the body, into a biological drug capable of controlling the blood cells that activate upon inflammation”. The team hopes that this new drug will cure the negative effects, which are the major causes of numerous diseases of the immune system, the brain, the nervous system, cancers and heart disease.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Tamkeen</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Tamkeen, a semi-governmental organisation tasked with making the private sector the key driver of economic development through their numerous funding and training schemes – Small &amp; Medium Size Enterprise are now able to become significant industry players by availing themselves of Tamkeen’s many funding schemes. In addition to supporting companies during incorporation, Tamkeen has realised that the advent of flexible manufacturing systems has created new demands for scientific insights into materials, production processes and even management. This growing preponderance in economic output of service industries produced Tamkeen’s Training and Wage Scheme with the objective of acquainting Bahrainis with scientific knowledge on organisational improvements and networking to sustain productivity advances. Since much of the new information and communication technologies are science-based, science has much to offer to help these technologies maximise their contributions to production and employment. Those efforts culminated in awarding Bahrain the bid to host the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in 2019. The Global Entrepreneurship Congress brings together entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers and other professionals from over 170 countries.<b></b></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Being proactive</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Shifting to a new technology or even expending resources on research and development in order to improve an old technology could be a risky business decision. However, considering the rapid changes in today’s world, not taking such a risk, or even taking a conservative approach to it might be more critical and in some cases devastating, as what is now considered “up to date” could quickly change to become “outdated”. In addition to investing in innovation, it is crucial to invest in protecting the intellectual property (“IP”) resulting from innovation as soon as it is created. Special attention should be given to patents and industrial designs considering the novelty requirements that are prescribed for registration. Taking the right decisions in terms of what research and development to focus on and what, when and how to protect the IP surrounding such research and development can be quite challenging and strategic and may break or make a business in Bahrain. A prudent business will need to be proactive to stay at the forefront of technology and recognize and invest in its IP requirements in order to stay ahead of the curve.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">How Can Al Tamimi help? <em><a href=\"http://www.tamimi.com/practice/intellectual-property/\">Our IP department</a> has a dedicated Patents &amp; Designs –</em></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><em>R&amp;D and Innovation Practice, which can assist in a wide range of contentious and</em></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><em>non-contentious matters related to innovations, including legal protection, contractual</em></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><em>matters and litigation. For more information about our services in the field of R&amp;D and</em></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><em>Innovations, please contact the authors or <a href=\"http://www.tamimi.com/lawyer/ahmad-saleh/\">Ahmad Saleh</a> (Partner &amp; Head of Patents &amp;</em></p>\r\n<em>Designs – R&amp;D and Innovations) at a.saleh@tamimi.com.</em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188934, 6982, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">The noticeable growth in technological innovation during the past two decades has caused intellectual property (IP) rights to become one of the most economically resourceful tools for companies to protect their products. The introduction of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”) agreement by the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) has further strengthened this tool holding the growth of free trade contingent upon the recognition of IP rights. In this context, after its accession to the WTO on June 30, 1995, and with a view to implementing a policy that promotes innovation, Egypt promulgated new IP laws in accordance with TRIPS.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">On the patent front and prior to the introduction of TRIPS, the abrogated Law no. (133) of 1949 regulated patents in Egypt. This law was very restrictive, as it did not allow for the patenting of pharmaceutical products and their chemical combinations. Instead, the abrogated law allowed for the granting of patents to the methods of manufacturing such products. Thus, so long as a third party’s method of manufacturing was different from that of the patent proprietor, the same products could be manufactured and sold by a third party.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Recognizing the need to remove such restrictions on the patenting of pharmaceutical products and the need to promote foreign direct investment, research and development (“R&amp;D”), the Egyptian Legislature enacted Law no. (82) of 2002 regarding the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (“2002 IP Law”). This law complies with the general rules and principals set forth by TRIPS. The policy behind Egypt’s introduction of this 2002 IP law aimed to strike a balance between creating a free trade market economy and recognizing legitimate IP based interests in monopolizing patentable inventions and discoveries. To this end, the 2002 IP Law upholds the principles of fair competition and the encouragement of innovation in all sectors. Pursuant to this policy and these principles, under the 2002 IP Law, pharmaceutical products, chemical combinations of active ingredients, as well as newly discovered fungi and bacteria are patentable.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Egyptian legislature appreciated that, for instance in the field of developing patentable pharmaceutical products, R&amp;D projects can only prosper if stakeholders are entitled to claim exclusivity over the benefits of the results of the of funding of such projects. As a result, the relevant patent rights are not only recognized and protected under the 2002 IP Law in Egypt, but are also protected under the Egyptian Constitution and Egyptian Trade Law.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In this article, we will very briefly examine the 2002 IP Law and then explore the other legal mechanisms available to contest a patent infringement in absence of an Egyptian granted patent.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Protection of Patentable Rights against Infringements in the presence of an Egyptian Granted Patent</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Egyptian 2002 IP Law now follows a strict no tolerance policy towards patent infringements. It imposes severe penalties for such infringements, which include a fine on the infringer of not less than EGP 20,000 and not exceeding EGP 100,000 and the imprisonment of the perpetrator in case of a repeat offence. Actions such as imitation of the patented subject matter for commercial purposes constitute infringement under Egyptian IP Law. Specifically, the sale, offer for sale, circulation, importation or possession with the intention to trade, of products known to that party to be imitations are subject to these penalties under Egyptian IP Law.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The 2002 IP Law also grants the patent owner the right to request the courts to issue an order, as a precautionary measure, against products or goods that are suspected to infringe a patent, similar to an ex parte, in order to preserve the patent owner’s rights vis-à-vis such products. In such a case, the court may issue a preliminary injunction before initiation of the proceedings that would expire if the proceedings were not instituted within (8) days from the date of the injunction.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Protection of Patentable Rights against Infringements in the absence of a Patent</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Egyptian law still recognizes a patent holder’s right in respect of chemical combinations, the methods of manufacture and/or the ingredients of a pharmaceutical product even where the Egyptian authority has yet to grant the relevant patent in Egypt. If a person other than their proprietor imitates the products in question, and in absence of the patent, the proprietor can legally pursue the infringer by filing an unfair competition action before the Economic Court. This action is undertaken in accordance with Article (66) of Egyptian Trade Law no. (17) of 1999 (the “Trade Law”), through which the plaintiff has the right to request the immediate ceasing of the infringement, and also claim compensation for profits gained and losses sustained.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In reliance on the Trade Law, a major international pharmaceutical company (“Claimant”) filed an often cited and important action against a local Egyptian company (“Defendant”). The Claimant requested the revocation of a preliminary acceptance notice obtained by the Defendant from the Central Administration for Pharmaceutical Affairs (“CAPA”). The notice related to a pharmaceutical product that was identical in its chemical combination and concentration of the active ingredients to a foreign granted patent owned by the Claimant. The Claimant based their action on unfair competition.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Apart from the Claimant’s legitimate reliance on the Trade Law to contest the infringement in absence of holding an Egyptian patent, the case raised questions about the relationship between patenting a pharmaceutical product and the registration of the same product at CAPA, i.e. obtaining a license to market and sell the product in Egypt. The Egyptian courts have yet to resolve this case in a final and reasoned decision. However, the case raises the necessity of synchronizing CAPA’s system with that of the Egyptian patenting system in the first instance (where an Egyptian patent exists) and that of major foreign patenting jurisdictions such as those of the EU and the US in the second instance (where an Egyptian patent does not exist). To address registration issues with CAPA, the Minister of Health’s Decision no. (296) of 2009, confirmed that the party seeking the registration of their product must submit a sworn affidavit stating that the registration of this product would not infringe any third party’s IP rights. In principle, if it later appears that this sworn affidavit is untrue, the party that submitted it ought to be civilly liable under Egyptian laws for falsely representing information to CAPA. As such, with the requirement of the sworn affidavit, the Minister’s decision appears to support the protection of patent rights against third party infringements such as those claimed in the cited case based on the Trade Law.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">With the ongoing attention given to the protection of IP rights nowadays, the general policy in Egypt is to create a safer and more secure environment for the growth of investment and trade. Under the present law governing the protection of IP rights, pharmaceutical companies are reassured. These laws have increased investors’ confidence in that the returns on their capital investments in the R&amp;D of new drugs and products will enjoy legal protection in Egypt.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(188989, 6983, 'content', '<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\">--</h3>\r\n<h3 align=\"LEFT\"></h3>\r\n<h3 align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #333300;\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">“I want a government that toils 24 hours a day, just like airlines. I want it to be close to people, welcoming all clients akin to that welcome received by hotel guests. I want the citizens to be able to process all their government transactions in one place, on a mobile one stop shop.”</span> </em></span>- <span style=\"color: #333333;\">His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum</span></h3>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Introduction</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The government of every country has the right to legislate and enact laws for their territory and choose the best form of tax system that may suit the needs of their economy. The quote above, by the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the Ruler of Dubai, demonstrates an intention to make the UAE the best possible place for residents and investors alike. However, due to the forces of globalisation, every country is required to align its governance and legal systems with international standards to promote capital inflows into the country.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>OECD measures on tax policy</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">One of the key changes in legal systems across the globe has been in relation to establishing stable tax policies and fair tax regimes. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (‘OECD’), an intergovernmental economic organisation, has been a key driver in stimulating economic progress, world trade, transparency, and certainty in tax policies across the globe. As a means of guiding global tax authorities and corporate taxpayers in relation to anti-tax avoidance measures, the OECD published a package of measures in 2015 to prevent tax base erosion and reduced profit sharing (so-called ‘BEPS’). According to the OECD, revenue losses from BEPS are estimated at between US$100 billion and US$240 billion annually.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Some of the 15 key measures to address BEPS concerns listed by the OECD include:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Provisions to prevent treaty shopping/abuse;</li>\r\n 	<li>Provisions relating to standardized country-by-country reporting, so as to provide tax authorities with a global view of where a company’s economic activities are reported and the ability to evaluate transfer pricing and other BEPS risks; and</li>\r\n 	<li>A peer-review process, including a commitment to transparency through the obligatory exchange of information and changes to the transfer pricing guidelines to ensure that the transfer pricing of corporates is aligned with their economic activity.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (‘Convention’) was developed by the OECD and the Council of Europe in 1998 and was amended in 2010 to align it with international standards on exchange of information. The Convention provides for administrative assistance in tax matters, including:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Exchanges of information on request;</li>\r\n 	<li>Spontaneous exchanges of information;</li>\r\n 	<li>Automatic exchanges of financial account information;</li>\r\n 	<li>Tax examinations abroad; and</li>\r\n 	<li>Assistance in tax collection.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Common Reporting Standards (‘CRS’) were developed after a request from the G20. They were approved by the OECD Council in 2014, and require countries to obtain information from banks and financial institutions and automatically exchange that information with other countries on an annual basis. The CRS sets out the details of the financial information to be exchanged, the extent of reporting required by banks and financial institutions, as well as common due diligence (know your client) procedures to be followed by banks and financial institutions in relation to the determination of a customer’s tax status and domicile.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">BEPS and greater disclosure proposals are focused against tax strategies that companies use to take advantage of the differences in each country’s tax rules, shifting profits to low-tax or no-tax jurisdictions, even though a company may have little or no economic activity there.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>UAE policy alignment with global standards</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">While the UAE is not an OECD member, the OECD project has generated considerable interest in the region due to the changing global tax landscape and international pressure on aligning tax policies. The Convention was signed by the UAE on 21 April 2017 with a commitment by the UAE to its first exchange of information by 2018. The UAE also joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in 2010. The UAE Ministry of Finance’s commitment to implementing higher standards in relation to the exchange of information is demonstrated two-fold. First, through its continuing effort to establish infrastructure to implement an automated system to collect and exchange information; second, through its negotiation of memoranda of understanding with related authorities to enable financial institutions to submit periodic reports according to data protection laws. These efforts to implement international standards have led to the UAE obtaining a seat on the International Steering Committee (‘ISC’) for the exchange of information.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">With the recent inclusion of the UAE by the European Union in a list of countries it considers guilty of offering unfair tax avoidance schemes, the UAE is actively considering implementing measures to prevent tax BEPS. In a statement by the UAE Government in response to its inclusion in the EU tax havens list, it commented that the UAE is working to adhere to the EU’s requirements in relation to exchange of information and to implement policies to avoid BEPS, which will be finalised by October 2018, so as to be removed from the EU’s list. The UAE has in the recent past demonstrated its commitment through additional rules and regulations being imposed on financial institutions by the UAE Central Bank in relation to reporting on financial crimes and ensuring compliance. There will likely be no significant impact in the long term as a result of its inclusion in the EU’s tax havens list. In any event, the EU finance ministers have not been able to agree on sanctions/measures that could be imposed on the jurisdictions in the list.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Impact on businesses in the UAE</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">With increased disclosure norms and reporting requirements being imposed in the UAE, there is no doubt that businesses in the UAE will be affected. The question here is whether there is a positive or negative effect. The immediate concern is that increased reporting requirements may usher in a sense of negative sentiment, at first, as currently the UAE has no corporate tax regime. However, in reality the increased reporting requirements should be viewed positively as increased reporting obligations in the UAE are likely to result in negligible impact on the multinational corporates in their home country. This is because the UAE is not a typical low/no-tax jurisdiction where no economic activity actually takes place.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Another advantage of implementing the OECD proposals for businesses in the UAE would be certainty with regards to determination of tax domicile or residence. For example, many multinationals in the UAE may be facing issues or hurdles in obtaining tax treaty benefits in their home countries on account of the UAE being a no-tax jurisdiction. However, with implementation of the OECD proposals, certainty will be accorded to the tax residence of companies in the UAE affording tax treaty benefits for the profits and income generated in the UAE. Therefore, increased reporting requirements are likely only bound to align the UAE more closely with international standards, making it a secure jurisdiction for multi-national corporates to invest in and carry on business operations due to certainty in according tax residence to the entities in the UAE.