Benjamin Filaferro, Author at LexisNexis Middle East

Qatar: Qatar’s Emir has issued Qatar Decree-Law No. 19/2020 and also Qatar Decree-Law No. 18/2020

05/09/202004/09/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Qatar’s Emir has issued Qatar Decree-Law No. 19/2020 amending Qatar Law No. 21/2015 on the entry, exit and residency of expatriates in the country. The Emir also issued Qatar Decree-Law No. 18/2020 amending Qatar Law No. 14/2004 (the country’s Labour Law). Under the amendment, it will be easier for employees to transfer from one employer to another without the consent of their employer being given first. It is hoped it will increase competition and allow employees to change employer. The Decree-Laws will be published in the Official Gazette and will come into force the day after they are published.

News developments

Saudi Arabia: The Board of Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority made an announcement on foreign investment

04/09/202004/09/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

The Board of Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority has announced foreigners can directly invest in listed and unlisted debt instruments. The decision has been issued in line with the Authority’s plan to develop the financial market through the Financial Leadership Programme. It is also part of the Financial Sector Development Programme, which is one of the main programmes to meet the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Under the Decision, all foreign natural and legal persons can directly invest in debt instruments. Non-resident foreigners cannot invest in the market as a direct investor in listed debt instruments and as a qualified foreign investor or final beneficiary in a swap agreement at the same time. A foreign person who invests directly in debt instruments cannot convert them into shares listed in the main market unless they are one of the categories of investors who are allowed to invest directly in shares listed on the main market, or becomes a final beneficiary in a swap agreement according to the provisions of the Authority’s instructions regarding swap agreements.

News developments

Oman: Joint Panel Report on Draft VAT Law Discussed

04/09/202004/09/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Oman’s Shoura Council has discussed a Joint Panel report on the draft VAT Law. Their discussion followed the referral of the draft law to it by the State Council and associated discrepancies. The Economic and Financial Committee of the Shoura Council had previously proposed VAT be applied only if economic growth of at least 3% was achieved. They had also proposed social security families and those with limited or low incomes be potentially exempt. The Shoura Council sent the draft law back to the State Council to finalise. The VAT Law is expected to come into force in the first half of next year and follows the introduction of excise tax in the Sultanate.

Weekly Spotlight

UAE: Abu Dhabi Digital Supplier Portal Launched

04/09/202004/09/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Abu Dhabi’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has announced it has launched a Digital Supplier Portal. It will allow quick access to a package of smart services, which have been especially designed to meet the needs and requirements of suppliers, including supplier registration, purchase orders, bids offered and contracts and invoices. Suppliers will be able to access a package of related smart services and learn about the latest related developments easily.

Weekly Spotlight

UAE: Federal Law No. 8/1980 Concerning The Regulation Of Labour Relation

04/09/202004/09/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

The UAE’s President has approved amendments to the country’s Labour Law (Federal Law No. 8/1980).
Under the amendments, private sector employees will be able to get paid parental leave of up to five days to care for their children. Mothers and fathers will be able to get the leave from when the child is born to when they are six months’ old.
It is the first time this type of leave has been given to male private sector employees in the region. Previously, companies could choose to give paid parental leave to fathers. Mothers will be given an extra five days of paid leave as well.
Women working in the private sector can get 45 day’s maternity leave on full pay, provided they have served continuously for at least a year. At the end of the maternity leave, the new mum can extend their leave without pay for up to 10 days. Maternity leave is paid with half pay if a year of service has not been completed.
There is uncertainty over whether or not Government employees can benefit in the same way. Male public sector employees currently get three days leave following the birth of a child. Women working in the country’s public sector get 90 day’s paid leave. Depending on the Emirate, more time in unpaid leave is typically given. For the first 18 months after birth, women are given two paid rest intervals a day. However, more than 30 minutes cannot be spent nursing the baby.
It is the latest move by the UAE authorities to keep female employees. In 2018, a law ensuring women were paid an equal wage to their male colleagues was approved by the country’s Cabinet.

