BIGGEST LEGAL REFORM IN UAE HISTORY BEGINS
▶ Sheikh Khalifa approves major changes to laws
President Sheikh Khalifa has formally approved the most extensive legal reforms in the UAE’s history.
Changes include greater protection of personal data, stronger copyright rules and legislation to tackle fake news.
More than 40 laws are involved. Some are new, others update laws already in effect.
The updated Federal Crime and Punishment Law strengthens protection for women and domestic workers.
Legislation covering the spreading of rumours and fake news, electronic fraud and protecting personal data is also in place.
In business, investors and entrepreneurs will be allowed to establish and fully own onshore companies in almost all sectors, with the exception of activities deemed by the government to be “strategic”.
An amendment to electronic transactions and trust services regulations gives digital signatures the same weight as handwritten ones, removing the need for witnesses to seal transactions.
This will also simplify civil processes such as marriage and commercial transactions such as renting, buying and selling property.
The reforms are the result of efforts by 540 experts from 50 federal and local authorities who worked with more than 100 private-sector organisations over the past five months, state news agency Wam said.
The law governing copyright and neighbouring rights strengthens protection to people who work within the creative sectors.
It offers special benefits for people of determination to enhance their participation and their rewards in the creative industries.
The law covers all major issues relating to authors’ rights and neighbouring rights, including the right to protest against alteration of the work if the alteration distorts the author’s intent.
The reforms also effectively decriminalise consensual relationships outside of marriage and provide that any child conceived as a result of such a relationship is acknowledged and will be cared for. This takes effect on January 2, 2022.
Under the updated Federal Crime and Punishment Law and new legislation, criminal penalties for public disorder offences were introduced.
The consumption of alcohol in a public place or in unlicensed locations is banned.
The sale, provision or incitement or inducement to consume alcohol to any person below 21 years of age is also banned. One of the most significant provisions is that the law be applied to anyone who commits, or participates in, a
premeditated murder that occurs against a citizen of the UAE even if the crime happens outside the country.
A new law stipulates life imprisonment for rapists. If the victim is under the age of 18, disabled or otherwise rendered in a condition unable to offer resistance, the sentence can be extended to capital punishment.
This law also covers indecent assault of either sex, which will be punished with imprisonment or a fine of at least Dh10,000.
If force or threat is used in the course of the crime, the penalty will be a jail term of between five and 20 years.
If the victim is aged under 18, disabled or otherwise unable to offer resistance, the prison term will be at least 10 years. This more severe penalty will also apply in cases that occur at a place of work, study, shelter or care.
The new regulations in effect decriminalise consensual relationships outside marriage and provide that any child conceived out of wedlock is acknowledged and will be cared for. The parents will be required to marry, or singly or jointly acknowledge responsibility for the child and obtain identification papers and travel documents to that effect for the country of which either is a citizen. Couples who fail to comply could go to jail.
Extramarital sex will be punishable with a jail term of at least six months.
A higher education law sets the framework by which curriculums can be approved, and is intended to improve the management, quality and competitiveness of the sector.
Provisions of the law apply to all providers of tertiary-level education, except those that operate in free zones.
The Personal Data Protection Law prohibits the processing of personal data without the consent of its owner.
Exceptions apply in cases in which the processing is necessary to protect the public interest, when the data has become available and known to all by an act of the data owner or when the processing is necessary to carry out legal procedures and rights.
The law also defines the controls for the processing of personal data and the general obligations of companies that ensures the confidentiality of information and protects privacy by providing proper governance for optimal data management and protection, in addition to defining the rights and duties of all parties concerned.
The provisions apply to the processing of personal data, whether all or in part, through electronic systems, inside or outside the country.
They also define the general obligations of companies that hold personal data to keep it private and secure.
A law covering crimes committed online, including bullying, harassment and the spreading of fake news, will come into effect on January 2, 2022. It aims to combat the spread of rumours and electronic fraud, and to preserve individual privacy.
It also addresses false advertising and promotions, including the unlicensed trade of cryptocurrencies and medical products.
It gives courts powers to confiscate devices, software, content or other means used in the pursuit of a crime, in addition to the deletion of such information.
A UAE Data Office will be established.
Affiliated with the Cabinet, the office will propose and prepare policies and legislation related to data protection.
The new Commercial Companies Law aims to increase foreign direct investment, while an industrial property rights law will regulate procedures for the registration, use and assignment of industrial property. It is dedicated to patents, industrial designs, integrated circuits, utility certificates and non-disclosure agreements.
A law covers crimes committed online, including bullying, harassment and the spreading of fake news