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The reporting requirements of the BEPS proposals, which may include the implementation of transfer pricing provisions in some form, may prove to be a challenge for businesses in the UAE. Currently there is a lack of awareness and experience in the region on undertaking transfer pricing audits and assessments. Transfer pricing is the rate at which two related parties in the same group carry out transactions with each other, which is determined by a myriad of factors, including what an arms-length price for a similar transaction would be. Businesses implementing transfer pricing guidelines and complying with greater disclosure norms (if BEPS proposals were to require so in the UAE) may be required to incur greater compliance costs in the first few years. However, this may only be an initial inconvenience where corporates are able to quickly adapt their supply chains and revenue streams to be in accordance with globally adopted transfer pricing guidelines and reporting requirements.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The recent inclusion of the UAE in the EU’s list of tax haven countries and UAE’s committed efforts to adopting tax policies in line with international standards is a sign for businesses in the UAE to simplify and rationalise their group structures. UAE businesses should now also focus on maintaining proper accounting records and information to avoid the risk of being unfairly taxed on account of providing inaccurate or inadequate data.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">As part of the World Bank’s 2018 ranking, the UAE ranks 21st out of 189 countries on ease of doing business, with a marked improvement over its previous year’s ranking. With the country being focused on complying with global standards on tax policies, the ease of doing business is only likely to improve due to the impact of archetypal inefficiencies caused by uncertainties being minimised.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(189093, 6985, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">Egypt has lived in unstable conditions since the Arab Spring in 2011. For the first time in its history, the Egyptian people overthrew their president, voted in a theocratic president, overthrew him after a year of constitutional interventions to tighten his grip on power, and elected a new president presently leading an aggressive reform program.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Among the hallmarks of this reform is a progressive strategy to reduce the burden of government spending by reining in fuel and power subsidies while encouraging investment. It is fair to say that the last three years have seen a reinvigoration of hope in Egypt’s ability to rise from its dormancy and claim its rightful place among global economic players. This article considers the key legislative change that underpins the above strategy.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Due to the Arab Spring and the challenges it inevitably created, a new investment law was introduced to fulfil the needs of the local business community and encourage foreign direct investment (FDI). After some debate, the Egyptian legislative and executive branch accepted the challenge of promulgating a new law that would observe the latest business practices and confront the economic challenges that have been facing Egypt for decades.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The drafting of the law involved lengthy debate with various stakeholders. Finally, the new investment law was issued on the 31st May 2017 as Law No. 72 of 2017 (the “Law”) effective 1st June 2017.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The purpose of the Law is to create an environment where business is conducted with ease, clarity, and predictability, where new investments are incentivised and existing guarantees and incentives are maintained and strengthened. In our view, the Law has had a direct impact on Egypt’s FDI attractiveness and has appreciably helped to place it among the most FDI attractive countries in Africa.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Clear Interpretation and Ease of Doing Business</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Law reinstated incentives and guarantees prescribed by former investment laws, while adding much more progressive guarantees and incentives. Further, it defined the concept of investment for the first time in a modern way and clarified ambiguities in applicability by allowing all companies whose activities are prescribed in the Law to benefit from it, not simply those that are incorporated under its regime.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Law addresses procedural overlaps between incorporating an investment law vehicle and any other vehicle under the auspices of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI). It creates a streamlined process for investors to ensure the ease of doing business and removes procedural and substantive obstacles for investments to take place. Importantly, the Law reinstated land allocation procedures and provided for considerably more progressive, flexible options and procedures to facilitate the process that GAFI had already begun implementing.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Among its most pivotal guarantees, the Law maintains and ensures the right of investors to repatriate funds, whether as dividends or proceeds of liquidation. Prior to the promulgation of the Law, repatriation was quite a challenge given shortage of foreign currency at the time. In support of this renewed guarantee, the Central Bank of Egypt also lifted restrictions on companies to deposit and withdraw foreign currency. The Law has also taken positive steps towards easing some restrictions on work permits and visas by doubling the quota of expatriates allowed to work on a project from 10% to 20% of its total workforce, whilst also allowing investors to obtain residency visas in Egypt for the term of the project.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">As a response to the bureaucracy that has long hindered Egypt’s ability to progress, the Law addresses key procedural challenges. Article 4 of the Law stipulates that, among other guarantees and incentives, regulatory authorities may not impose burdens or increase governmental charges on investors without first consulting with GAFI and before obtaining the approval of both the Cabinet of Ministers and Supreme Investment Council headed by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Other legislative steps are also being taken to create an investment climate that attracts a wide range of foreign investors. For example, the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade issued Law No. 15 of 2017 that facilitates the issuance of industrial licenses and promises to create a streamlined process by which licenses can be obtained quickly. Due to the application of the aforementioned laws, investors will now have a clear path to obtain land/property for their businesses and licenses for their operation within a definitive period.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Smart and Effective Incentives</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">According to Articles 11-12 of the Law, investment projects established pursuant to the Law enjoy 30% to 50% (depending on their activity and geographical location) of their investment costs as being deductible from their taxable net profits. This is a new tax incentive mechanism being implemented in Egypt for the first time and has been lauded by professionals and institutions. It replaces traditional tax exemptions that have not proven impactful in bringing in FDI. The purpose of this deduction is to spur the larger macroeconomic goal of developing areas in Upper Egypt as well as special economic zones by encouraging investors to build projects that are needed in underdeveloped areas.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Governance</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A key component of Egypt’s reform program is sound governance. Particular importance has been given to empower decision-makers towards strategic and sustainable reform. For instance, GAFI’s CEO now has five deputies to decentralize their originally vested authorities and powers in order to expedite procedures and processes. On a wider scale, the Supreme Investment Council was created to oversee the planning and implementation of investment policies while ruling out all conflicts and inefficiencies between executive authorities that would otherwise hinder the investment climate and push back the strong wave of economic progress.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Although it represents a quantum leap from its predecessors, and not to mention that FDI started showing signals of revival in 2016-2017 reports, the Investment Law alone cannot transform the climate. In our view, the Law must be supported by executive desire to continue to develop new policies and follow through on reforms attained so far. All these measures are required in order to further stimulate the investment climate in Egypt. It also requires support from business leaders, audit firms and law firms to ease the process for FDI and build upon the new dynamics created by the Law and other legislative reforms. It is necessary that investors continue to keep in mind both the challenges and opportunities in Egypt so that they are well informed in terms of their investment choices and decisions.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(189148, 6986, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Background</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Over the past two decades, the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) has acquired a richly deserved reputation as a dynamic business environment for investment, and a great place to buy, or to establish, a business.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The UAE offers real advantages to foreign investors. It remains a substantially taxfree country, which is the hub of a region experiencing rapid population growth and infrastructure development. Any business can hire and employ skilled and unskilled workers from all around the world. The UAE has outstanding physical infrastructure vital to business (e.g. airports, ports and roads). Its residents enjoy an enviable lifestyle, with all the amenities sought after by expatriates (schools, sporting facilities, retail and hospitality).</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">However, any new investor to the UAE soon learns that its legal infrastructure has not kept pace with the modern physical infrastructure and amenities. Although the UAE offers an appetising menu of free zone options where foreign investors can enjoy secure and full ownership of their businesses and operate within advanced legal frameworks, many active businesses can be carried on only outside the boundaries of the free zone licensing systems; so many business opportunities in the country are accessible only by engaging with the mainstream UAE legal and business licensing system, outside the enclaves of the free zones.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Challenges for the Foreign Investors</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The mainstream legal system in the UAE presents the foreign investor with some challenges.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The first challenge is the Commercial Companies Law 2015 (“the Companies Law”). Article 10 of this law imposes foreign investment restrictions and dictates that mainstream companies can be established or can operate only if UAE national shareholders hold at least 51% of the shares. Nationals of other Gulf Co-operation Council (“GCC”) countries do have expanded investment privileges, but investors with nationalities outside the GCC need to find an Emirati national or company to participate as a majority joint venture partner.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Moreover, businesses licensed to operate in the UAE must generally be conducted through a local company formed under the UAE Companies Law. For the most part, offshore and free zone companies cannot obtain UAE business licences, even it their shareholders are wholly Emirati. There are some business activities which are open to be conducted by branches of foreign corporations, but these avenues are limited and usually they are not tax efficient.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Sometimes, foreign investors look for local partners who are true partners in every sense of the word, in the sense that they share the profits and losses of the business and likewise shoulder part of the financial and operational load of the business. However, in many cases, all the risk and benefit of the business goes back to the foreign investor, and the local Emirati national is involved for compliance reasons only, with the local partner receiving a negotiated annual return.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">So, a recurrent question from inbound investors is “How can I protect my investment as a minority shareholder?” To answer this question, we must explain some aspects of the Companies Law.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>The UAE Companies Law</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The existing Companies Law came in to force late in 2015 and replaced the old 1984 law. It is fair to say that there were high expectations in the business community for the 2015 law, which had a long gestation period, beginning in 2004. Expectations were further elevated as government spokesmen predicted, from time to time throughout this long period of gestation, that the 2015 law would likely liberalise the 49% limit on foreign investment.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">However, in general the expectations surrounding the revised law were not met, either with respect to the liberalisation of foreign investment rules or the modernisation of the UAE Companies Law to bring it in line with similarly developed economies. Salient differences between the UAE Companies Law and their international counterparts are explained below.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Forms of Corporate Vehicles Available to Investors</strong></p>\r\nWith limited exceptions, the only companies which can operate UAE businesses “on the ground” are those incorporated under the UAE Companies law. And no such company can be established or can operate without Emirati majority participation.\r\n\r\nMost foreign investors utilise a corporate vehicle known as the “limited liability company” (“LLC”).\r\n\r\nAnother form of entity, namely the private joint stock company, is also an option, in theory, but this type of company is not suited to joint ventures because there is a relatively heavy handed and prescriptive regulatory regime surrounding joint stock companies. For example, the Ministry of the Economy favours its own template Articles of Association and also must approve the agenda for any shareholder meeting. Any changes to the Articles effectively have to be approved by the Ministry, and in practice this leaves limited scope to customise the Articles.\r\n\r\nLLC’s are more flexible and the shareholders have some room to tailor-make their own Memorandum of Association (“MOA”) subject to the terms which UAE public notaries will allow to be included at the time notaries review the MOA. So this type of entity is the corporate form most suited to closely held enterprises.\r\n\r\nIn practical terms, no MOA can be constituted or amended without the approval of the UAE public notaries, who act as “gatekeepers” to ensure that the provisions of the Companies Law are followed. However, when viewed through the eyes of observers with experience in Western and offshore jurisdictions, the LLC vehicle in the UAE is an alien legal vehicle which works quite differently from its common law counterparts. This creates some difficulties for minority shareholders; although, in some cases, the differences can work to the minority’s advantage.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Governance of LLC’s</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">LLC’s have governance rules comparable to a partnership. However, they do possess the important attributes of a separate legal identity and perpetual succession and LLC’s extend limited liability to their shareholders.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The founders of an LLC have the option to establish a governance framework where a general manager is appointed under the MOA, and that individual so appointed reports directly to the shareholders (often referred to as “the partners” ) or, if preferred, an advisory committee representing the shareholders. Alternatively, the incorporators can choose a governance structure more like the common law model, under which a Board of Directors is the zenith, with an Executive Manager reporting to the Board and the Board elected by shareholders. Under the old 1984 law, there was a limit of five Board members for LLC’s; but this has now been abolished.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Some foreign investors use the “general manager” model of governance to their own advantage by entrenching their own rights under the MOA to appoint or dismiss the general manager from time to time. However, even if a general manager or Board governance model is specified in the company’s MOA it is still necessary under the Companies Law for some important corporate actions to be authorised by the shareholders as a whole, which can give majority shareholders significant leverage over the minority.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Minority Shareholder Remedies</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">There are major differences between the approach under the UAE legal framework to shareholder remedies and the approach in common law jurisdictions.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Most of the common law jurisdictions grant minority shareholders legal remedies where there is oppressive or unreasonable conduct on the part of the majority. Essentially, this provides a remedy for abuse of power even where the exercise of power by the majority is strictly within the “black letter” of the company’s Articles of Association.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Under English law (and the similar companies laws operating in the Dubai International Financial Centre and in the Abu Dhabi Global Market financial free zone) any shareholder has a legal remedy where the affairs of the company are being conducted in a manner which is “unfairly prejudicial” to them. Where the shareholder establishes that this has occurred, under common law rules the Court has a wide range of powers and remedies which can be invoked to give minority shareholders redress against wrongful conduct by controlling shareholders.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The UAE Companies Law does not confer any specific remedy tailored for the minority shareholder to hold the controlling shareholders to account in a direct fashion. However, Article 84 does give shareholders the right to sue “managers” (but not the controlling shareholders) for losses arising to the shareholders from any “fraudulent acts”, “improper use of powers” or “gross error”. A “manager” will include both an individual sitting on the Board in a non-executive capacity and a general manager with executive functions and authority. The direct liability of these individuals to shareholders cannot be excluded by the company’s MOA or by contract.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Because the right to claim damages can be exercised by “shareholders” directly as well as the LLC company itself, any minority shareholder can bring a direct claim without navigating the maze of restrictions on shareholder claims imposed under the statutory derivative action rules which operate in common law countries. Therefore an aggrieved minority shareholder will have direct legal redress against directors/ management - if not the majority shareholders.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>The Role of the UAE Courts</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">One hidden problem with this UAE regime is to be found in the limits on the powers of the UAE Courts, which were established on the Egyptian model. These powers differ from, and are narrower than, those which can be exercised by Courts in common law jurisdictions. In the mainstream UAE Court system, it is rarely feasible to resolve serious commercial and business disputes in“real time”. As a rule, urgent interim orders will not be made by UAE Courts except in a few restricted scenarios (e.g. asset freezing orders and orders to prevent debtors fleeing the jurisdiction).