Benjamin Filaferro, Author at LexisNexis Middle East

Weekly Spotlight: Oman’s Capital Market Authority Announces the New Companies Law

17/03/201911/12/2019
by Benjamin Filaferro

Oman’s Capital Market Authority has announced the new Companies Law. Oman Sultani Decree No. 18/2019 will be enforced from 1 April 2019 and Oman Law No. 4/1974 will be repealed. The Authority also announced they will be responsible for enforcing all its provisions, except the registration of listed companies. The new Law was issued through Oman Sultani Decree No. 18/2019. Under the Law, a holding company will take the form of a joint stock company unlike previously where a holding company could be a limited liability or joint stock company. A new Article on establishing professional firms has also been introduced and special rules for how they are regulated will be issued in due course as will the Implementing Regulations to the Law.

Elsewhere, Oman’s Sultan has issued a Decree approving the Selective Tax Law which will come into force 90 days after the issuing of the Sultani Decree. It will see tobacco product, alcohol, energy drink and pork product prices increase 100% and carbonated drink prices by 50%. Oman Sultani Decree No. 23/2019 will come into force in June 2019 and the Sultanate is the fifth GCC country to introduce it. Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have already introduced the tax.

News developments

Bahrain: Amendments to the Private Health Establishments Law

16/03/201911/12/2019
by Benjamin Filaferro

Bahrain’s King has approved Bahrain Law No. 1/2019 amending Article 14 of Bahrain Decree-Law No. 21/2015 on private health establishments. Article 14A(2) of Bahrain Law No. 21/2015 now states, ‘Priority must be given in a private health establishment to recruitment of Bahraini physicians, technicians and nursing staff who are in possession of the requisite qualification and experience, with the exception of positions that require unavailable rare specialised expertise’. Private health establishments have to comply with this law once their contracts with non-Bahraini physicians, technicians and nursing staff have expired. The Law has been published in the Official Gazette and came into effect on its publication date.

News developments

UAE: New Insurance Dispute Committees to be Established

16/03/201911/12/2019
by Benjamin Filaferro

The UAE’s Insurance Authority has announced it has finalised its consultations with the Justice Ministry and local courts to establish committees to settle insurance disputes and stipulate their workflows. They added the consultations cover all regulatory issues and proposals including the power of their decisions, appeals and execution. The Authority confirmed the expected amendments establishing the Authority do not provide for judges being chairmen of these committees but this proposal is still being considered.

Uncategorized

Challenging Administrative Decisions – Interview with Dr Abdul Wahab Abdool from Bin Nakhira & Partners

14/03/201911/12/2019
by Benjamin Filaferro

Dr Abdul Wahab Abdool – Managing Partner of Bin Nakhira & Partners, interviewed by Hussain Hadi – Head of LexisNexis Middle East Publishing. How do claimants challenge administrative decisions or administrative bodies? Find out Dr Abdul Wahab Abdool’s point of view!

Weekly Spotlight

Weekly Spotlight: The New DIFC Employment Law Introducing Extensive Changes to the Current Law Expected to be Enacted Shortly

10/03/201911/12/2019
by Benjamin Filaferro

A new employment law for the DIFC is expected to be enacted shortly, following a consultation in early 2018 and subsequent amendments made during the course of last year. The DIFC is a financial free zone in Dubai, UAE and is home to many leading financial institutions, law firms and other professional services companies. The DIFC is an independent legal system with its own laws and courts. The current employment law for DIFC companies is DIFC Law No. 4/2005, as amended by DIFC Law No. 3/2012 (DIFC Employment Law) which will be replaced in its entirety by the new law once it is enacted.

The proposed new law introduces quite extensive changes to the DIFC Employment Law. For many of the changes, the intention is to strike a fairer balance between the respective rights of employers and employees than under the current DIFC Employment Law, for example in relation to employee leave entitlements and termination benefits. Other changes are reflective of recent developments and trends in working practices, for example part-time employment and secondment arrangements which are not expressly provided for under the DIFC Employment Law. Certain changes are intended to rectify unintended consequences of the current wording of the DIFC Employment Law, whereas others are being introduced from a compliance and enforcement perspective, including the right for the DIFC Authority to inspect DIFC companies’ premises and records and to impose monetary fines (up to $10,000) for non-compliance.

