This week the spotlight is on legal and regulatory developments in Qatar, where the Emir has issued a new Law amending the country’s Labour Law and Civil and Commercial Procedures Law. Qatar Law No. 13/2017 amends Qatar Law No. 14/2004 and Qatar Law No. 13/1990. Under the new Law, one or more committees will be set up at the Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs Ministry to resolve labour disputes. It will be chaired by a Court of First Instance judge who will be chosen by the Supreme Judiciary Council. Two committee members will be nominated by the Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs Minister and one of them will have to have accounting experience.

The Minister will issue a decision to regulate the committee’s work and operations. Its secretariat will be assumed by one or more Ministry employees and this will be stated in the Ministerial Decision. Only the committee will be able to resolve disputes arising from the Law’s implementation or employment contract. It will give a decision on the dispute within three weeks of its first session reviewing it. The committee secretariat will notify both parties in the dispute about the committee’s procedures and decisions through registered correspondence at their residence or business centres, or through other suitable means.

The committee’s decisions will include its rationale, will be binding and will have to be executed immediately. Cases which should be heard and resolved by the committee will not be heard before the courts before they hear them. However, the related courts will continue to see the related cases which were filed before Qatar Law No.13/2017. Before lodging a case with the committee, employees will have to raise concerns with their employer within seven days of being advised of an issue. The complaint will have to be resolved within seven days and if an employee does not receive a response in this time, it will be considered to be rejected. Employees will be able to contact the committee directly where they are dismissed or terminated arbitrarily by an employer and the committee will look into the issue and reach a decision based on the facts.

This week the spotlight is on legal and regulatory developments in Saudi Arabia, where the Commerce and Investment Ministry and the General Investment Authority (Sagia), have announced foreigners will be able to own 100% of construction and engineering businesses. It follows a consultation which has recently concluded. Foreigners will be able to own 100% of these businesses so long as they have a 10-year operational track record and have a presence in at least four other countries. Sagia will be able to waive these restrictions if an application is considered to be in the Kingdom’s best interests.

Elsewhere, the Head of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation, Abdul Hakim Al-Tamimi has announced all of the Kingdom’s airports will be privatised by December this year. All of the country’s airports will be transferred to the Saudi Civil Aviation Holding Co first. They will then be transferred to the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The privatisation will be carried out in three ways. The first will see an airport transferred to a company like Riyadh’s King Khaled International Airport, where a minority holding was sold and an airport board of directors will then be established which will manage the company. The second is known as operation and maintenance like Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah where the Civil Aviation Authority bears the capital cost of establishing the project and shares the income with investors. The third method is through Build, Operate and Transfer, like Madinah’s Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Airport where employees are an investor’s responsibility. The investors bear the capital cost of the project and share the income with the Authority.

This week the spotlight is on the issuing of the new Tax Procedures Law in the UAE. Under Federal Law No. 7/2017 (which has not yet been Gazetted), the foundations for the tax system are laid out whilst the administration and collection of taxes processes are stipulated and the role of the Federal Tax Authority is defined. It also defines a clear set of common procedures and rules to be applied to all tax laws in the UAE, particularly VAT and excise tax laws. The law covers tax procedures, audits, objections, refunds, collection and obligations, including tax registration, tax-return preparation, submissions, payment and voluntary disclosure rules as well as tax evasion. It also lays out the penalties for non-compliance as well as clear appeal processes in line with international best practices. When it comes into force businesses will have to keep records for five years.

An unofficial translation of the Law can be accessed here: https://www.mof.gov.ae/en/lawsAndPolitics/govLaws/Pages/TAX.aspx. We are monitoring the legislative progress of this important development with our publishing Partners, SADER Legal Publishing and will provide updates as and when appropriate.

This week the spotlight is on legal and regulatory developments in Oman, where the Manpower Ministry and Central Bank have announced plans to introduce a Wages Protection System (WPS) for all private sector companies, with a trial phase to begin on 18 November 2017. The WPS aims at controlling the payment of wages by employers to ensure timely receipt of salaries by employees per the amounts agreed in their employment contracts. The programme comes as a result of implementation of Article 53 of the Labour Law imposing the obligation of depositing the employee’s salary through one of the locally approved banks. It is expected further details of the programme will be released closer to the start date. Employers in the private sector will soon be required to subscribe to the Wages Protection System for submission of their employees’ salaries through the Central Bank of Oman.

Elsewhere, Oman’s Sultan has approved a number of Sultani Decrees including Oman Sultani Decree No. 33/2017 approving the GCC Commercial Transactions Law. It will be published in the Official Gazette along with Oman Sultani Decree No. 34/2017 promulgating the Veterinarian Products Law which will apply to veterinarian products.