</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">For example, if an individual were to be appointed to the Board or to the position of CEO in a UAE company, in breach of a shareholder agreement, it is not possible to obtain an urgentorder declaring the appointment to have been invalid; or to secure a Court order restraining the appointment from taking effect or the appointee from taking office or from entering transactions on behalf of the company. This is not because the shareholder agreement is not legally binding; rather, it is because the UAE Courts are generally are not empowered or willing to grant interim or urgent orders but require a longer legal process ending with trial and judgement. Shareholder agreements are legally enforceable and they do subject the parties to legal exposure for damages, but the reality is that accountability may not be obtained rapidly, and when it does it will come in the form of a financial damages award.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In most situations, it is necessary to proceed through a full litigation process to trial. Even if the minority shareholder succeeds, the outcome of the trial will usually be a judgment awarding damages for any financial loss which the minority shareholder can substantiate, a year or more after the disputed appointment. But in the meantime, the governance and management of the business will have altered and shifted in the way the majority shareholders dictated.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>No Different Classes of Shares</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">An LLC cannot issue different classes of shares, nor permit particular shares to carry differential voting rights. Article 95 of the Companies Law is  prescriptive on the question of voting rights, and states that every shareholder shall have the right to attend a general meeting and that every shareholder shall have a number of votes equal to the number of shares held or represented by such shareholder.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">As an LLC cannot be established with special classes of shares or weighted voting rights, the majority shareholders will inevitably have the voting power to carry any general meeting. Irrevocable powers of attorney granted in favour of minority shareholders are not the answer, because public notaries in the UAE do not recognise powers of attorney as being irrevocable, and will allow any existing power of attorney to be revoked.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>How Can Minority Shareholders Protect their Investment?</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Although the minority shareholder has no foolproof way of being assured majority voting power in an LLC, it is possible to add “super majority” provisions to the MOA to give minority shareholders a veto right, but it is not possible to give the minority a positive power to override the majority. So, it is open to the minority shareholder to formulate and include in the MOA a list of “reserved matters” which would have to be carried by sufficient large majorities to give the minority shareholder credible veto rights. For example, a resolution to sell fixed assets could require a 60% majority, so a 49% shareholder can block the transaction.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Although the UAE Companies Law requires all shares to be equal in value and have equal voting rights, an interesting provision can be used by minority shareholders to adjust profit shares (i.e. dividend entitlements).</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Article 29 permits shareholders to write into the MOA a profit share distribution regime which is not proportionate to the number of shares held by each shareholder. However, it is not permissible to deprive a partner from the right to participate in the profits at all. Dubai notaries will, in practice, approve 80%/20% splits i.e. 80% going to the minority (49%) foreign investor and 20% going to the majority (51%) UAE shareholder.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Mandatory Rights of Pre-emption</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Another inflexible aspect of operating within the framework of an LLC company is that Article 80 of the UAE Companies Law grants every shareholders a statutory right of pre-emption where any other shareholder wishes to transfer their shares. Article 80 provides absolutely no flexibility for cases where one of the shareholders in restructuring wishes to transfer to an affiliated party, or where one shareholder wishes to transfer to another shareholder. The pre-emption process still applies, unless waived by every shareholder.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">This legal requirement also has a surprising practical impact, which flows from the reality that no share transfer can be completed legally without public notarisation. In the UAE, the public notaries are vigilant to guard against any shareholder trying to circumvent rights of pre-emption. Therefore it is uniform public notarial practice in the UAE to require every single shareholder in any LLC to attend before the public notary at the time of the share transfer (in person or by notarised power of attorney) and agree to the transfer in the presence of the notary - even if those other shareholders are not even parties to the transaction and have waived their rights in writing.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The result is that just one shareholder can frustrate any share transaction by refusing to cooperate and attend before the notary. Even if a minority shareholder has a binding contract which requires the local national shareholder to transfer the 51% shareholding to another UAE national, in practice it is not feasible to force the issue unless the minority investor can somehow induce the majority shareholder to cooperate because, as explained earlier, UAE Courts have no power to make urgent orders to resolve such an impasse by compelling the co-operation of the recalcitrant shareholder. A full litigation process to trial and financial damages award is the only alternative to a negotiated compromise.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">For these reasons, call options and put options are not really workable in practice in relation to shares in LLC entities, and private equity investors rarely operate within the framework of mainstream UAE companies.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Takeaways for the Minority Investor</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">How can a minority investor protect their investment?</p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Pay attention to the terms of company\'s MOA. This is a vital document which will be the first point of reference in the event of any disagreement. Any governmental authority, bank or third party will place much more weight on the provisions of the MOA than on the terms of any shareholder agreements. It is best to have both a carefully framed MOA and a shareholders agreement in place to protect your rights, as there will be limitations as to what you can write into the MOA, due to local notarial practices. Nevertheless, even allowing for the constraints of UAE notary practice, you can protect yourself under the MOA in critical areas such as “distribution of profits” and “appointment of the CEO”.</li>\r\n 	<li>If you cannot select the general manager unilaterally, make sure that you have a Board seat because it can give you access to confidential information. Also, where Boards are in place, they control the appointment of key signatories (e.g. bank accounts and labour visa processes).</li>\r\n 	<li>Last, and most important of all, choose your local partner with care. This is the most important rule, as the best business relationships are those where lawyers are involved at the outset, but never consulted again. If it is not essential to find a local partner to share the burden of funding the business or developing the business on the ground, you should consider as a partner a firm which has a business model based on facilitating foreign investment, because their business reputation depends upon serving the wishes of their foreign clientele, making conflict unlikely.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(189203, 6987, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">In our increasingly interdependent world, further development of any state’s economy is reliant on attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). The Middle East is no exception. Attracting FDI is important for states like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has been a reliable destination for capital flows originating in and well beyond the Middle East, in order to grow an already robust economy. It is also essential for states like Iraq and Syria, which have been subjected to the crippling effects of war, as they must rebuild their economies.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Investors may take a myriad of factors into account when considering destinations for their investment – size of economy, population, and gross domestic product to name a few. Ultimately, they will decide on the basis of a risk and return trade-off. However, when investing in any economy – be it the Middle East or beyond – foreign investors are keen to protect their investments to the extent possible. In addition to the risks that come with war, insurgency, social unrest, economic crises, and other forms of instability, the value of an investment can be impacted by state-imposed measures, separately or in combination, that can have the effect of so-called indirect or creeping expropriation through the introduction of laws, regulations, taxation measures, or imposition of tariffs. Alternatively, states may treat certain FDI less favourably than promised which, potentially, may lower its value.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">When making and managing investments in the Middle East, foreign investors should not overlook the protection that may be accorded to them or their investments under international investment treaties, in particular bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and multilateral investment treaties (MITs). Investors should recognise that investing in the absence of adequate investment treaty protections will make it far more difficult to recover the value of the investment if things go wrong as a result of state action (or inaction in certain cases).</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>The Growing Prevalence of Investment Treaties</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A BIT is the most common form of international investment agreement with over 3,000 BITs in force around the world today. A BIT is an agreement concluded between two states establishing the terms and conditions for investment by nationals and companies of one (home) state in the territory of another (host) state.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Middle East’s recognition of the importance of BITs in attracting foreign investments is reflected in the growing number of concluded BITs. For example, states comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council have signed in excess of 285 BITs, almost 70% of which are already in force. In the last five years, the UAE has concluded a further 12 BITs (bringing the total number of signed UAE BITs to 57 of which 36 have been ratified) with the following states: Benin, Ethiopia, Greece, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Serbia, and Slovakia.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In addition to BITs, many states in the Middle East are parties to MITs that are also aimed at according protection to investors (and generally operate similar to BITs except that they are entered into by more than just two states). These MITs include the Unified Agreement of the Investment of Arab Capital in the Arab States and the Agreement on Promotion, Protection and Guarantee of Investments among Member States of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is another international agreement that establishes a multilateral framework for cross-border cooperation in the energy industry. Originally created to facilitate flow of investments from Western Europe into the energy sector of Russian and the CIS states, the ECT is currently going through a modernization process aimed at attracting states outside Europe, Russia, and the CIS. Presently, no Middle-Eastern state is a contracting party to the ECT. However, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen (as signatories to the European Energy Charter of 1991), and Iran, Iraq and the UAE (as signatories of the International Energy Charter of 2015) are observers of the Energy Charter Conference – a governing decision making body for the Energy Charter process. These states thus may have a potential interest in becoming contracting parties to the ECT at some point in the future. Recently, the Energy Charter Secretariat’s outreach team has been active in the Middle East.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Protections Afforded Under Investment Treaties</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In order to access any of the protections available under a BIT, an investor first will be required to prove that both it and its investment satisfy the definition of “investor” and “investment” respectively pursuant to the relevant BIT. Not all apparent investors and investments will satisfy these definitions, which may vary from BIT to BIT.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A typical BIT includes provisions on the standards of treatment that such nationals or companies of one state can expect from the other state. The prevailing treatment standards and other protections in modern BITs concluded by Middle-Eastern states are:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Fair and equitable treatment (FET): FET is a broad standard of treatment (determined by reference to specific circumstances of application and wording of a particular treaty, its context, negotiating history, and other considerations) that encapsulates various principles that generally require a state to (a) provide a transparent and stable legal framework consistent with an investor’s reasonable expectations, (b) comply with contractual obligations, (c) afford procedural fairness and due process, (d) act in good faith, and (e) not coerce or harass investors;</li>\r\n 	<li>Full protection and security: A standard that requires host states to take reasonably-expected protective measures to ensure the physical integrity of an investor’s property;</li>\r\n 	<li>National treatment: A state must accord treatment to foreign investors that is no less favourable than that accorded to its domestic investors;</li>\r\n 	<li>Most-favoured-nation treatment: A state must accord treatment to foreign investors no less favourable than that accorded to investors from any third country;</li>\r\n 	<li>Prohibition on expropriation without compensation: A host state must provide prompt, adequate, and effective compensation if it expropriates an investor’s property; and</li>\r\n 	<li>Prohibition on unreasonable, arbitrary or discriminatory measures.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Dispute Resolution Under Investment Treaties</strong>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Should an investor consider itself or its investment mistreated as a result of a state violating one of the above mentioned standards or protections (whose scope may vary from treaty to treaty), most BITs provide a method for resolving such grievances – investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The ISDS mechanism provided in most BITs overwhelmingly provides a standing offer by host states to resolve differences with investors by way of arbitration. An investor may accept the host state’s offer simply by commencing arbitration in accordance with the relevant provision(s) of a BIT.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The most common form of  investment treaty arbitration found in ISDS provisions is arbitration through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which is part of the World Bank and based in Washington, D.C. ICSID arbitration is available to an investor if that investor’s home state and the host state are parties to the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID Convention). There is a significant likelihood of this being the case as the ICSID Convention has been ratified by 153 states, including most of the countries in the Middle East: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">One of the attractive features of ICSID arbitration for investors is the robust enforceability of ICSID awards. Under Article 54(1) of the ICSID Convention, which regulates ICSID and awards rendered by it, “[e]ach Contracting State shall recognize an award rendered pursuant to this Convention as binding and enforce the pecuniary obligations imposed by that award within its territories as if it were a final judgment of a court in that State.” This standard is even more stringent than the standards relating to the recognition and enforcement of commercial (and non-ICSID investment treaty) arbitration awards under the New York Convention of 1958.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The numerous investment treaties concluded by Middle-Eastern states provide treatment standards and ISDS mechanisms beneficial for the protection of qualifying investors and their investments. Thus, it would not be prudent to make investment decisions without considering the application of such international instruments and indeed it behoves investors to review and analyse the relevant investment treaties before making their investments. Such a review will inform the investors’ decision on the optimal way of structuring the investment to prevent or, at the very least, limit any potential adverse effect on the value of the investment.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(189254, 6988, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">With many international investors attracted to business opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa, especially in the politically stable and economically buoyant countries of the Gulf, the effectiveness of dispute resolution services in the region are an important consideration. The Gulf, and particularly the UAE, has a range of strong and stable institutions that can provide justice when disputes occur, and there are numerous formal and alternative dispute resolution processes available to foreign and domestic investors alike.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In the individual Emirates and at the Federal level, the UAE courts are well-used to dealing with foreign parties in disputes. Parties should be aware of the advantages of using the UAE’s courts, which are often fast in considering evidence and reaching decisions, and can be cost-effective. They can provide a high degree of privacy too, as hearings are not generally public and parties are not identified in published decisions.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">For many investors, there is an English language option based on the common law, which is more adversarial and prefers oral hearings to exchanges of written submissions (both of which are played down in the UAE litigation processes).</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Dubai International Financial Centre Courts are based on the common law, with experienced  judges drawn from various common law jurisdictions including the UK, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, complemented by qualified Emirati judges. Proceedings are conducted in English and follow the English system of public hearings. The DIFC offers a Court of First Instance of rough equivalence to the English High Court, with a Court of Appeal sitting above it, and a dedicated Small Claims Tribunal that hears claims worth up to 500,000 AED.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">There are numerous ‘gateways’ through which the DIFC Courts exercise control over their jurisdiction. For instance, parties physically established within the DIFC (either directly or through a branch entity) automatically fall within the jurisdiction of the DIFC Courts, although they can expressly opt out in their contracts if they wish. Equally, parties not based in the DIFC may opt into the DIFC’s jurisdiction through express terms.