Uncategorized

LexisNexis and Sader Publishing, in Partnership with Salloum & Partners LLC, Launch the First Trilingual French Civil Code (UAE Edition)

02/09/202002/09/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

LexisNexis, in collaboration with Sader Publishing, launches the first trilingual French Civil Code (English – French – Arabic), under the supervision of Professor Michel Séjean, with a forward by Nicole Belloubet, former French Minister of Justice.

More than 200 years after its first edition, the Civil Code continues to have a global reach. It remains the point of reference for many codified and non-codified texts around the world. This Code is part of LexisNexis’ desire to share the long history and experience of the Civil law with lawyers from different legal systems and to promote the Rule of Law.

The French Civil Code has left its mark in the MENA region. It influenced the work of several famous Arab legal scholars such as Youssef Wahba Pasha in Egypt, who was the first person, in the late 19^th century, to translate the Napoleonic Code into Arabic. The French Civil Code also inspired the famous jurist Abdel Razzaq Al Sanhouri in his work on the Egyptian, Iraqi, Syrian, Jordanian, Libyan and Kuwaiti Civil Codes, as well as the work of Choucri Cardahi on the Lebanese Code of Obligations and Contracts in the 1930’s.

Accessing the updated version of the French Civil Code, that incorporates the recent reform of the law of obligations, should prove to be particularly useful to many legislators, academics, researchers, students and practitioners around the world. To make sure that language is no barrier, LexisNexis and Sader Publishing have taken the initiative to combine in one book, an English and Arabic translation of the entire French Civil Code in order to make the concepts accessible to as many people as possible – especially common law trained lawyers.

An explanatory note, written by a renowned professor precedes each section of the Civil Code.

The English translation was carried out by law professors from Loyola University (New Orleans, USA) and Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, USA), as part of a project led by Juriscope. Expertise on English terminology was provided by Professor Michel Séjean.

The Arabic translation was carried out by Sader Publishing.

The UAE edition is sponsored by Salloum & Partners LLC: “We are proud to support LexisNexis’ trilingual publication of the Civil Code, which comes as we celebrate our 40th year in 2020. We are confident that this publication will make the Civil Code accessible to and serve as a reference and invaluable resource for students and practitioners of law in the MENA region and other non-French speaking jurisdictions whose legal systems are based on the Civil Code, not to mention those from a Common Law background,” said Ziad Salloum, Partner at Salloum & Partners LLC.

The trilingual French Civil Code can be purchased online at www.lexiscode.com/en/

Media contact: Sanahine Kassabian: sanahine.kassabian@lexisnexis.fr

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LexisNexis is a leading global provider of content-enabled workflow solutions designed specifically for professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting, and academic markets.

LexisNexis encompasses authoritative legal publications and services dating back to the 19th century including: The All England Law Reports and Halsbury’s Laws in the United Kingdom, the JurisClasseur encyclopaedia in France, and lexis.com, Shephard’s and the Matthew Bender portfolios in the US.

Through the integration of information and technology, LexisNexis uniquely unites proprietary brands, advanced Web technologies and premium information sources. We provide customers across the globe with access to billions of searchable documents and records from more than 45,000 legal, news and business sources.

About Sader Publishing

SADER® comprises a group of companies, the first of which was a publishing house founded in Lebanon, in 1863. It is a heritage that has grown into a legacy in the field of law, in both Lebanon and the MENA region. SADER® provides comprehensive legal and business solutions to and for the Middle East, Gulf and Levant. In 1921, Youssef SADER transformed the company into a creator of legal content precious to the legal community in the region. SADER® became the first specialized legal publisher in the Middle East. Publisher of numerous legal compendiums and specialized books, it turned its offering from traditional print to online complex digital solutions. In line with promoting its vision of facilitating access to legal information and services for people around the world, SADER sought to provide its expertise to the benefit of the greater Middle East region. The UAE Ministry of Justice being among its first and primary supporters, SADER launched the UAE Legal portal in 2007 with the Ministry of Justice. In 2008, LexisNexis and Sader Publishing joined efforts to launch the Lexis® Middle East online platform.