This week the spotlight is on legal and regulatory developments in Bahrain, where the Kingdom’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Bahrain has issued a new Resolution aimed at enhancing telecommunication security in the country. The Regulation on Critical Telecommunications Infrastructure Risk Management, Bahrain Decision No. 5/2017 has been published in the Official Gazette. The Authority intends to work with licensees to ensure certain telecom infrastructure is safeguarded and business continuity and disaster recovery plans are put in place. The Authority is also aiming to maintain essential telecommunication services in the light of threats, by imposing a minimum set of obligations on key telecommunications infrastructure owners and service providers. These obligations will introduce the necessary resilience and emergency planning measures required to mitigate the risks posed by the rising cyber threats critical telecommunications networks face on a daily basis. Finally the Authority will establish procedures for the reporting of data breaches to it.

Elsewhere Bahrain’s King, Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa has ratified and issued four laws including the Family Law (Bahrain Law No 19/2017). King Hamad also issued Bahrain Law No. 18/2017 on Penalties and Alternatives Measures and Bahrain Law No. 20/2017 approving the state general budget for the fiscal year 2017-2018. Finally he issued Bahrain Law No. 21/2017 amending Bahrain Decree-Law No. 15/1977 issuing development bonds.

This week the spotlight is on the continuing fallout between Qatar and its GCC neighbours, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Egypt. Qatar’s Attorney General, HE Dr Ali bin Fetais al Marri has announced a committee to pursue compensation for damages resulting from Qatar’s isolation by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE has been established. The Compensation Claims Committee will handle claims by private companies, including major firms like Qatar Airways, public institutions and individuals. The committee will use domestic and international tools to obtain compensation and will hire overseas law firms to handle claims. It will receive all types of complaints, grievances and requests relating to the country’s isolation which started on 5 June 2017. It will be the sole committee following up cases brought by individuals, private and public companies, state institutions, banks, national carrier company and other parties affected. The Foreign Affairs and Justice Ministers will be committee members.

In a separate development, Qatar’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani has written to the GCC’s Secretary General setting out the country's conditions to stay in the bloc. Qatar gave three days for its isolation to end otherwise it would leave. There has been speculation Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Bahrain will expel Qatar from the GCC or even the Arab League.

This week the focus is on litigation developments in Dubai, where following a Dubai Judicial Tribunal Decision there is uncertainty over whether or not creditors can enforce arbitration awards issued outside Dubai and the UAE against Dubai-based debtors despite the UAE being a signatory to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. This Convention is also known as the New York Convention and the UAE signed up to it in 2006. It means the UAE courts have to recognise and enforce international arbitration awards without re-examining the merits of individual awards. In its decision in Case 1/2017 handed down on 22 May, the Tribunal blocked the DIFC Courts from recognising and enforcing a London-based arbitration decision. The Tribunal gave priority to the parallel action being taken in the Dubai Centre for the Amicable Settlement of Disputes which is connected to the Dubai Courts.

In another judgment, the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts have issued an order prohibiting the owner of the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai hotel from taking any further actions to prevent Viceroy Hotels and Resorts (Viceroy) from exercising their exclusive authority to manage and operate the hotel. Viceroy launched an action following the action by the hotel’s owner on 19 June, when it announced the purported takeover of the hotel by FIVE Hotels and Resorts. The owner’s actions breached the existing hotel management agreement. Viceroy is currently taking steps to ensure the hotel owner fully complies with the court order and the hotel management agreement. Amongst other things, Viceroy’s name, signs, and branding have to be reinstated at the hotel. Viceroy Hotels and Resorts signed a long-term hotel management agreement to operate the Palm Jumeirah hotel in 2013. The resort officially opened on 31 March 2017.

This week the spotlight is on employment and transport developments in United Arab Emirates where the annual summer midday outdoor working ban has begun in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The annual three-month ban on outdoor work has started. In the UAE the ban runs from 15 June to 15 September when workers are not permitted to work outside between the hours of 12.30 and 3pm. The ban in Saudi runs at the same time but outdoor working there is forbidden between 12 and 3pm, except for those working in the oil and gas industries or emergency services. (Although employers in those sectors are still required to ensure their workers have adequate protection from the sun. The Saudi Labour Ministry has set up a special hotline for reporting employers violating these rules and have warned those who do so will face heavy penalties.

Elsewhere, officials at Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre have announced owners of abandoned cars will be fined 1,000 AED and have their vehicle impounded. The Centre, together with the Abu Dhabi Municipality is cracking down on vehicles abandoned in car parks and outside villas amongst other places. An awareness campaign has been launched and notices to owners of abandoned cars have started to be issued. The notices give abandoned car owners three days to remove or clean them. Unattended car owners will have 24 hours to remove them. The rules will also apply to trailers and boats. If the fine is paid in two weeks, a 25% discount will be given to vehicle owners.