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The DIFC Courts are the default seat for arbitrations conducted under the rules of the DIFC-London Court of International Arbitration Centre (the DIFC-LCIA) and the specialist Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre, and, from 2018, under the rules of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre. The Courts have acted as the seat for arbitrations under the International Chamber of Commerce rules too. Parties can opt out of the DIFC’s jurisdiction in their arbitrations, of course, and some do. But the DIFC Courts are courts of the UAE, which is a party to the New York Convention, and the DIFC Arbitration Law provides that any arbitral award, irrespective of the state or jurisdiction in which it was made, can be recognised and enforced by the DIFC Courts. The resulting order can be taken for enforcement elsewhere in Dubai and the UAE.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Courts can also recognise and enforce judgments of foreign courts. A number of memoranda of understanding between the DIFC and various international courts, including the Federal Court of the South District of New York, the High Court in England, the Singaporean High Court and the People’s Court of Shanghai, facilitate the recognition and enforcement process both ways, and allow (subject to the foreign jurisdiction’s rules) a DIFC Court judgment to be exported for enforcement against foreign assets.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The UAE is part of a wider network of jurisdictions primarily through the Gulf Cooperation Council. The 1996 GCC Convention provides in certain cirumstances for the automatic mutual and reciprocal execution of final judgments of courts of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE in the other jurisdictions. The 1983 Riyadh Convention covers 20 countries and also allows for the recognition and enforcement of judgments.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The DIFC Courts are thus a sought-after place for litigation and have become a widely-used seat for numerous arbitrations under a number of institutional rules. The DIFC’s Dispute Resolution Authority also offers non-Muslims, including foreigners resident in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah, the ability to register a will with the Wills and Probate Registry. This gives a testator a large degree of testamentary freedom, akin to that under English law, and means that, upon the testator’s death, assets within Dubai or RAK that are covered by a registered will are not disposed of in accordance with the rules of Sharia.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The DIFC is not the only English language,<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> common law<strong> </strong></span>court in the UAE, however. The Abu Dhabi Global Markets Courts also sit in a financial free zone and have recently heard their first case. The Courts’ future is a growing and promising one: the ICC has recently opened an administrative base in the ADGM, and it is likely that it will become the default (but not mandatory) seat for arbitrations under ADGM-ICC rules.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In conclusion, foreign investors and businesses looking to trade with counterparties in the UAE should remember, above all else, that the UAE is a country governed by the rule of law. Whether through the courts of the individual Emirates, or at the Federal level, or the complementary courts of the financial free zones, a professional judiciary adjudicates disputes free from corruption and in a transparent process that is open to appeal.</p>'),
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(189309, 6989, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">With the exportation of crude oil still the primary driver of the Omani economy, the continued rise of its price (now over USD 60 per barrel) will, together with the completion of key infrastructure projects, accelerate the size of investment in Oman by foreign and local investors. Important infrastructure projects in this regard include improving the network of roads connecting main commercial cities and their ports, the completion of Muscat International Airport, development of commercial cities and free zones (like Sohar, Duqm and Salalah) – all of which has paved the way for the private sector to play a bigger role in the development of its economy.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Historically, the Omani government was the primary participant in the Oman market, and controlled the award of large projects to international companies to invest in Oman. This role will be diminished from 2018 - with the aim of achieving a sustainable economy less reliant on oil exports, providing more room for foreign investors to deal with companies operating in the private sector.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The relatively neutral position Oman has adopted in regional and international conflicts has contributed to its reputation as a stable jurisdiction for investment. In support of this proposition, a number of companies (particularly from 2017 onwards) began moving their regional headquarters to Oman. The move assisted in easing their operational requirements and international transfer of funds. It is anticipated this trend will continue in 2018 given the political and economical stability which Oman has and which investors around the globe are looking for in one of the areas which has biggest oil reserves, taking into consideration the geographical location of Sultanate of Oman in the South-eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula with all of its main ports and dry-dock overseeing the Indian ocean which make them safe hubs for any goods or shipments to be loaded or ships to be serviced.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Parallel to the increase in the oil prices and the political stability enjoyed by Oman, a number of key laws have been reconsidered. This article presents an overview of key legislative reforms in Oman.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Ownership of Land by Real Estate Investment Funds</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Another key law which may further encourage foreign investment and assist foreign investors to exercise more direct control through their investments is ministerial decision number 95/2017 issued by the Minster of the Ministry of Housing which regulates the conditions of ownership in real estate investment funds (the “Ministerial Resolution”) and came to force on 16 November 2017. Real Estate Investment Funds (“REIFs”) will be regulated and licensed by the Capital Market Authority, and will take the form of a closed fund with fixed share capital. REIFs may own properties necessary for the conduct of its licensed activities. In particular, the Ministerial Resolution has provided an alternative structure for local investors and extended the very limited rights of non-GCC (foreign) nationals and/or entities to own real property in Oman, albeit only in respect of developed land. Prior to the passing of the Ministerial Resolution:</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">      i. local investors could not readily access exposure to property investment; and</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">      ii. foreigners in Oman were all but excluded from outright ownership of land (access to leases and usufruct rights being more readily available) other than:</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">      a. ownership rights, permitted for development and onward sale, in favour of SOAGs (public joint stock companies) which required 30% Omani participation; or</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">      b. in respect of residential units in integrated tourist complexes.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">REIFs may own properties necessary for the conduct of its licensed activities through purchase subject to the following conditions:</p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>that the property intended to be owned has already been built and completed with a certificate of completion issued by the relevant municipality;</li>\r\n 	<li>that the ownership shall be limited to properties of commercial use, commercial residential, industrial or tourism. It shall be permitted as well to own residential complexes provided that the area of the residential complex is OMR 10,000 square meter at least; and</li>\r\n 	<li>it shall not be permitted for REIF\'s to own vacant lands as well as ownership of properties with a agriculture use.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">REIFs that are not wholly owned by Omanis are not permitted to own properties in Musanddam, Al Dahira, Al Buraimi, Dhofar (except Salalah state), Liwa, Shinas, Al Duqm, Al Jabal Al Khdar, Jabal Shams, islands, historic districts, concession areas and other areas which are not approved by the Ministry of Housing.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Ministerial Resolution clearly sets out the legal basis for REIFs to be established and operated within the parameters noted above. The Ministerial Resolution does not contain any material further detail in respect of the form or regulation of REIFs and further detail, from the Capital Markets Authority, should follow in due course. The practice of establishing such funds, and securing the relevant licences from the Capital Markets Authority, is yet to be tested. Experience shows that practice will, to some extent, develop as the first funds are established.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Tax Reform</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The introduction of VAT and the tax reforms throughout GCC countries will further reshape business and will have an impact on the prices of goods and services. Sultani Decree 9/2017 issued on 19 February 2017 and published in the Official Gazette on 26 February 2017 (the “Income Tax Law”) has made notable changes to Oman’s income tax law. Oman has increased the income tax rate from 12% to 15%. Additionally, small and medium business will start paying tax in 2018 at a rate of 3% with the threshold of OMR 30,000 being removed. Accordingly, annual net profits will be taxed regardless of amount. There are some exemptions from the provisions of the Income Tax Law, including tourism, mining, fishing and education.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Other Laws</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Foreign Capital Investment Law will, once issued, permit better ownership and control of companies which are incorporated in Oman by local investors. It is envisaged that 100% foreign shareholding will be permitted in some sectors, such as industry and tourism. Legislative procedures have been amended through the issuance of Sultani Decree 99/2011 which gives Shura and the State Councils the right to review any draft laws and provide comment.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">With the positive developments in the political, economical and legislative fields, there is a growing interest in investing in the Sultanate of Oman - being described by some commentators as the “Switzerland of the Gulf”. Oman continues to secure itself in this position, believing that investors eventually, regardless of the size of their respective investment, are looking for a stable jurisdiction where they can plan and grow their business.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(189362, 6990, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">Almost two years after Implementation Day on 16 January 2016, time is beginning to tell a story of disappointment for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ( JCPOA) between the EU+3 Powers and Iran. Early promises of access to a market that had been locked away for the best part of a decade have failed to materialise; businesses are still unable to exploit the full potential of Iran’s sizeable market, for various reasons. Trade opportunities continue to be an elusive reality as businesses face the dual obstacles of a complex compliance environment and volatile political conditions. Now more than ever, businesses are operating in a climate of confusion, and the initial optimism surrounding the deal’s impact has given way to simmering frustration.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">But in spite of the prevailing difficulties, there is still a tangible appetite to trade with Iran. For now, the key to reaping the benefits of Iran’s market is to outlast the current difficulties; businesses must be willing to win the waiting game.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Global Derisking</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In large part, the JCPOA’s difficulties in facilitating trade lies in the complexity of the remaining regulatory framework. Various sanctions measures left in place, misalignment between US and EU approaches to trade, and onerous compliance standards form a convoluted web of considerations for any venture involving Iranian parties. In most instances, this nebulous regulatory environment is viewed as an insurmountable hurdle, and efforts to initiate trade agreements are stymied.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Under the terms of the JCPOA, Iran has not been granted complete relief from sanctions. The UN, EU and US still maintain differing lists of restricted individuals and entities, whilst US persons are still subject to a full range of primary sanctions unilaterally imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The lack of alignment between US and EU regulations makes it particularly difficult for international companies to disentangle their compliance requirements. Moreover, attempts to conduct the necessary enhanced due diligence face additional difficulties in identifying Iranian beneficiary parties; well-known challenges include a lack of transparency and complex company ownership structures, as reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).1</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Not only are the remaining prohibitions difficult to comply with, but parties face huge fines should any number of violations occur. Subject to the jurisdiction, the currency of transaction and the precise nature of the activity, previous fines have reached crippling sums. Though intended as a deterrent against illicit behaviour, the fines seem to have acted as a deterrent against all forms of trade.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Navigating regulations is made significantly harder by the limited extent of guidance available regarding the permissibility of trade. Even the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which includes Iran as a high-risk jurisdiction for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorist Financing (CTF) deficiencies, provides broad brush advice to continue conducting enhanced due diligence. Whilst the inclusion of Iran’s status on the FATF agenda provides limited insight to regulatory conditions, it remains challenging to predict how long the current situational stagnation will prevail.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Even in instances where trade appears to be permitted, the cost of compliance measures can outweigh the perceived benefit of trade. Due diligence and other administrative requirements can be costly and further mitigate the will to initiate business relationships.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">These factors combine to create an effective blockade against trade; less of an obstacle and more a seemingly unassailable wall. Perhaps unsurprisingly, major banks now overwhelmingly defer to a derisking strategy, avoiding all ventures that expose them to the risks associated with Iranian parties, In essence, the viability of trade with Iran is fundamentally compromised by the very measures that are designed to protect and foster business relationships.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The impact of this trend is easily recognised in Iran’s record of correspondent banking relationships (CBRs), which are a crucial mechanism for international financial inclusion. The IMF has identified the damage to Iran’s CBRs as a significant impact of the sanctions measures over the past decade; between 2006 and 2014, the total number of CBRs reduced from 633 to 50. By the end of 2016 the total had reached 238; still a fraction of the total that existed before sanctions programs were initiated and absent the involvement of any major international banks.<span style=\"font-family: Baskerville; font-size: xx-small;\">2</span><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville; font-size: xx-small;\">.</span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Right in the Middle of It – The Regional Perspective</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">At a regional level, businesses operating in the Middle East are subject to the same guidelines as many of their international counterparts outside of the US. The Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF is the regional mechanism for implementing FATF recommendations, so high-level guidance does not depart from the reserved position of the  international body. With the UN Resolution 2231 (2015) endorsing the JCPOA and lifting measures previously imposed by the Security Council, businesses operating in local markets are only required to contend with the extraterritorial application of US sanctions and listed entities and/ or individuals.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Alignment in regulatory conditions means that the Middle East has not been immune to trends shaped at the international level. Derisking practices and confusion are as pervasive in regional markets, and the issues are often further compounded by the delicacy of regional political dynamics. The heightened difficulties are apparent in trade statistics; the UAE, for example, has experienced a reduction in foreign trade with Iran by more than 10% year on year since 2014.<span style=\"font-family: Baskerville; font-size: xx-small;\">3 </span>Moreover, Middle East-based banks constitute a noticeably minor proportion of those engaging with Iranian financial institutions.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In the face of these challenges, there is some limited evidence of slow progress. These breakthroughs signify that trade is possible despite the difficulties, and help to preserve optimism regarding future trade.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Stirring the Political Pot</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Escalatory rhetoric from President Trump has aggravated US relations with Iran and stirred speculation over the immediate future of the deal. Imminently possible outcomes range from conservative expectations of continued adherence to the deal by all parties; to more destructive moves including the US’ unilateral withdrawal from the deal, re-imposition of “snap-back” sanctions and the subsequent collapse of all terms. Each possible scenario on the spectrum would have different implications for the permissibility of business involving Iran, and the state of political volatility has compounded a collective sense of intense uncertainty. Embarking on high risk ventures in the face of such instability is anathema to business, and opportunities to trade with Iran face further inhibition.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The limited instances of success that have surfaced since the signing of the JCPOA are insufficient to mitigate the overwhelming trend towards derisking. The confusion and frustration that characterise the current Iranian foreign investment climate will likely endure until there are substantive changes to the regulatory framework, or effective guidance is provided to businesses with an appetite for high risk ventures.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Impending developments regarding the status of the deal may play a significant role in redressing the balance between frustration and optimism for prospective investors. Recent events, including President Trump’s announcement on 12<sup>th</sup> January 2018 that he would set a four month deadline on the deal, has cast the JCPOA’s future into disquietude, as EU countries stand fast behind the agreement and the extent of the US’ ability to effect unilateral change remains unclear. However, in the event that the deal is forced to undergo renegotiation or else collapse entirely, regulatory institutions should capitalise on the opportunity to clarify their position and issue substantive guidance for businesses and banks alike.