Bahrain’s MP Ahmed Alsalloum who is the chairman of the financial and economic affairs committee has revealed his intention to propose an amendment to the electronic trade law. The aim of the proposal is to protect local traders against the international electronic trade. The MP has stated Bahrain needs to settle rules and regulations to create a balance between international electronic trade and local traditional trade.
The President of Ajman Free Zone has announced eight new incentives designed to support existing and new companies in the free zone during the second half of 2020. The incentives will include a wide range of deductions and exemptions. The incentives include a full exemption for returned cheques fines, cheques replacement fines, license renewal fees, and a 100% exemption on fees to guarantee participation in smart services. During the second half of the year existing and new companies in the free zone will also have the opportunity to benefit from a wide range of flexible instalments plans for a period of three months when renting a business centre, and flexible instalments for a period of six months when renting offices, executive offices or warehouses, and a 25% discount on workers’ housing fees.
The Dubai Government has partnered with the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) to launch the Great Economic Reset Programme as part of its post COVID-19 initiative. The programme will include analysis of current and future policies, research and extensive stakeholder consultation to set the direction and tone of future economic policies, regulations and initiatives. A Virtual Policy Council will propose the best approaches Dubai and the UAE can adopt to address the risks and opportunities in the new normal economy.
Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission has unveiled a campaign against trafficking in people. The campaign, entitled ‘Together to Combat Trafficking in Persons in the Kingdom’ was launched by head of the Human Rights Commission ahead of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons which is marked on 30 July. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has also sought to reform its justice system. Recent changes have included the abolition of the death penalty for minor offenders and flogging as a form of punishment.
Qatar’s Council of Ministers has approved amendments to the decision on reducing the number of private and public sector employees working in their workplaces. Under the amendment, up to 80% of employees, depending on their employer’s needs can return to their workplaces. The other 20% should continue working from home. The change applies from 28 July.
The Omani Court of Appeal has sentenced a public employee to 10 years in jail after convicting him of embezzling 1.2 million Omani riyals and of money laundering. The defendant was convicted of embezzlement and money laundering in two separate cases. In the first, he was given a five-year jail term and fined 1.2 million Riyals. In the second, the court sentenced the convicted employee to another five years in jail for money laundering and a fine of 50,000 Omani riyals. The court also ordered the dismissal of the convicted employee from his post and he has been banned from taking on public posts forever. The seizure of his funds has also been ordered.
In line with the ‘Go Safe’ certification programme spearheaded by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), regular Covid-19 testing has been made mandatory for all tourism sector staff. DCT Abu Dhabi inspectors have checked 165 hotels and 450 restaurants and conducted over 700 inspections over a one month period
Dubai, UAE, 29 July 2020 – LexisNexis MENA and the DIFC Academy are strengthening their strategic partnership with two new initiatives: “The Annual Technology Adoption Index” and “The Legal Tech Glossary.”
These projects follow five years of fruitful collaboration, including the publication of the official DIFC Law Commentaries and Law Reports book collections. Through a joint training programme, LexisNexis MENA and the DIFC Academy have co-hosted hundreds of courses and trained thousands of legal practitioners in all areas of law.
Annual Index: The first edition of the Annual Index of Technology Adoption in Dubai’s Legal Industry will be published in October 2020. The index will measure the implementation of legal technology within law firms and in-house legal teams, and will be updated annually.
The Legal Tech Glossary: In order to increase awareness of the impact of machine learning, smart contracts, and technology tools on the practice of law in Dubai, key terms and concepts will be defined and made accessible.
Alya Al Zarouni, Executive Vice President of Operations and Head of DIFC Academy, DIFC Authority said: “During the last five years, DIFC Academy and LexisNexis have collaborated on projects which support the continued professional development for legal practitioners within and outside the Centre. It is more important than ever to prioritise technology and innovation in order to effectively increase financial and legal sector diversification and contribute to a competitive knowledge-based economy. We look forward to working in closer co-operation with LexisNexis to drive the legal sector adoption of technology and innovation.”
“We are very proud to have built the largest legal and tax information platform in the region. The Lexis(r) Middle East solution has revolutionized access to the law for all practitioners. LexisNexis is also a major global player in LegalTech and we believe that artificial intelligence will continue to have a big impact on the practice of law in the years ahead. Our strengthened partnership with the DIFC Academy will enable us to better understand local market trends and facilitate access to knowledge for the entire legal community in Dubai. It is an honour for us to have the confidence of a prestigious and influential player such as the DIFC Academy,” said Guillaume Deroubaix, Managing Director of LexisNexis Middle East and North Africa.
The objective of the partnership is to strengthen the services and the sharing of knowledge offered to the legal community in Dubai in the next few years in order to bring it to the level of excellence that Dubai’s standards require.
LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics that helps customers increase productivity, improve decision-making and outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world.
The company combines information and analytics to help lawyers manage their work more efficiently, serve their clients better and grow their practices and assists corporations in better understanding their markets.
LexisNexis is a part of RELX Group, serving customers in more than 130 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide. The company’s information network contains 3 petabytes of legal and news data with 65 billion documents.
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Kuwait’s Commerce and Industry Ministry is considering issuing e-trade licenses. The license would allow those who have it to sell or promote products or auction watches, jewellery, gems or cars, among other things online. The e-trade license would be similar to normal licenses. They will be able to be issued to one person and they do not need to have a premises. The aim is to tackle money laundering online.
Following directives from Bahrain’s Government Executive Committee, the President of the Sustainable Energy Authority has announced the first Renewable Energy Certificate has been issued. The aim is to enhance the use of renewable energy in the Kingdom and it has been issued as part of the phased implementation of the renewable energy certification programme. The programme will use Blockchain solutions to ensure transparency and enable the tracking and verification of every certificate issued to each system registered in the programme to prevent electronic breaches. It will allow producers to directly record the productivity of the renewable energy systems they own on the platform so the Authority can verify the amount of energy produced and approve it through a Renewable Energy Certificate. The Certificate will be issued electronically for every 1 megawatt hour produced and approved by the Authority. Producers of renewable energy will also be able to offer renewable energy certificates for sale to those looking to invest in renewable energy and benefit from certificates to overcome the challenges preventing them from producing renewable energy themselves. It will enable investors and financing institutions to evaluate investment opportunities, finance sustainable energy projects and verify energy output produced through reliable and approved programmes and tools.