This week the spotlight is on immigration and ecclesiastical developments in United Arab Emirates where the President of UAE has issued instructions to authorities on the position of mixed Emirati-Qatari families. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt have severed ties with Qatar and announced that Qatari nationals had 14 days to leave the country. As a result many Emirati-Qatari joint families feared that this would mean their families would be split up. However, the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, announced measures that take into account such humanitarian circumstances of citizens who have married Qatari nationals and they are allowed to stay with their families. Affected families have been told to call a hotline +9718003626. UAE borders and airports have also been told not to prevent any Qatari national with first degree Emirati relatives from passing through. It has also been confirmed by Saudi authorities that Qataris going on Haj and Umrah pilgrimages would not be stopped from entering Saudi Arabia.

The UAE Federal Human Resources Department has announced that the Eid holiday for federal ministries and authorities starts on Saturday 24 June 2017 and up to Tuesday 27 June 2017 if Eid was on 25th June 2017. However, if Eid is Monday 26 June 2017 the Eid holiday starts from 24th June 2017 and ends Thursday 29th June.

This week as a result of a diplomatic incident, Bahrain, the Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, United Arab Emirates, Yemen have taken a range of steps cutting ties with Qatar which have had a legal impact on a whole host of areas including immigration, transport, banking, contracts and consumer law.
We have published 11 stories and analysis this week on those various issues.

Saudi Arabia: Qatari Riyal Payments Prohibited

Source: Arabian Business and published via our Middle East Newspaper Index service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

Saudi Arabia’s Monetary Agency has reportedly told banks in the Kingdom they must not process any Qatari Riyal payments. Banks have also been told not to increase their exposure to Qatari clients. This covers treasury investments, loans, letters of credit and trade-finance facilities: http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2476166_2476167.

UAE: Qataris Banned From Transit Flights

Source: Arabian Business and published via our Middle East Newspaper Index service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

Following the cutting of diplomatic ties with Qatar, the UAE authorities have announced Qataris are banned from international flights passing through the country: http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2476169_2476170.

More Countries Sever Their Diplomatic Ties With Qatar

Source: Fragomen Middle East and published via our Middle East News Analysis service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

An additional four countries have announced they are severing their diplomatic ties with Qatar, in light of the ongoing political crisis in the region which has resulted in restrictions on travel to and from Qatar: http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2476116_2476117.

UAE: Holders of Qatari Residency Permits Are Not Eligible for the UAE Visit Visas for GCC Residents

Source: Fragomen Middle East and published via our Middle East News Analysis service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

Foreign nationals holding a residency permit from Qatar are no longer eligible for a UAE visit e-visa for GCC residents. Visas on-arrival continue to be issued to eligible foreign nationals, regardless if they have a Qatari residence permit or not: http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2476120_2476121.

UAE: Qatar Banking Deal Guidelines Being Prepared

Source: Published via our Middle East News Analysis service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

The UAE’s Central Bank is understood to be preparing guidelines for the country’s banks on Qatar related transactions: http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2475414_2475417

SAP Alert: What the Qatar-GCC row means for your business?

Source: Sultan Al-Abdulla & Partners and published via our Middle East News Analysis service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

If your company has documentation that needs to be legalised by Qatari embassies in the KSA, UAE, or Bahrain for use in Qatar, or vice versa, it is advisable these documents are drafted and legalised as soon as possible: http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2475600_2475601

Qatar crisis highlights question of force majeure

Source: Dentons and published via our Middle East News Analysis service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

Imports of construction materials needed for the State of Qatar to deliver its World Cup and Vision 2030 infrastructure schemes are being severely impacted by the recent closing of borders by key neighbours Saudi Arabia and the UAE, leading to increased costs and delays on major construction projects: http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2475569_2475570

Implications of the Diplomatic Crisis in Qatar Continue to Rise

Source: Fragomen Middle East and published via our Middle East News Analysis service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

The Governments of Libya, the Maldives, Jordan and Mauritania have joined a number of Middle Eastern countries and have severed their diplomatic ties with the State of Qatar. The closure of borders with neighbouring countries and the withdrawal of the diplomatic staff from various embassies in the region have resulted in restrictions on travelling to and from Qatar.

http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2475579_2475583

Update on the restrictions on Qatar from Middle Eastern Countries

Source: Fragomen Middle East and published via our Middle East News Analysis service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

The closure of all the land, marine and diplomatic ties with Qatar has come into effect: http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2475226_2475227

Entry, Residency and Transit Implications Following Severance of Diplomatic Ties between Qatar and Various Middle Eastern Countries

Source: Fragomen Middle East and published via our Middle East News Analysis service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

Several Middle Eastern countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and, as a result, they imposed an entry, residency and transit ban for all Qatari citizens: http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2474651_2474652

UAE: Qatari Sympathisers will be Jailed

Source: Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates) and published via our Middle East Newspaper Index service. This has also been alerted to customers via email.

The UAE’s General Prosecutor, Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi has announced anyone who expresses sympathies for Qatar on social media will be jailed or fined. They could be jailed for between three and 15 years. They could also be fined at least 500,000 AED: http://www.lexismiddleeast.com/doc/2475403_2475404