Key UAE laws by year-end

The UAE is expected to finalise an insolvency and bankruptcy law by the end of 2012, Minister of Justice Dr Hadif bin Jowan Al Dhahiri said at the Global Policy Conference in Dubai on Monday. “It is in the final stages, but it has to get the approval of other government entities. We are still in discussions with the Ministry of Finance about the current draft,” Al Dhahiri told reporters on the sidelines of the conference. He hopes that it would be ready by the end of this year. Earlier, in his address to the two-day conference on financial restructuring and bankruptcy, the minister said there is a set of legislation that is on its way to the final approval and issuance through constitutional channels in the country. “The departments and the relevant committees in the Ministry of Justice are currently examining a range of important bills, including a draft federal law on foreign investment, a draft federal law on small and medium enterprises, the draft federal law on arbitration in civil and commercial transactions, and the draft federal law on bankruptcy and restructuring,” he said. Al Dhahiri also mentioned that amendments in some existing laws are also under discussion. He thanked the Dubai Economic Council, or DEC, for hosting the conference, stressing that the bankruptcy law is the most important commercial law. “It will restore the rights of all parties. The Government of the UAE is keen to strengthen and enhance the regulatory framework to sustain economic development,” he said. Earlier, DEC Secretary-General Hani Al Hamli said that a clear law is necessary to protect companies and investors in the UAE. It will help to improve the investment climate in the country, Al Hamli said. He praised the strategic direction adopted by the UAE government in the presentation of new draft laws on the various activities of public and private sectors as a way of civilised and advanced step in the way of transparency and the rule of law in economic life. Talking about the reality of financial restructuring and bankruptcy in the GCC countries, Hamli noted that the countries of the region still lack an effective legislation for financial restructuring and bankruptcy, which affected — along with other factors — on the attractiveness of the investment environment in the region, and therefore missed opportunities for growth.