One of the most important developments is the proposed expansion of the anti-discrimination provisions of the DIFC Employment Law. In particular, under the proposed new law there will be additional protected characteristics and the introduction of various remedies including court declarations, recommendations and most importantly, significant monetary compensation for an employee who has suffered unlawful discrimination. In light of the extensive changes under the proposed new law, DIFC employers should prepare to have their employment contract templates and HR policies reviewed and updated to ensure compliance with the new law. Consideration must also be given to how existing employees’ contracts and benefits will be dealt with in light of the new developments. More broadly, DIFC employers will need to carefully review their policies, procedures and general approach when dealing with HR and employment matters generally (from recruitment and hiring through to the termination of employment) to ensure the company’s legal risks are appropriately managed, particularly in light of the increased scope (and repercussions) for employee discrimination claims under the new law.

News developments

Amendments to the UAE Civil Procedure Code Approved

10/03/201911/12/2019
by Benjamin Filaferro

The UAE’s Cabinet has approved a Decision amending the country’s 1992 Civil Procedure Code in line with the UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial Strategy 2071. They are aimed at strengthening and modernising judicial procedures to ensure they can be applied more easily. The amendments include unifying procedures in all civil courts across the country along with the necessary flexibility to implement judicial decisions in line with the requirements of each judicial body. They were introduced following cooperation between the Federal Justice Ministry, the Supreme Committee of Dubai Legislation, the Judicial Councils and the Military Court. The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, Dubai Courts, Ras al Khaimah Courts and DIFC Courts will have 100 days to reflect the amendments in their procedures.

News developments

Kuwait: Health Insurance to Become Mandatory for Tourists

09/03/201911/12/2019
by Benjamin Filaferro

Kuwait’s National Assembly has approved a draft law which will mean tourists visiting the country will have to have a health insurance policy which covers the duration of their stay there. The aim is to ensure tourists do not receive medical treatment in the country. A visit visa cannot be granted until the Interior Ministry has seen the health insurance policy documentation. The amount of coverage has not been specified in the law, but this is likely to be clarified when the Ministry prepares the bylaws to implement the law which is expected within the next two to three months.

News developments

KSA: Update on Online Registration Process for Employment Contracts

09/03/201911/12/2019
by Benjamin Filaferro

Saudi Arabia’s Labour and Social Development Ministry (MLSD) has issued a draft Decision on the mandatory requirement for private sector employers to upload their entire workforce’s employment contracts to the General Organisation for Social Insurance’s (GOSI) electronic portal. The draft law has been sent for public consultation and is expected to come into effect in the next couple of weeks. Depending on the total number of workers, companies will have to upload contracts for a specific portion of their headcount within deadlines set out in the Ministerial Decision. The uploading process must be completed for the whole workforce by the end of 2019.

Weekly Spotlight

Weekly Spotlight: Final Rules on Crypto-Assets Activities Issued by Bahrain’s Central Bank

03/03/201911/12/2019
by Benjamin Filaferro

Bahrain’s Central Bank has issued the final rules on various activities related to Crypto-Assets, including licensing, governance, minimum capital, control environment and risk management. The Rules are the first of their kind in the region and are aimed at ensuring Crypto-Asset activities are regulated effectively. They also cover anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing, business conduct standards, avoiding conflicts of interest, reporting and cyber security for these activities.

In addition, there are provisions on supervision and enforcement standards including those provided by a platform operator as a principal, agent, portfolio manager, adviser and a custodian in or outside Bahrain.

Those licensed by the Central Bank as crypto-asset exchanges will have additional regulatory requirements to comply with. These additional requirements relate to order matching, pre and post-trade transparency, measures to avoid market manipulation and market abuse and conflicts of interest. They also state there is a need for enhanced due diligence when onboarding new clients, requirements to ensure no encrypted safe custody accounts or ‘wallets’ are maintained which cannot be retrieved, a mandate to ensure keyman risks are adequately managed including by having the necessary insurance covers and clients are educated and given clear instructions on using safe custody wallets.

News developments

UAE: New Medical Laboratory Regulations Announced

02/03/201911/12/2019
by Benjamin Filaferro

The Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology has announced all medical laboratories operating in the country will have to adhere to new regulations. Affected entities will have to obtain the appropriate accreditation from relevant accredited bodies. The regulations were drafted together with Abu Dhabi’s Quality and Conformity Council. The aim is to enhance the efficiency of the country’s laboratories and the Authority’s National Accreditation Department will oversee the implementation of the system.