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Iran’s market is the second largest in the Middle East, behind only the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and has the potential to be a veritable gold mine for savvy investors. If businesses from the region and beyond can sustain their optimism for progress, they may well be rewarded with untapped opportunities that far eclipse the struggles of the current climate. This article was previously published in WorldECR; a specialist international journal covering sanctions and trade issues. <em>To view the original article or for more information on the journal, visit www.worldecr.com, or for any queries relating to sanctions please contact Ibtissem Lassoued at i.lassoued@tamimi.com</em></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><em>1. <a href=\"https://www.imf.org/~/media/Files/Publications/PP/031617.ashx\">https://www.imf.org/~/media/Files/Publications/PP/031617.ashx</a></em></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><em>2. <a href=\"https://www.imf.org/~/media/Files/Publications/PP/031617.ashx\">https://www.imf.org/~/media/Files/Publications/PP/031617.ashx</a></em></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><em>3. <a href=\"http://www.economy.gov.ae/english/Knowledge-Section/TradeRelations/Pages/default.aspx\">http://www.economy.gov.ae/english/Knowledge-Section/TradeRelations/Pages/default.aspx</a></em></p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(189413, 6991, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\">The Egyptian Customs Law (no.66 of 1963 as amended by law no.95 of 2005; ‘the Egyptian Customs Law’) criminalises the smuggling of goods in and out Egypt and imposes various types of penalties on people and entities proved to be involved in smuggling goods in the country. This article will explain the process of finding and seizing smuggled goods and the procedures and penalties associated with smuggling in Egypt.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Seizing smuggled goods</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Current importing regulations in Egypt require that every component of a product be inspected, regardless of the shipment details or its description in cargo manifest.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">When any shipment arrives at an Egyptian port, a broad security check is immediately conducted by the Egyptian Customs Authority. The main purpose of this security check is to identify whether the cargo contains any of a wide range of illegal products. The term ‘smuggled product’ does not only refer to an item on the list of products prohibited under Egyptian law, but also to products which may be wrongly described in a cargo manifest or bill of lading.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Once a prohibited or wrongly-described cargo is identified, the Egyptian Customs Authority notifies the Egyptian Public Funds Investigation Department (PFID), a branch of the Egyptian police department. In such circumstances, the PFID starts its investigation by confiscating and holding the container containing the smuggled or prohibited cargo. At the same time the police will arrest the container importer and will request more information from the shipping line representative about the source of the cargo container. They will also request all documents relating to the cargo containers and its owners.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">After reviewing the shipment documents, the Customs Authority agent will either clear the shipments for release to the importer directly, or direct that the consignment be sent to other government entities for testing and inspection, coordinated by the General Organization for Export and Import Controls (GOEIC). In certain cases, the Egyptian military or security services may require additional laboratory tests of commodities beyond any testing previously required or performed in compliance with other laws and regulations. Custom duties are then evaluated and demanded and are paid in Egyptian pounds.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Investigating suspect smuggling</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Article 121 of the Egyptian Customs Law covers smuggling as both an export and an import activity. This covers any transit of goods through the Republic of Egypt without the payment of all or part of the custom duties owed for the goods’ transit. The ambit of the sanctions applied on those possessing foreign goods for trading purposes is very wide. It includes the possession of goods with knowledge that they are smuggled, and situations such as submitting false and fabricated documents or invoices, placing phony marks, concealing and hiding goods or marks, or the commission  of any other act aimed at evading taxes due to the Customs Authority, wholly or partially in violation of the systems in force concerning banned goods.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Article 121 also applies to the freight forwarder when his name is stipulated as consignee in the bill of lading. The Customs Authority in similar scenarios will consider the freight forwarder as the owner of the smuggled cargo and consequently he shall be subject to the penalty imposed by law.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Customs Authority officials and the assisting officers from other authorities have the right to follow smuggled goods even outside the range of Customs control, and to seize them along with the means of transportation and any persons involved. They may all be handed over to the nearest Customs Authority branch even if the cargo in question was officially released from the Customs Authority because it was wrongfully seized.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In such a case the Judicial Seizure Officers of the Customs Authority must obtain a warrant from the Public ProsecutionOffice (after the approval of the Finance Minister) before inspecting or seizing goods outside customs zones in ports of entry. Alternatively, permission from the Customs Commissioner must be obtained if officials wish to demand delivery up of documents, indicating the payment of evaluated taxes or duties.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Penalties for smuggling</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Article 122 of the Egyptian Customs Law defines the penalties that will be imposed in the case of a party committing the crime of smuggling goods. It provides that whoever commits smuggling shall be liable to a penalty of imprisonment and/or a fine not less than five hundred Egyptian pounds and not exceeding ten thousand Egyptian pounds. If the smuggling of goods is for trade purposes, then the penalty to be imposed shall be an imprisonment term not less than two years and not exceeding five years, and/or a fine not less than one thousand pounds and not exceeding fifty thousand pounds.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In all cases, the court has the power to sentence the perpetrators, their accomplices, and the legal personalities such as companies in whose favour the crime was committed. It may also order the payment of a fine equivalent to the amount of the appropriate custom duties. If the goods which are the subject of the criminal activity are of a prohibited kind, or if their import into Egypt is banned, the fine will be doubled.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">There are multiple instances where a vessel’s master and/or crew may be found in possession of undeclared items outside the vessel’s bonded stores, beyond the legally permissible quantities during their stay in Egyptian ports. This is especially true of alcohol. In this case, a substantial customs fine will be imposed, and the accused may face a criminal prosecution in addition to the confiscation of the undeclared items. In order to avoid such drastic action by customs, it is often advisable that the “fine only” penalty imposed should be promptly settled and on an amicable basis without referring the matter to the relevant court, thereby avoiding any sentence of imprisonment or aggrieved penalties.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A vessel’s master can be charged in some instances with smuggling offences when he is paying or is getting payment from his agent exceeding 10,000 USD without the prior approval of the Custom Authorities. In this scenario any amount exceeding the sum of 10,000 USD will be confiscated and a criminal case will be filed against the agent’s representative. To avoid this from happening, the agent must declare the money to the Customs Authorities and get their approval prior entering the customs zone.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In conclusion, the Egyptian Customs Authority has far reaching powers to tackle smuggling. If shippers are faced with any investigation of their actions, appropriate legal advice should be sought as soon as possible.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(189464, 6992, 'content', 'Earlier this year, in a bid to attract more visitors to the country, the Qatar government took a number of proactive steps including:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>introducing a visa free programme (or visa waiver) for eligible nationals of 80 countries;</li>\r\n 	<li>introducing an “e-visa” application process for eligible nationals of 242 countries; and</li>\r\n 	<li>introducing visa on arrival for eligible Pakistani nationals.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nQatar hopes that these changes (discussed below) will bring more visitors to the country and will provide a boost in tourism. The changes have been widely welcomed by tourism industry professionals, as well as hospitality and retail operators in the country. In a recent statement, the Chief Tourism Development Officer at the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), Hassan Al Ibrahim, said:\r\n\r\n<strong><em>“With 80 countries eligible for a visa waiver, Qatar </em></strong><strong><em>is now the most open country in the region and we are </em></strong><strong><em>delighted to invite visitors to discover our renowned </em></strong><strong><em>hospitality, cultural heritage and natural treasures.”</em></strong>\r\n\r\nBefore turning to the recent amendments, it is worth summarising Qatar’s position regarding tourist visas prior to the introduction of the new changes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tourist visas for Qatar prior to the diplomatic crisis</strong>\r\n\r\nUntil recent months, the position in Qatar was that one-month tourist visas (single-entry and renewable) were available to:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>passport holders of the following 33 countries: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA, and the Vatican; and</li>\r\n 	<li>people holding a valid resident permit from one of the other five Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (i.e. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) provided that the individual’s job fell within the list of approximately 200 professions approved for visa on arrival.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe visa fee was QAR 100 and the visa was renewable for up to three months. Nationals of the other GCC countries do not require a visa to enter Qatar. All other visitors were required to arrange for a tourist visa prior to travel (e.g. through Qatar Airways or a Qatar-based hotel) or be sponsored by Qatar-based relatives/friends).\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Visa free programme for nationals of 80 countries</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The first key change is a visa waiver for nationals of 80 countries. The waiver means that nationals of those 80 countries will no longer need to apply for (or pay for) a visa upon arrival in Qatar. Instead, a multi-entry waiver will be issued free of charge upon the presentation of:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>a valid passport with a minimum validity of six months;</li>\r\n 	<li>a confirmed onward or return ticket; and</li>\r\n 	<li>a valid address for the visitor\'s stay in Qatar (e.g. hotel booking confirmation, or the physical address of a friend or family member with whom the visitor will be staying).</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The 80 countries are divided into two groups as set out below.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong><em>Group one – 180 days’ waiver</em></strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The first group consists of 34 countries (note that Malaysia was initially in the second group of countries discussed below, however, it was subsequently moved into this first group) whose nationals are eligible for a visa waiver that is valid for 180 days from the date of issuance and at zero cost. It entitles the visitor to spend up to 90 days in Qatar either during a single trip or across multiple trips. The list of countries is as follows:</p>\r\nAustria                       Greece                         Poland\r\n\r\nBahamas                    Hungary                     Portugal\r\n\r\nBelgium                      Iceland                       Romania\r\n\r\nBulgaria                      Italy                            Seychelles\r\n\r\nCroatia                        Latvia                         Slovakia\r\n\r\nCyprus                        Liechtenstein            Slovenia\r\n\r\nCzech Republic         Lithuania                   Spain\r\n\r\nDenmark                    Luxembourg             Sweden\r\n\r\nEstonia                       Malta                          Switzerland\r\n\r\nFinland                       Malaysia                    Turkey\r\n\r\nFrance                        Netherlands\r\n\r\nGermany                    Norway\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><em><strong>Group two – 30 days’ waiver</strong></em></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The second group consists of 46 countries (this number was previously 47 when Malaysia was part of this group) whose nationals are eligible for a visa waiver that is valid for 30 days from the date of issuance. The waiver entitles the visitor to spend up to 30 days in Qatar during a single trip or on multiple trips. This visa waiver may be extended for a further 30 days at zero cost. The list of countries is as follows:</p>\r\nAndorra                   Guyana                   Peru\r\n\r\nArgentina                Hong Kong             Russia\r\n\r\nAustralia                  India                       San Marino\r\n\r\nAzerbaijan               Indonesia                Singapore\r\n\r\nBelarus                    Ireland                    South Africa\r\n\r\nBolivia                     Japan                       South Korea\r\n\r\nBrazil                       Kazakhstan              Suriname\r\n\r\nBrunei                     Lebanon                  Thailand\r\n\r\nCanada                    Macedonia               Ukraine\r\n\r\nChile                        Maldives                   United Kingdom\r\n\r\nChina                       Mexico                    United States\r\n\r\nColombia                 Moldova                  Uruguay\r\n\r\nCosta Rica               Monaco                  Vatican City\r\n\r\nCuba                        New Zealand          Venezuela\r\n\r\nEcuador                   Panama\r\n\r\nGeorgia                   Paraguay\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>“E-Visas” for nationals of 242 countries and </strong><strong>territories</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The second key change that has been introduced is that nationals of 242 countries and territories <a href=\"https://qatar.vfsevisa.com/Qatar-Online/QROnline/VisaCategoryAndPricingDetails/UnRestrictedNationalityList\">(see complete list here)</a> may now apply for “e-visas” if they a hold either a residence permit or visa issued by one of the following countries:</p>\r\nAustralia                  Hungary                  Poland\r\n\r\nAustria                    Iceland                     Portugal\r\n\r\nBahrain                    Italy                         Saudi Arabia\r\n\r\nBelgium                   Kuwait                     Slovakia\r\n\r\nCanada                    Latvia                      Slovenia\r\n\r\nCzech Republic       Lithuania                Spain\r\n\r\nDenmark                 Luxembourg           Sweden\r\n\r\nEstonia                    Malta                       Switzerland\r\n\r\nFinland                    Netherlands           UAE\r\n\r\nFrance                     New Zealand          UK\r\n\r\nGermany                 Norway                   US\r\n\r\nGreece                     Oman\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">To visit Qatar under the new “e-visa” system, applicants will need to present:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>a machine-readable passport with a minimum validity of six months from the date of travel to Qatar (applicants are required to upload coloured copies of their passport bio-data pages) together with a passport-size photograph;</li>\r\n 	<li>itinerary (i.e. plane tickets confirming onward or return ticket, although Qatar Airways passengers are exempt from this requirement);</li>\r\n 	<li>a proof of accommodation (such as hotel booking or address of relative/ friend); and</li>\r\n 	<li>a copy of their residence permit or visa (with a minimum validity of 30 days) for one of the countries listed in the table above.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nNationals of some of the 242 countries may be asked to submit additional documentation.\r\n\r\nE-visa applications must be submitted online at least four days before travel (and no more than 90 days before travel). Visas are e-mailed to successful applicants and are valid for travel within 90 days of the date on which they are issued. The visa holder may stay in Qatar for up to 30 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Visa on arrival for Pakistani nationals</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The third change is that Pakistani nationals are now eligible for visas on arrival in Qatar. Visas are issued free of cost upon the presentation of:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>a valid passport with a minimum validity of six months;</li>\r\n 	<li>a confirmed onward or return ticket; and</li>\r\n 	<li>cash funds equivalent to 5,000 Qatari riyals (about 141,250 Pakistani rupees or US$1,340) or a valid credit card.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In addition, Pakistani nationals travelling directly from Pakistan must also provide “a certificate of vaccination against polio according to the procedures currently in place”. Visas are valid for 30 days and are renewable (for another 30 days) subject to confirmation of a return ticket.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Transit visas for Qatar Airways passengers of any nationality</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Finally, for completeness, it is also worth mentioning that transit visas were introduced in 2016. All passengers (regardless of nationality) flying with Qatar Airways and transiting through Hamad International Airport (HIA) are eligible for a 96-hour transit visa (free of charge) if their layover at HIA is at least five or more hours. However, visas are granted at the sole discretion of Qatar’s Ministry of Interior and must be applied for at least seven days in advance. The applicant must present:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>a valid passport with a minimum validity of six months; and</li>\r\n 	<li>a confirmed onward or return ticket with Qatar Airways</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The transit visa is valid for entry within 30 days from the date of issuance. It is a single entry visa permitting the holder to stay in Qatar for a maximum duration of 96 hour (extension is not permitted and a fresh visa application must be submitted if the visitor wishes to extend their stay in the country).</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Do the recent changes allow you to work in Qatar?</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The visas discussed in this article are tourist visas and do not entitle an individual to work in Qatar. Individuals travelling to Qatar for work or business must continue to ensure that they have the correct visa before travelling to Qatar.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>What do the changes means for tourism in Qatar?</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030, Qatar hopes to increase the number of tourists to the country from 2.93 million in 2015 to 7 -10 million annually by 2030. The range of new visa measures announced by the QTA have been well-received, however, it remains to be seen whether these measures will have the desired effect in terms of bringing visitors to the country.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Finally, although the contents of this article are accurate as at the date of publication, immigration policies are subject to frequent changes. We would therefore advise that appropriate enquiries are made (e.g. with the Qatari Embassy or diplomatic mission within your home country) prior to making any travel arrangements for Qatar.</p>\r\n&nbsp;'),
