According to sources in Kuwait, the draft Expatriate Remittance Tax Law has been withdrawn. It followed strong Government criticism of the proposed legislation. Amid concerns the Government would have rejected it, MPs withdrew the legislation rather than risk rejection which would have meant 44 MPs would have had to of approved the reconsideration of the legislation in the country’s Parliament.
Bahraini MPs have approved an amendment to the 2001 Non-Bahrainis Ownership of Property and Plots Law which will mean expatriate property investors will not be able to own property in areas which aren’t designated tourism or investment zones. Previously foreigners were able to buy property anywhere in the Kingdom. It follows concerns Bahrainis were being priced out of the market. The Shoura Council will now consider the amendment.
The Chairman of the Standing Child Protection Committee of Dubai’s Health Authority has announced parents must vaccinate their children or risk being charged with negligence. It comes as there is a measles outbreak in the country. The Chairman added children requiring breastfeeding must also be breastfed. In addition, a parent or parents who fail to get a child who has a serious disease adequately treated could be charged with negligence.
Elsewhere in Dubai, the Health Authority’s Dubai Health Insurance Corporation have announced they have issued Directives meaning new-born babies will be able to get health insurance as soon as they are born rather than having to wait.
Directive No. 2/2019 applies to all parties involved in health insurance plans in the Emirate. New-borns will be covered under their mother’s insurance policy for 30 days or up to the annual limit of the mother’s insurance policy. Insurance companies must then issue an individual insurance policy for the child.
Previously insurance companies could implement a waiting period for providing insurance to a new-born which meant if anything happened to them they were uninsured. It comes into force with immediate effect.
The Saudi Justice Minister Dr. Walid Al-Samaani has launched the ‘Najiz’ online portal which will cover 177 first instance courts in all regions of the Kingdom.
The portal is part of efforts to unify judicial proceedings, enable digital transformation to the judiciary and speed up the litigation process. It was set after restructuring of procedures were adopted in all Saudi courts and a new judicial procedure system document was issued and digitized.
The portal is being considered a step towards a full digital transformation in all sectors. A service called ‘appeal without transcript’ has been introduced which enables first instance courts to send a case file to the court of appeal electronically in just a few minutes, and automatically receive the court’s reply. Task forces have also been formed to carry out the proceedings of the courts and compare them to legal proceedings, criminal court proceedings and related regulations, and proceedings in other countries.
The portal will be rolled out in four stages, and there will further updates to facilitate services.
The UAE Cabinet has approved an eight point strategy which aims at putting the country at the forefront of global efforts to develop artificial intelligence, called the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031. The strategy covers areas including reaffirming the UAE’s position as a global artificial intelligence (AI) hub, employing AI in customer services and recruiting and training people to work in fields which will be driven by the technology in the future. The first phase of the strategy will focus on areas such as healthcare, cyber security, logistics and transportation and tourism and hospitality. In March 2018, the UAE Cabinet formed a council for artificial intelligence to oversee AI integration in government
Kuwait Manpower Authority officials have announced the Authority is exempting expatriates from the visa transfer ban. However, the exemption will only apply if the expatriate employee initially transferred to a small company locally and then transferred their residency from a small project to the private sector. It does not apply to other expatriates.
Bahrain’s Central Bank has announced it has issued draft insurance aggregator rules. Insurance aggregators are intermediaries with an insurance broker’s license who operate an online platform, whether hosted on an Internet website or available as a smart device application which provides price comparisons and facilitates the purchase of insurance policies from several insurance licensees. By introducing insurance aggregators, customers will be able to find and choose insurance quotes from several insurance companies under a single electronic platform or mobile device application, instead of obtaining quotes individually and purchase insurance online from a single insurance company. The move is the first step towards Insuretech which is a technology-led transformation of the insurance sector. Copies of the directive are available on the Central Bank Website.
Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Courts have issued the Litigation Funding Rules. They have come into effect immediately. They are the first of their kind in the region and are designed to provide parties and funders with greater certainty on the enforceability of funding arrangements in proceedings for resolving disputes.
They have been issued following growing interest in third party funding of parties to manage their litigation and arbitration proceedings. Amongst other things, the Rules state a Funder’s principal business must be in funding proceedings to which the Funder is not a party and the Funder must have qualifying assets of at least $5 million. In addition, the Litigation Funding Agreement must contain some minimum terms including to ensure there are no conflicts of interest, the Funder’s involvement in the settlement of proceedings and the Funder’s obligations about dealings with lawyers.
Updated anti-money laundering rules are also now in force in the Global Market as well. It comes ahead of an assessment of the UAE by the Financial Action Task Force this summer. The updated rules also cover anti-terrorist financing.
The Litigation Funding Rules are now available on Lexis Middle East : https://www.lexismiddleeast.com/regulatory/AbuDhabiGlobalMarket/ADGM_ADGM_Litigation_Funding_Rules_2019/
Kuwait’s Capital Market Authority has announced it is launching an awareness campaign for its qualifications examinations project for registered employment positions. The project is being launched with the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. The project will result in the Professional Qualifications Programme which the Authority will implement by 30 September 2019.
Bahrain’s Shoura Council has approved a draft law to regulate hygiene, following Bahrain Royal Decree No. 86/2014. It will apply to waste and its transportation and disposal. It will also cover waste dumping and depositing waste in incorrect facilities. In addition, it will ban abandoning scrap vehicles on streets and leaving vehicles in public streets and squares to sell. Finally it will allow waste to only be transported by licensed companies and institutions.