About Salloum & Partners

Salloum & Partners LLC is a multidisciplinary, multilingual, and multicultural boutique law firm, first established in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in 1980. It has become a leading player in the Emirati legal world, offering a local and cross-jurisdictional expertise. Salloum & Partners LLC operates comfortably in Arabic, English, French and Italian, and is in service to a diverse client base coming from a wealth of sectors and backgrounds, including entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals, SMEs, large local and multinational corporations, family businesses and family offices, banks and financial institutions, local and foreign government entities and government-owned companies. The law firm retains a highly renowned dispute resolution practice. As one of the oldest and most prominent law firms in the region, Salloum & Partners LLC has always been proud to provide practical advice and holistic solutions to complex problems, underpinned by an unrivalled understanding of the unique cultural and commercial environment of the UAE.

About the Supervisor

Michel Séjean is a graduate of the Higher Institute of Interpretation and Translation (ISIT Paris) and holds a Ph.D. in Law. He is a Professor at the Université Bretagne Sud. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Henri Capitant Law Review and a member of the Paris MENA Legal Club’s Scientific Board.

News developments

UAE: Residency and Foreigners Affairs Clarifies Status of Those Who Lost Their Jobs

31/08/202031/08/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

The Director of the General Administration of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai has confirmed the Humanitarian Cases Department will facilitate the return of people who have lost their jobs to their home countries following the expiry of their residence. Even though their residency expired they had to remain in the UAE because of Coronavirus. They will be allowed to stay until their company reemploys them or they get a new job. Those who have had to pay fines because of this will be dealt with separately.

News developments

Qatar: Quality Mark Launched

31/08/202031/08/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Interior Minister has announced the launch of the Qatar Quality Mark. It is aimed at promoting national products and making them more competitive regionally and globally. It is also aimed at supporting development plans and enhancing consumer protection. The first Qatar Quality Mark was given Al Qataria for Production of Reinforcing Steel. They were the first entity to meet the criteria set by the Qatar General Organisation for Standards and Metrology to get the mark. They were one of several organisations to apply. The Qatar Quality Mark is a badge which is given by the Qatar General Organisation for Standards and Metrology and is used to advertise the licensed commodity during the two years the license is valid for. It provides evidence the good or goods have met the approved national standards and has been examined and tested by an internationally recognised certified laboratory. The badge is difficult to remove or be obscured.

News developments

Egypt: Commercial Registry Law Amendments Approved

31/08/202031/08/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Egypt’s House of Representatives has approved a draft law amending Egypt Law No. 34/1976 (the Commercial Registry Law). If approved, Article 3 of Egypt Law No. 34/1976 will be amended. It will state anyone who is registered in the commercial registry must be an Egyptian national and be approved to practice a trade from the competent Chamber of Commerce for individuals and companies established to practice a commercial activity, or have obtained approval to practice industrial activity from the competent Chamber of Industry for companies established to practice industrial activities.

Weekly Spotlight

Bahrain: Flexible Work Permit Decision Issued

31/08/202031/08/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Bahrain’s Cabinet has approved a flexible work permit Decision.
It follows recommendations from the Coordinating Committee led by Bahrain’s Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.
The Decision specifies the procedures for developing a permit policy for a foreign employer to practice some professional activities.

The aim is to develop this system and activate it in order to develop the labour market systems and its monitoring in the country. It is also aimed at enhancing job opportunities for citizens to make the country the first choice for employment, protect workers’ rights and prevent them from being exploited.
The procedures for developing the policy include intensifying inspection campaigns on foreign employers to ensure they do not work in professional activities which a foreign employer may not engage in without obtaining a permit. Inspection campaigns on informal workers will also be intensified to ensure the relevant measures are complied with.

Workers who do not comply with the regulatory procedures will not be able to apply for the flexible work permit and the registration of industrial motor vehicles used in construction and transport buses owned by holders of a flexible work permit will be terminated.

A committee consisting of representatives from the Labour and Social Development Ministry, the Finance and National Economy Ministry, the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Ministry, the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry, the Electricity and Water Affairs Ministry, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, BCCI and the Education and Training Quality Authority will be established. They will propose regulatory standards for 20 identified professions and any other professions the committee considers relevant to include. They will also share recommendations with the Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training within two months.