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(189515, 6993, 'content', '<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Introduction</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Vision of Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah to modernise Kuwait into a preeminent centre for commerce and finance by the year 2035 is being achieved through a vast range of commercial and government sector developments. These developments are also supported by the promulgation of legal reforms that essentially reflect Kuwait’s ultimate objective in moving toward an investor friendly economy. Legal experts in the GCC have witnessed a discernible effort in Kuwait, particularly in reforming key aspects of its legal regime to sustain and enhance its economic and commercial objectives.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">This article seeks to highlight some of the key changes to various subjects of law over the last two years.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Companies Law</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The first overhaul of the companies law was introduced in 2012 by way of introducing Law Number 25 of 2012 (the “Companies Law”) which saw to replace the predated Law No. 15 of 1960 in Kuwait, which in its era was considered as the regulatory foundation of companies in Kuwait. The 2012 reforms provided more clarity on several issues, which were not dealt with in its predecessor, such as non-profit companies, holding companies and shareholders’ agreements. However, this inevitably led to some practical obstacles that surfaced after the law had already been promulgated. Accordingly, experts pushed  for a number of amendments to some of the key provisions, resulting in additional overhauls in 2013 and more recently 2016.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The current and most recent amendment to the Companies Law was published in the Official Gazette (Kuwait Al Youm) by virtue of Law No. 15 of the 2017. The new amendments were made on grounds of practical implementation and in a bid to resolving the difficulties previously faced in enforcement of the law.</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>In relation to email/postal addresses and the ability to add or replace the full address of the head office of the company in order to facilitate the means of communication and to conform to the international standard and the development of the companies and commercial sector;</li>\r\n 	<li>Payment of the full amount of the company\'s capital is no longer required and this shall effectively help small business to run and obtain the financial facilities from banks and financial institution, which requires the company to be established to grant such facilitates. The minimum capital of the company and the amount to be paid pre-incorporation shall be determined through the executive bylaw and according to the activities of the company;</li>\r\n 	<li>Deletion of the minimum nominal value of the share/unit, which was KD 100 as per the previous law. according to the new amendment, the partners will determine the nominal value of the shares without any observation to a minimum or maximum amounts provided that all shares/units be of the same value; and</li>\r\n 	<li>Deletion of the sufficiency of capital condition for the shareholding companies. The last amendment in relation to the shareholding companies and the deletion of the condition of capital sufficiency as stipulated in the previous law. According to the new amendment the minimum capital of the company shall be determined by executive bylaw according to the activity of the company. This amendment will allow all companies with the same activities to have the same capital and conditions, without leaving the decision to the discretion of the officials and would provide equality.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Foreign Investment and the Tenders Law</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">2017 also observed Kuwait ‘revamping’ of some of its restrictive laws in order to make room for foreign investment. Kuwait’s aspirations to attract foreign investors commenced with the promulgation of Law 116 of 2013 (the “Direct Investment Law and establishment of the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority which allows for the establishment of ‘wholly foreign-owned’ Kuwait entities.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">This progressive trend has been sustained with the introduction of Law. No 49 of 2016 (the “New Tenders Law”) which superseded Law No. 37 of 1964 (the “Old Tenders Law”). A notable highlight of the New Tenders Law is the protection of the local population in the Kuwait market. Now, a foreign contractor is obliged to purchase no less than 30% of its contractual requirements from the local market or from local suppliers registered with the Central Agency for Public Tenders (the “CAPT”). Moreover, the CAPT, in a step towards allowing more of a Kuwaiti presence in the public procurement marketplace, shall also manage compliance of foreign contractors by awarding not less than 30% of the contracting works to local contractors. This has been strategically poised with the transformation of bidding requirements for public tenders. Prior to the New Tenders Law, foreign contractors were unable to bid on public tenders without a local agent. This restriction has been now been removed after the promulgation of the New Tenders Law to foster in a new era of easing regulations for foreign investment.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">It also is worth noting that despite not needing an agent to bid, the foreign bidder may still be in need of a local agent for the execution phase of the project in order to sponsor the employees being that a foreigner can only conduct business in Kuwaiti through the establishment of an entity with a local partner, arrangement of a local agency, or establishment of ‘wholly foreign-owned’ Kuwait entity. Thus, unless a foreign contractor has established a Kuwait entity, the need for a local agent may inevitably be required at some stage.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In addition to opening doors to potential investors, the New Tenders Law has also developed more organised criteria for potential bidders to follow. As a result, any company which appears to have issues with completing existing projects will not be awarded new projects until such issues are resolved and the project as a whole is completed. Where the Old Tenders Law did not recognize or regulate the technical evaluation of the various project tenders, the New Tenders Law introduces a ‘points system’ for allocating project work of a technical nature to a selected bidder based upon successful attainment against a specified ‘points based’ criterion.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The key provisions in the New Tenders Law are as follows:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Foreign bidders can now bid on public tenders without a local agent;</li>\r\n 	<li>Foreign bidders must now purchase no less than 30% of its goods from the local market;</li>\r\n 	<li>Introduction of sophisticated criteria for approval of tenders;</li>\r\n 	<li>Establishment of a Grievance Committee to express any issues during tendering process; and</li>\r\n 	<li>Bidders are allowed to contract for any purpose without permission from CAPT as long as the contract value does not exceed KD 75,000 – an increase in contract value from the KD 5,000 in the previous tenders law.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">To summarise, the New Tenders Law illustrates Kuwait’s ambition to expand within the international commercial market by allowing more opportunity for foreign investors while simultaneously providing a dependable market for the local population to cultivate growth potential.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Agency Law</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In support of the budding improvements to the business area of law and following almost four decades of enforcing the previous commercial agency law of 1964, the Kuwait Parliament considered it necessary to lay down new and more suitable regulations in order to support the rapidly developing domain of commercial agencies in Kuwait.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The highly anticipated Law No. 13 of 2016 Regulating Commercial Agencies (the “Agency Law”) was published on 13 March 2016. It supersedes the previous law and sets forth the regulatory and legal framework to be utilised in the organisation of commercial agencies. The Agency Law is intended to be read alongside Law No. 68 of 1980 (the “Commercial Law”).</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Commercial Law permits a foreign principal to carry out business activities in Kuwait by means of a distributorship contract with a local merchant under which the latter undertakes to distribute the principal’s products in Kuwait. While the Commercial Law distinguishes between agencies and distributorships and provides the basic framework for regulating commercial agencies together with compensation provisions consisting of the right to claim for early termination and/or non-renewal upon expiration. Article 286 of the Commercial Law states that if the appointed distributor is the sole distributor, then in accordance with Kuwait law, the exclusive distribution is deemed to be an agency contract.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The most salient articles in the Agency Law address anti-trust provisions, the ability to appoint more than one agent or distributor (in accordance to Article 273 (1) of the Commercial Law), and resolving disputes pursuant to an arbitration clause.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Summarising the key changes in the Agency Law are the following:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The definition of Commercial Agency has been explicitly addressed in Article 1 of the Agency Law as ‘an agreement whereby the party holding the legal right entrusts a merchant/company in the State of Kuwait to sell, promote or distribute goods/render services in his capacity as an agent, distributor, franchisee or licensee of the product or the original supplier against a profit or commission’.</li>\r\n 	<li>A principal can appoint more than one agent/distributor.</li>\r\n 	<li>The import or supply of any goods or products are no longer confined to the respective agent or distributor, irrespective of exclusivity and rights to use the trademark, provided that the party importing or supplying them complies strictly with the terms and conditions of the Agency Law. We deduce that this provision permits parallel distributing even if the distributor is exclusive and includes the right to use the trademark.</li>\r\n 	<li>The Agency Law restates the registration requirement. Article 6 requires registration of agency agreements stating: that the existing Commercial Agencies Register in the Ministry shall continue to operate, in which all the accepted commercial agencies are to be registered in accordance to the provisions of the new law. Any commercial agency, not lodged on the Commercial Agency Register, shall not be considered valid and shall not be eligible to be heard by a court of law.”</li>\r\n 	<li>The Ministry of Commerce and Investment no longer allows agency registrations at the Commercial Agency Register after the passing of two months from the date of signing the agreement, and accordingly any claim that may be brought under the agreement shall not be eligible to be heard by a Kuwaiti Court.</li>\r\n 	<li>Under Article 20 of the Agency Law, the courts are likely not hear any disputes brought by an agent/exclusive distributor if there is a provision subjecting the exclusive distributorship agreement to foreign arbitration as well as foreign governing law, given that Kuwait is a signatory to the New York Convention regarding enforcing foreign arbitral awards. Alongside governing the agency/distributorship relationship from a procedural perspective the Agency Law also contains much of the substantive content in this subject area.</li>\r\n 	<li>Article 9 of the Agency Law stipulates that an agency may be re-registered in the Commercial Agencies Register under the name of a new agent on the occurrence of any one of the following events:</li>\r\n</ul>\r\na. the agency registered previously is terminated amicably between its parties\r\n\r\nb. the agency registered previously is revoked by an executable court judgement.\r\n\r\nc. the agency registered previously is terminated according to its duration specified in the agency contract.\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The principal may not terminate the contract without a breach on part of the agent, otherwise the principal shall be obliged to compensate the agent for the damage sustained to the agent as a result of this termination. Every agreement to the contrary shall be invalid.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Labour Law</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Public Authority of Manpower has established and recently launched its new “easy service” via their web portal. This now allows the employer to carry out various application processes online i.e. issuing, renewing and cancelling an employee’s work permit. In addition to the successful inauguration on the online application process, 2017 has also seen some amendments to Law No. 6 of 2010 (the “Kuwait Labour Law”). Notably, Law No. 85 of 2017 (the “Amending Law”) amends two articles in the Kuwait Labour Law as summarized below:</p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Article 51 of the Labour Law deals with end of service gratuity and pension contributions. The Amending Law states that upon ending his service, an employee is entitled to full end of service indemnity without deducting the contributions made by the employer towards the Public Institution for Social Security. Previously, some employers used to deduct the amount that they had contributed towards social security from their employee’s end of service payout. The Amending Law clarifies that this practice is no longer allowed; and</li>\r\n 	<li>Article 70 of the Labour Law deals with annual leave entitlements for employees. The Amending Law stipulates that “an employee has the right to a 30-day paid annual leave in the first year of service provided that he completed at least six months under the employer. Weekend holidays, public holidays and sick leave days shall not be counted as part of annual holidays.” Previously, the Labour Law did not specifically state that weekends, public holidays and sick leave days were not counted as part of annual leave and employers were therefore more inclined to give 30 calendar days’ leave. The Amending Law now clarifies that employees are entitled to 30 working days annual leave instead.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In the last few years the Kuwait government has taken numerous positive steps towards sustainable development and economic growth by reducing bureaucracy, speeding up administrative processes, passing legislative amendments and generally taking steps to promote the Kuwait economy. Additionally, a number of new laws have been passed in a bid to tackling the fundamental obstacles facing investors in Kuwait and a number of proposals in line with the foreign investment objective are still in the pipeline. It is accordingly fitting to conclude that Kuwait is headed in a direction of growth which may reinstate its historic reputation as the ‘the pearl of the Gulf.’</p>'),
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(189592, 7001, 'content', 'In a social media centric world, the pressure of maintaining a perfect appearance is greater than ever. In response, the popularity of cosmetic procedures has surged, becoming more socially acceptable, and indirectly encouraged. This trend has heavily contributed to the boom in medical tourism, which sees both men and women travelling overseas for cosmetic treatments. Leveraging the demand, centers offering surgical and non-surgical procedures have appeared in cities across the Middle East, such as Amman, Beirut and Dubai.\r\n\r\nThe speed of change has raised some red flags for health ministries, who have been taking a closer look at the cosmetic industry across the region. One example is the 2014 Beauty Salons Cosmetic Procedures Therapies Guidelines issued by the Dubai Health Authority in the United Arab Emirates.  In Jordan, the authorities have particularly focused on ensuring licensed healthcare professionals, rather than skin care technicians, exclusively provide invasive and non-invasive treatments. It is well known that renowned regional experts in cosmetic treatments charge a premium for such licensed procedures. Consequently, there has been an increase in demand for cheaper alternatives, causing consumers often to turn to unregulated and unlicensed centres.\r\n\r\nFurther complicating these issues, skin care centres in the region have begun to offer a broad range of treatments, from injecting cortisone, fillers, and Botox to chemical and electrical peals, even if neither the centre nor the technician has an official licence to perform such procedures. Setting defined limitations to the performance of these procedures is vital, now more than ever, as an increasing number of self-acclaimed cosmetic therapists are putting their business opportunities ahead of the quality of their products and even the safety of their patients.\r\n\r\nIn response to these concerns, the last few months has seen a raft of new regulations in Jordan to standardise the licensing of clinics and the technicians providing treatments, including, hair removal, LED light therapy, cortisone injections, fillers, and Botox.\r\n\r\nThese new regulations remain to be put into full effect in Jordan, however. While the aim is ultimately to restrict and prosecute unlicensed practices, men and women undergoing these treatments should be aware of the legislation surrounding cosmetic procedures, as well as the health risks involved. Further details on cosmetic products, inspection, and treatment regulations can often be found on the website of a country’s relevant health authority.'),
