Alsuwaidi & Company

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai,

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is a federation of seven Emirates i.e., Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain (UAQ), Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) and Fujairah, has promulgated laws which are progressive in content and application. These have, over the years, served ends of justice well. Towards this end, the Federal Government of the UAE has provided for certain codified laws which specifically deal with substantiating evidence in any judicial proceedings.

On 10 October 2022, Decree-Law No. (37) on Family Businesses was issued and published in the Official Gazette and it will come into force three months after the date of publication, i.e. from 10/01/2023. The law has identified  the family companies as any company established in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Law and most of its shares are owned by persons belonging to the same family and are registered in the specific register prepared for this as a family business, as per this law, the Council of Ministers shall, upon the recommendation of the Minister of Economy, issue a  decision specifying what is meant by one family.

One of the important aspects of intellectual property law is regulating the regime of prosecution and protection of Patents, and Industrial Designs. This encourages innovation thus leading to advancement in technology.

The Emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is rapidly developing into as being one of the global centers for setting up of operations and dealing in virtual assets and cryptocurrencies. There are new startups in this digital space which encourage innovation in technology and digital assets. With such interests developing comes the challenge of formulating and promulgating regulations so that any scams, frauds, and/or illegitimate businesses can be marginalized. The Government of Dubai, UAE has taken this challenge head-on and has come up with new law i.e., Law No. 4 of 2022 which primarily provides for regulation/s dealing in virtual assets. The said law was issued on February 28, 2022, by the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, H.H. Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

As the means of communications advance among various persons and entities, transportation and travel among countries have become easier along with the conclusion of transactions of all kinds including commercial transactions and banking transfers, and other cross-border transactions that can be completed in a matter of minutes or less, many challenges emerge, the most important of which is how to prevent some people from taking advantage of this development to commit crimes.

Over the past six months there have been two important judgments in the Supreme Court of England and Wales which are likely to influence GCC-based arbitrations where they are based on common law procedures and rules. They may also impact arbitrations seated in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC), the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) and the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) which are pockets of common law jurisdiction within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar Civil Law Structures.