March 21, 2021

Background The Executive Regulations to the UAE Civil Procedures Law that came into effect in early 2019 amended the right of persons to appeal to seizure orders limiting the right to only the distrainee (the debtor whom the order is issued against). Prior to this amendment, the distrainee, the judgment creditor, and any concerned person […]

Case facts, arguments, and Federal Supreme Court ruling In late 2018, a complaint was filed before the public prosecution alleging the editing and alteration of an advert video on Snapchat by the accused for purposes of mocking and defaming the advertiser (the complainant/victim). The complaint was filed pursuant to Article 21 of the Cybercrime Law

VAT on Liquidated Damages Construction litigation is generally segmented into two claims. The first is a claim for sums that are due but unpaid, whether contractually or on quantum meruit basis, generally for a transaction which has concluded. The second type of claim is compensation for a transaction that has not taken place, i.e. no underlying service

The case involved a husband (the defendant) who took a video of his wife (the complainant) and sent the video recording to the complainant’s mother instantaneously through the instant messaging application; WhatsApp. The complainant/wife filed a criminal complaint against the defendant/husband for breach of Federal Decree-Law No. 5/2012 on Combating Cybercrimes (the “Cybercrime Law”) which

The tax dispute resolution committees began operation in 2019. There are three tax dispute resolution committees in the United Arab Emirates: one in Abu Dhabi dedicated to taxpayers with a registered address in Abu Dhabi; one in Dubai dedicated to taxpayers with a registered address in Dubai; and one in Sharjah dedicated to taxpayers with

In the last quarter of 2019, the United Arab Emirates Federal Supreme Court issued a judgment stating that agreeing to arbitration between parties could occur by electronic means and digital messaging. The judgment confirms Article 7(2)(a) of the Federal Arbitration Law which states that an arbitration agreement is deemed to be in writing if it

In October – November 2019, the Federal Tax Authority issued an updated Clarifications User Guide (USEG001) replacing its predecessor version from June 2018. Item ‘6′, pg. 10, of the previous version of the Clarification stated that: “Once a response is issued by the FTA, you may decide whether to follow the Clarification provided by the

On 28 October 2019, the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) ordered the departments of the Abu Dhabi Courts to inspect claims and counterclaims at all levels of the Court to ensure that litigants have quantified their claims/requests in their submissions at the time of filing. Abu Dhabi Law No. 13/2017 provides that for lawsuits of

Electronic monitoring was introduced earlier this year [2019] via Article 355 of Federal Law No. 35/1992 (Criminal Procedures Law) via the amendments to the Criminal Procedures Law implemented by Federal Decree-Law No. 17/2018. On 4 August 2019, the UAE Cabinet, or more commonly referred to as the Council of Ministers, issued Cabinet Decision No. 53/2019

In the extremity; when faced with errors in tax filings, taxable persons may be subject to fines amounting to the equivalent of up to 350% of any unpaid taxes. Comparatively, with appropriate record-keeping and diligent filing of a voluntary disclosure(s), the penalty that could apply to errors would only be 5%, as supported by a