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(190162, 7031, 'content', '<strong>Al Tamimi &amp; Company and Clyde &amp; Co team up to launch an Arabic translation of the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration and Mediation Rules</strong>\r\n\r\nDubai, 17 January 2018 – Leading law firms Al Tamimi &amp; Company (Al Tamimi) and Clyde &amp; Co, announce the launch of an Arabic translation of the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration and Mediation Rules to support the local arbitration community and help users and practitioners better understand the rules of one of the leading arbitration centres in the Middle East.\r\n\r\nAs enthusiasm grows for the United Arab Emirates as an international business hub for investment into the Arab world and beyond, arbitration and mediation have gained momentum as leading forms of dispute resolution in the Middle East region.\r\n\r\nNassif BouMalhab, Lead Partner for Clyde &amp; Co\'s Middle East Arbitration Group, comments: \"Against that background, we thought the publication and distribution of the DIFC-LCIA Rules in Arabic would attract a broader diversity of users, particularly amongst the Arabic-speaking business community. This project is another major step towards sharing knowledge, lifting communication barriers and supporting Arabic-speaking practitioners in the region.\"\r\n\r\nEssam Al Tamimi, Senior Partner and Founder at Al Tamimi, comments: \"Having the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration and Mediation Rules translated into Arabic will serve both the Arabic and international community. It will attract more users in the region as they will now have the choice to conduct arbitrations in the language that they want. This translation will certainly benefit Dubai and further position it as the arbitration hub in the Middle East. \"\r\n\r\nRobert Stephen, Registrar of the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre, says: \"We are very grateful to our friends at Clyde &amp; Co and Al Tamimi for taking the initiative to prepare an Arabic translation of the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration and Mediation Rules. The project is about contributing to the growth and development of the practice of commercial arbitration in the region and improving access to dispute resolution services and diversity, all of which is very important to the DIFC-LCIA.\"\r\n\r\nThe translation of the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration and Mediation Rules are available on <a href=\"https://www.clydeco.com/insight/reports/difc-lcia-arbitration-and-mediation-rules-arabic\">Clyde &amp; Co</a> and <a href=\"http://www.tamimi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Arabic-DIFC-LCIA-Arbitration-and-Mediation-Rules.pdf\">Al Tamimi\'s</a> respective websites.\r\n\r\nClyde &amp; Co\'s arbitration practice is one of the largest in the Middle East and boasts over 100 current arbitration cases, 13 arbitration partners, and over 35 arbitration practitioners in the region. Its arbitration practice cuts across several sectors including corporate and commercial, investment treaty, construction, real estate &amp; hospitality, marine, insurance, and oil &amp; gas.\r\n\r\nAl Tamimi &amp; Company is widely recognised as the pre-eminent law firm in the Middle East. In addition to its accomplished first-class Litigation department, the firm also has a specialist Arbitration team, consisting of international lawyers with considerable experience of arbitrating public and private law disputes in a variety of regions and industries, both as counsel and as arbitrators.\r\n\r\n<strong>Notes to Editors: </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Clyde &amp; Co </strong>\r\n\r\nClyde &amp; Co is a leading, sector-focused global law firm with 390 partners, 2000 legal professionals and 3600 staff in 50 offices and associated offices on six continents. Its core global sectors position it at the heart of global trade and commerce: insurance, trade &amp; commodities, energy, transport and infrastructure. With a strong emerging markets focus, the firm has achieved compound average annual revenue growth of 12% over the last five years, making it one of the fastest growing law firms in the world with ambitious plans for further growth. Clyde &amp; Co was named Transatlantic Law Firm of the Year 2017 by The American Lawyer/Legal Week.\r\n\r\n<strong>Al Tamimi &amp; Company</strong>\r\n\r\nAl Tamimi &amp; Company is the largest law firm in the Middle East with 17 offices across nine countries. The firm has unrivalled experience, having operated in the region for over 25 years. Our lawyers combine international experience and qualifications with expert regional knowledge and understanding.\r\n\r\nWe are a full-service firm, specialising in advising and supporting major international corporations, banks and financial institutions, government organisations and local, regional and international companies. Our main areas of expertise include arbitration &amp; litigation, banking &amp; finance, corporate &amp; commercial, intellectual property, real estate, construction &amp; infrastructure, and technology, media &amp; telecommunications. Our lawyers provide quality legal advice and support to clients across all of our practice areas.\r\n\r\nOur business and regional footprint continues to grow, and we seek to expand further in line with our commitment to meet the needs of clients doing business across the Middle East.\r\n\r\nFor more information, please visit <a href=\"https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/W_scCvo0NFVWWKh025ZK?domain=tamimi.com\">www.tamimi.com</a>.\r\n\r\nFollow us on Twitter @altamimicompany and LinkedIn.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.tamimi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Arabic-DIFC-LCIA-Arbitration-and-Mediation-Rules.pdf\">Download\r\n</a>\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7030\" src=\"http://www.tamimi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/LCIA-cover-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" />'),
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(195826, 7162, 'content', '<strong>Introduction </strong>\r\n\r\nThe aftershocks of the global financial crisis of 2007 deeply affected Jordan’s stock market exposing a number of sham transactions in relation to, among other things dealings in foreign stock exchanges.  Fast-forward ten years in time and the Jordanian government has issued<em> Law No.1 Regulating Dealings With Foreign Stock Exchanges Law no.1 of 2017</em> (the “Foreign Exchange Law”) to replace <em>Temporary</em> <em>Law No.50 Regulating Dealings With Foreign Stock Exchanges of the year 2008</em> with the hopes of providing a more tight knit protection scheme for investors to prevent any fraudulent dealings through limiting the scope of entities capable of dealing in foreign stock exchanges.\r\n\r\nBy virtue of the new Foreign Exchange Law restrictions have been introduced for the first time limiting the entities who are able to broker or mediate on behalf of third parties in foreign stock exchanges to only banks and financial service companies licensed by the Securities Commission.\r\n\r\nThe below articles outline the major additions introduced by the Foreign Exchange Law and the possible impact the said legislation may have on the ability of foreign banks to operate under the new legislation.\r\n\r\n<strong><em> </em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Unprecedented Limitations</strong>\r\n\r\nArticle 3 of the Foreign Exchange Law explicitly states that the practice of dealing in foreign stock exchanges or mediating on behalf third parties in foreign stock exchange, is solely limited to banks and financial services companies licensed by the Jordan Securities Commission. With the exclusion of the banks and/or the licensed financial service companies Article 3 prohibits any entity from partaking or mediating in foreign stock markets whether it be on behalf of another party or on behalf of itself directly or indirectly.\r\n\r\nFurthermore, no person is allowed to promote or advertise by any means any mediation services on behalf of third parties in foreign stock markets or to mediate in foreign stock exchange directly or indirectly. Such limitations have been placed to ensure the protection of investors from false advertisement of foreign stock market dealings that had led to the 2007 financial scam.\r\n\r\nIt is also worth noting that in contrast to the previous Foreign Stock Exchanges Law of 2008, the newly issued Foreign Exchange Law does not expressly exempt foreign banks from the restrictions set out in Article 3 above. Under the previous regime foreign banks could be exempt from such restrictions by the Securities Commission and if approved by the Council of Ministers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Penalties </strong>\r\n\r\nArticle 4 outlines more strict penalties for breaching Article 3(B) and 3(C) of the Foreign Exchange Law and imposes a fine of no less than one thousand (1,000) Jordanian Dinars and no more than one hundred thousand (100,000) Jordanian Dinars, along with one year imprisonment. Such firm penalties enforce the ideal the government is trying to portray of having more regulated dealings in the foreign stock exchange market.\r\n\r\nMoreover, any contract or agreement entered into by any party that accordingly infringes Article 3 is considered to be in breach and thus, the infringer must return all the money collected from the contracted party and gained as a result of such breach.\r\n\r\nIf the party in breach is a company, then its chief executive officer, board of directors or its general manager (if applicable) are considered to be responsible and jointly and severally liable with the company. As such they must return all the money gained as a result of the money received from others.\r\n\r\n<strong><em> </em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>A Clearer Image</strong>\r\n\r\nArticle 5 dictates that whenever appropriate, the Management Board of the Jordanian Central Bank as well as the Board of Commissioners of the Securities Commission must issue further instructions and decisions necessary to implement the provisions of this law.\r\n\r\nAdditionally, the Council of Ministers are expected to issue the regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this law.\r\n\r\nSuch articles are likely to provide further clarity as to the interpretation of the restrictions placed under the Foreign Exchange Law with respect to foreign dealings and exemptions for foreign banks from such restrictions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Conclusion</strong>\r\n\r\nIt is evident that the new Foreign Exchange Law does not take into consideration many factors that should be encompassed in its articles. Such factors consist of for example, foreign banks and the repercussions that might be incurred as a result of restricting such entities.\r\n\r\nFurthermore, it does not take into account the fact that, despite having a licensing mechanism for the eligible entities in Jordan, such authorisation is not automatically translated into foreign markets where some banks or companies licenses may not be recognised by other jurisdictions as being sufficient to give them the authorisation to be able to participate in other foreign stock exchanges and thus, they might need the mediation of other foreign banks or qualified intermediaries to be able to deal in foreign stock exchange. With the New Foreign Exchange Law being silent on such a matter it is not clear whether such acts might be in breach of the New Foreign Exchange Law.\r\n\r\nWhat is more, the new Foreign Exchange Law is also silent regarding the ability of any investor to simply use websites or applications to trade online in foreign stock markets without the need to have a qualified mediator or an approval from the government.\r\n\r\nDespite the fact that the new Foreign Exchange Law does not yet clearly portray the full image the government is trying to paint with this new legislation, it definitely takes a step into the right direction taking into consideration the previous blunders caused by loose restrictions and lenient penalties. It is evident that with its new more strict approach in regulating the dealings, it would be providing more sufficient protection for simple and small time investors who lack the adequate experience to detect any fraudulent acts.'),
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(190775, 7060, 'content', 'A decade ago, artificial intelligence (“AI”) was thought of as science fiction. Yet, AI has rapidly evolved and in the coming years the use of innovative AI, particularly in terms of content generation, will certainly grow to unimaginable heights.\r\n\r\nThis begs the question; what does the future hold for intellectual property (“IP”) with the onset of such innovations? How would this also affect the Middle East?\r\n\r\nAs IP arising from AI is a relatively new field, little is currently known on how AI developers should best protect their IP assets. Additionally, in the Middle East, there is no record of an information technology (IT) developer attempting to patent an AI invention. Moreover, because AI is under-regulated, concerned parties in this region may consequently risk losing some potentially valuable IP.\r\n\r\nFor all types of businesses in the Middle East two current areas of focus should be of prime concern: (a) AI’s individual IP potential for growth and expansion in several fields, and, (b) how copyright laws, or even patent laws, can apply to IT developers working on AI technology.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>AI’s IP Potential</em>\r\n\r\nWith the potential introduction of quantum computing, AI will even more rapidly evolve. While machines are far from attaining the level of human intelligence, through the use of quantum computing, AI may be able to self-improve and self-learn exponentially. With this, AI may be able to produce thousands of years of human intellectual work and may also be able to develop new technologies, ideas or innovations. This also brings about a number of issues around IP rights.\r\n\r\nHow would owners of AI technology be able to patent or copyright innovation driven by these machines? Who would be classified as the owner? What would happen if two machines developed similar concepts? These are all areas that IT developers and IP regulators will have to consider as AI technology evolves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>How Current IP Regulations Apply to AI </em>\r\n\r\nTo further complicate matters, an AI’s software’s standalone algorithms and code are un-patentable in the GCC. Instead, IT developers must secure the copyright to newly written codes if they want to protect the IP in them.\r\n\r\nConversely, patentability around AI very much depends on the software’s functionality. In this respect, the software’s system or architecture within which the algorithms work together and what rules, operations and mechanisms apply would be at the core of the patent in question.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Looking into the Future</em>\r\n\r\nWhile uncertainty surrounds the application of IP on AI, protection strategies will evolve gradually as technology continues to develop.\r\n\r\nWith this, considerations will be made in terms of copyright, patent protection and trade secrets. This will enable developers and investors to understand the best routes to acquiring the most robust means of IP protection. However, at present, IP for AI technologies is still a complex, under-regulated and uncertain field.'),
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(191042, 7070, 'content', 'Dubai, UAE - In collaboration with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading international financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, Al Tamimi &amp; Company has released the fifth edition of ‘<em>Setting up in the Dubai International Financial Centre’</em>. As the most up-to-date version of DIFC’s comprehensive business guide, the manual continues to serve as one of the most reliable points of reference for established firms in addition to new investors looking to set up operations in the Centre.\r\n\r\nThe guidebook provides details on the latest financial regulations, banking, licensing and employment laws. It also incorporates in-depth explanations on recent changes to the DIFC Courts Systems and arbitration procedures currently in place.\r\n\r\nCommenting on the release of ‘Setting Up in Dubai International Financial Centre’, Salmaan Jaffery, Chief Business Development Officer, DIFC Authority said: “Al Tamimi &amp; Company, one of DIFC’s most established clients, are the perfect partner for producing this guide. As one of the largest law firms in the Middle East, they have unparalleled experience in helping investors to successfully set up their businesses in the Middle East. We’re confident that this guide will be used by many companies who wish to join and expand their operations in DIFC, the world’s top 10 and region’s number one leading financial centre.”\r\n\r\nEssam Al Tamimi, Senior Partner and Founder of Al Tamimi &amp; Company, commented, “Dubai continues to develop as a hub for businesses from all over the world, setting up their regional offices in the city. As these organisations look to navigate a complex landscape, it is our duty, as the largest law firm in the region to assist and enable them.”\r\n\r\n“We have released the updated ‘<em>Setting Up in Dubai International Financial Centre’ </em>with this goal in mind. Through the guidebook, we hope to provide a greater level of understanding around the commercial and legal aspects of operating in DIFC”, concluded Al Tamimi.\r\n\r\nSince its inception in 2004, DIFC has leveraged a full ownership strategy that has provided flexibility for global businesses. Additionally, Dubai’s centralised location across global time-zones has led the city to become a major financial centre amongst the likes of Hong Kong, Tokyo, London and New York.\r\n\r\nAs the largest law firm in the Middle East, Al Tamimi &amp; Company has played an instrumental role in the formation and growth of DIFC. The firm has helped establish over 120 regulated entities in the DIFC since 2004, and has become the legal regional partner to many international organisations. The firm continues to provide experienced support for DIFC-based businesses.\r\n\r\n<strong>About The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) </strong>\r\n\r\nThe Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is one of the world’s top ten financial centres, and the leading financial hub for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.  The Centre provides a world-class platform connecting the region’s markets with the economies of Europe, Asia and the Americas and facilitates growth in South-South trade and investment. An onshore, international financial centre, DIFC offers a stable, mature and secure base for financial institutions to develop their wholesale businesses.\r\n\r\nThe Centre offers all the elements found in the world’s most successful financial industry ecosystems, including an independent regulator and judicial system with a common-law framework, a global financial exchange, inspiring architecture, powerful, enabling support services and a vibrant business community. The infrastructure within the district features ultra-modern office space, retail outlets, cafes and restaurants, art galleries, residential apartments, public green areas and hotels.\r\n\r\nLocated midway between the global financial centres of New York, London in the West and Singapore, Hong Kong in the East, DIFC (GMT +4) fills a vital time-zone gap with a workday that bridges the market and business hours of financial centres in both Asia and North America.\r\n\r\nIn 2015, DIFC launched its 2024 growth strategy, a blueprint for the next decade of growth of the financial hub. This strategy aims to stimulate trade and investment flows along the South-South economic corridor encompassing the Middle East, Africa, Southern Asia and Latin America.\r\n\r\nCurrently, 1,750 active registered companies operate from the Centre, with a combined workforce of 21,611 professionals.\r\n\r\nDIFC continues to pursue expansion into new services and sectors within the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, an area comprising over 72 countries with an approximate population of 3 billion and nominal GDP of US$7.4 trillion.\r\n\r\nFor further information, please visit our website: <u>difc.ae</u>, or follow us on Twitter @DIFC.\r\n\r\nOur business and regional footprint continues to grow, and we seek to expand further in line with our commitment to meet the needs of clients doing business across the Middle East.\r\n\r\nFor more information, please visit <a href=\"http://www.tamimi.com\">www.tamimi.com</a>.\r\n\r\nFollow us on Twitter @altamimicompany and LinkedIn.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://user-uurzoaf.cld.bz/Setting-Up-in-DIFC\">Download</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;'),
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	<li>Advising and acting for <strong>Korean contractors</strong> on various litigation cases before Abu Dhabi Court;</li>\r\n 	<li>Acting as local counsel and legal representative before courts in a number of litigious matters for a <strong>major Korean electronics company</strong> in Jordan;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean shipping company</strong> on handling of incidents of vessels;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for various <strong>Korean trading companies</strong> on commercial disputes and litigation in Dubai and Abu Dhabi;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on claims in relation to NASR II Project in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for <strong>major Korean conglomerates</strong> on recalling products, agency disputes, constructions disputes, and long outstaying debt collections;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and representing a <strong>Korean supplier</strong> in dispute related to supply agreement in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean contractor (SME)</strong> on potential dispute with shareholder in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for a <strong>major Korean trading company</strong> on bunker supply recovery arrangements in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on major infrastructure project disputes in Qatar;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on disputes with employers and subcontractors in key major infrastructure and real estate projects in Qatar;</li>\r\n 	<li>Representing a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> in its dispute with an international contractor worth QAR 30 million;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on subcontract dispute in Qatar;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on drafting legal opinions on numerous aspects of Qatari law as well as opinions on particular disputes;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on civil case regarding Hamad Medical City Project in Qatar;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on dispute with subcontractor in Qatar;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on potential dispute with Qatar Public Works Authority;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> before Saudi courts in relation to disputes with Saudi companies;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on death of shareholder in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Acting as Kuwait Legal Counsel for <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> in the project of the Petroleum Coke Industries Company (PCIC) and represented the company in all its legal matters along with solving litigation disputes with subcontractors of the project;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on litigation regarding Sabiya power station in Kuwait;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean manufacturer of fire-proof materials</strong> on promissory note against counterparty in Kuwait;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on construction contract dispute with local trading company in Kuwait;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on litigation case filed by Kuwait Municipality;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on construction contract dispute with national petroleum services company in Kuwait;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for <strong>Korean contractors</strong> on construction claims, settlement negotiations and litigation in Jordan and Oman;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean contractor</strong> on potential dispute in Bahrain;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on potential disputes in Iraq;</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Construction &amp; Infrastructure (Non-contentious) </strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Advising <strong>Korean contractors</strong> advising on force majeure and other contractual issues arising on oil projects in Iraq;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on notice periods for Yanbu II Project in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on the operation of an EPC JV company in KSA in conjunction with the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Saudi Arabia;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on general construction contract-related issues in the UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on joint venture agreement in the UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on legal opinion on the UAE’s position on Arab Boycott of Israel;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on joint venture agreement and EPC contracting for Yanbu Jeddah Rail Project in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on construction and project management in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on death of employees in Movenpick Hotels and Resorts in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on employment matters in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on the letter of award from KSA law perspective;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on EPC contract from KSA law perspective;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on working time regulations in Qatar;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on Doha Convention Center Project in Qatar;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on standard documents for building and civil engineering works in Oman;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on joint venture agreement in Bahrain;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on Bismayah New City Project in Iraq;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on Western Breakwater Project in Iraq;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on supply agreement for a project in Iraq;</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Corporate Commercial </strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean developer</strong> on their investment vehicles established in DIFC, targeting IPP and renewable energy projects in the region on management of the companies by providing deal opportunities and development advisory services;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on the establishment of an EPC JV company in KSA in conjunction with the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Saudi Arabia (as part of a US $1 billion acquisition in the EPC contractor by the KSA government);</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean pharmaceutical company</strong> on establishing a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant with Kuwaiti partner in Dubai, UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising <strong>Korean automotive battery manufacturer</strong> on establishing a manufacturing plant in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on the establishment of car manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia in conjunction with the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Saudi Arabia;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korea Health Industry Development Institute </strong>on drafting standard contract forms (healthcare management, joint venture, franchise and consultancy agreement) to be utilised for Korean healthcare operators;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean telecommunications company</strong> on HR handbook and the standard employment contract in compliance with UAE labour law;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean electronics company</strong> in relation to a number of e-commerce and telecommunication matters;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean defense company</strong> on the termination of joint venture and its restructuring in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korea National Oil Corporation</strong> who takes a stake in ADNOC’s concession on the operation of its branch and a joint venture in Abu Dhabi with another <strong>Korean energy company; </strong></li>\r\n 	<li>Advising <strong>a Korea Gas Corporation</strong> on various employment issues in UAE and Iraq;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising <strong>a Korea Gas Corporation</strong> on amendments to the Arabic text of a gas production services contract in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean automotive manufacturer</strong> on general corporate issues in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Conducting UAE agency search for <strong>Korean automotive manufacturer</strong>;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising various <strong>Korean contractors </strong>on local sponsorship agreements and local service agent agreements in UAE;</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Banking &amp; Finance</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean private bank</strong> on standard agreements in the UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean private bank</strong> on general corporate issues in the UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean private bank</strong> on DIFC data protection;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on facility letter from the UAE law perspective;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on facility agreement from the UAE law perspective;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on transaction documents from the Qatari law perspective;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean contractor</strong> on security documents from the Qatari law perspective;</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Corporate Structuring</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Advising <strong>a major Korean Contractor</strong> on the establishment of LLC in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean contractor (SME)</strong> on the establishment of an LLC in Abu Dhabi;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean ICT company </strong>on the closing of a branch in Abu Dhabi;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean government authority</strong> on the establishment of a branch office in Abu Dhabi;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean defence company</strong> on the establishment of an LLC in Abu Dhabi;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean telecommunications company</strong> on setting up an LLC in Abu Dhabi;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean automotive manufacturer </strong>on the establishment of a branch office (Quality Control Centre) in Dubai Silicon Oasis Freezone;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean advertising company</strong> on the establishment of a subsidiary in Dubai Media City;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean defence company</strong> on the conversion of a representative office to an operating branch in Dubai;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean electronics company </strong>on setting up a Joint Venture in Dubai;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean cosmetics manufacturer</strong> on the establishment of freezone entity in Dubai;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean contractor</strong> on drafting MoA and LLC Nominee protection agreement in setting up an LLC in Dubai;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean defence company</strong> on the establishment of Freezone entity in Dubai;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean private fund</strong> on Dubai Multi Commodities Cetnre restructuring;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean private hospital</strong> on setting up a hospital in Fujairah;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean ICT company</strong> on the establishment of a joint venture company with local Saudi entity in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean electronics company</strong> on the establishment of a scientific and technical office in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean financial institution </strong>on the establishment of a construction company in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean defence company</strong> on establishment of Technical and Scientific Services Office (TSSO) in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean electric wire manufacturer</strong> on setting up a Joint Venture (manufacturing plant) in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean asset management company</strong> on setting up a Joint Venture in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major Korean energy company</strong> on the registration of a representative office/LLC in Iraq;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean IPP developer</strong> on the establishment of a branch office in Jordan;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean IT company</strong> on the establishment of a branch office in Oman;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean contractor </strong>on the establishment of a subsidiary in Oman;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>major electrical power equipment manufacturer</strong> on the establishment of a branch office in Bahrain;</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Regulatory</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Advising <strong>the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea </strong>on anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures in the GCC;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising and acting for <strong>Korean automotive battery manufacturer</strong> on anti-dumping investigation in KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korea Agro-Fisheries &amp; Food Trade Corp</strong>. on classification, licensing and labelling requirements of various food products in UAE</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising major<strong> Korean electronics company</strong> on various regulatory issues in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a major <strong>Korean defence company</strong> on certified legalized invoice in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean cosmetics manufacturer</strong> on acquisition of a trademark from an Iranian owner;</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Financial Crime</strong><strong> </strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean private equity fund</strong> on criminal investigation and prosecution matters in UAE and KSA;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean hospital</strong> on fraud, seizure of the funds, forgery and usage of an informal document in UAE</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Intellectual Property</strong><strong> </strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Advising various <strong>Korean patent law firms</strong> on patent applications in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Advising a <strong>Korean beverage distributor </strong>on registering its trademark in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Representing <strong>major Korean electronics company </strong>in proceedings with criminal actions in respect of product infringement in UAE;</li>\r\n 	<li>Representing a <strong>Korean tire manufacturer</strong> in trademark dispute in KSA;</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong> Other Achievements</strong><strong> </strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><strong><u>Jongeun (Christina) Lee:</u></strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Special Advisor to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the State of Qatar (2016 - Present)</li>\r\n 	<li>Special Advisor to the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea of Jeddah in KSA (2018 – Present)</li>\r\n 	<li>Special Advisor to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the UAE (2014-2015)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</li>\r\n 	<li><strong><u>Jiwon Ha:</u></strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Special Advisor to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the UAE (2015 – Present)</li>\r\n 	<li>Special Advisor to the Consulate General of Dubai (2017 – Present)</li>\r\n 	<li>Special Advisor to Korea Health Industry Development Institute (2017 – Present)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>'),
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(191833, 7099, 'biography', 'Samer has over 15 years’ litigation and arbitration experience with a particular focus on corporate, commercial, labour, administrative, regulatory, Criminal, and real estate matters.\r\n\r\nIn 2006, he was admitted by the Jordan Bar Association to practice before the Jordanian Courts and he was admitted to practice before the Court of cassation - the highest court in Jordan.\r\n\r\nSamer has over 15 years’ litigation and arbitration experience with a particular focus on corporate, commercial, labour, administrative, regulatory, Criminal, and real estate matters.\r\n\r\nPrior to joining Al Tamimi &amp; Company, Samer used to work as a senior associate in the litigation field in Abu Dhabi handling a various legal matters before the UAE courts, and was the Head of legal studies, contracts, and agreements section in the legal department for the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission in Jordan.  He also acted as Legal Director and Legal Counsellor for the Board of Commissioners and has represented clients including the TRC - Jordan before the Jordanian courts and the European Arbitral Tribunal.\r\n\r\nSamer has a long experience in the Legislation field, as he was a member of the competent committees of drafting the Telecommunications Law, Nursing Council Law, Privacy, and data protection Law, Postal services Law, Postal Private Providers By Law, Dispute resolution instruction between the Licensees in the telecommunication and information technology sectors, Competition instructions, Procedural rules of issuing instruction in the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Jordan.\r\n\r\nSamer holds an LLB and an LLM in Civil Law from the University of Jordan and is a member of the Jordanian Bar Association. Also he is an Arab Authorized Arbitrator for Intellectual properties disputes from 2010 till present.\r\n\r\nSamer’s long experience and personality has helped him giving his written pleadings before all kinds of Courts.\r\n\r\nSamer handles all types of litigation matters such as Labor, Rental, Civil, Commercial, as well as Criminal Cases. As he has proven his dedication in written Pleading in Criminal, Commercial, Civil, and Administration disputes before, the UAE Court.'),
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(191890, 7102, 'content', 'The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have long been attractive markets for young professionals seeking the best quality of life with minimum taxation.  However, as they say, all good things must come to an end.\r\n\r\nThe introduction of VAT directly impacts the cost of living for expatriates and locals alike. In fact, one of the most discussed topics is the impact of VAT on the education sector.\r\n\r\nParents, employees and educational institutions face the same questions and concerns across the region. Does VAT apply to school uniforms, stationery, electronic equipment, school trips or tuition services? Does VAT apply in the same way to primary and secondary education? What is the difference between zero-rated and exempt services?\r\n\r\nGiven the complex nature of VAT and education, how can we best prepare ourselves? The first step would be to understand the basics.\r\n\r\nParents across the UAE drew a sigh of relief when it was announced that Education will be zero-rated. Simply put, this means that private and public school education alongside related goods and services provided would not be subject to taxation. However, private higher education will be subject to 5% VAT.\r\n\r\nThe base laws differ vastly to those implemented by the Government of Saudi Arabia. Unlike the UAE, the supply of private educational services will be subject to VAT at 5% in Saudi Arabia while public education services will be outside the scope of VAT.\r\n\r\nIt is easy to make the mistake of assuming that if no tax is applicable then the tax is exempt. That is why it is important to note that there are three different types of zero-rated taxes; Zero-Rated, Exempt and Out of Scope, and they all differ based on how much tax you can recover. These categories are placed on the industry as a whole, therefore for the Education sector, being zero-rated rather than exempt from VAT allows the institution to recover 100% of the tax on their purchases.\r\n\r\nHowever, as each state has the right to zero-rate items as they see fit, so different rules may apply to ancillary educational services in individual GCC countries.  Whilst goods and services directly related to educational services provided by an educational institution will also be zero rated, the UAE has provided a list of goods and services that will not benefit from the zero rated treatment.  However, there still remains some “grey areas” as is expected with any new legislation.\r\n\r\nThe various terminologies associated with VAT may also be confusing. However, taking a well-informed approach will undoubtedly help institutions and individuals fully prepare their businesses and finances in this new era of taxation in the GCC.'),
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