The UAE’s Economy Ministry has called on companies dealing with commercial partners in the EU to keep up with the new European public information protection legislation. The Assistant Undersecretary for the Ministry’s External Trading Sector, Joma Mohammed Alkait said the Ministry is issuing this call as part of its efforts to keep all companies informed on new developments in policies and legislations in the relevant markets in which they may have trading partners. The legislation will be implemented in May 2018 and is aimed at strengthening and protecting private personal information in the European Union. It will not only affect companies operating in European countries but also companies who have commercial and investment activities with European countries. Companies should reconcile their procedural and operational activities in line with the legislation.

Dubai’s Ruler, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has issued a Law to regulate civil organisations in the Emirate. Under the law, the organisations, which will be legally referred to as civil establishments will have to designate a specific financial allocation to cover the cost of their activities. The activities can be in the social, health, educational, cultural, scientific, occupational, creative, art or humanitarian fields. Each civil organisation must have at least 10 founders, including two Emiratis. No activity can be undertaken until the organisation is granted a licence by the Community Development Authority. Registration will include the organisation’s headquarters, geographical range, its purpose, activities and target groups, its member’s names and their nationalities, professions and residences.

Event licencing changes have been approved following an agreement between Abu Dhabi’s Tourism and Culture Authority and the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces. The agreement will establish an e-service for event licences to be obtained. It was signed for the Authority by its Director-General, Saif Saeed Ghobash and by the Head of Administration and Human Resources at the UAE’s Defence Ministry, Major General Salem Saeed Ghafan Al Jabri.

The Abu Dhabi Police have confirmed the amended Federal Traffic Law (Federal Law No 21/1995) has started to be implemented. It started to be implemented on 1 July in line with UAE Federal Ministerial Decision No. 177/2017 and UAE Federal Ministerial Decision No. 178/2017 on traffic control rules and procedures. Amongst the amendments, all drivers and passengers must wear seatbelts. If they don’t they will be fined 400 AED and incur four traffic points.

Abu Dhabi’s Economic Development Department has issued a Decision to form a committee to review patent registration requests. The Committee will be chaired by Khaled Mohamed Alkaabi. It will review and examine requests in line with directives and charters of the laws effective in the country and the Takamul Programme. The Programme is a Government programme to support inventors. The Committee will have to hold monthly meetings to examine requests and specify the financial rewards for approved requests.

The UAE’s Emirates Authority for Standardisation & Metrology has approved new regulations on the commercial and recreational use of drones in the country, including the free zones. The new rules include a surveillance system for detecting unmanned aerial vehicles in the country. The regulations are aimed at establishing a central system to monitor any drone activity in the UAE. Manufacturers will have to use a mandatory serial number. The regulations have been developed with the General Civil Aviation Administration, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Federal Customs Authority, Interior Ministry and Dubai Police General Command.

Following a Decision changing the rules governing wills in Abu Dhabi, non-Muslim expatriates will be able to dictate where they want their assets to go when they die. Under the changes, there will be no dispute over a deceased’s possessions and the custody of children. Expatriates will be able to register a will for approximately 500 AED and wills be registered in English rather than Arabic.

The UAE’s Health Minister has issued a Ministerial Decision on declaring death. Ministerial Decision No. 550/2017 covers death resulting from cardiac-respiratory arrest, death from complete loss of brain functions and pediatric brain death guidelines. It was introduced after a national committee made up of all local health authorities prepared the latest Decision together with the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments. There was considered to be an urgent need to enact legislation on the declaration of death to protect hospitals and enable doctors to stop the suffering of brain-dead patients. The Decision aims to reinforce Federal Decree-Law No. 5/2016 and Federal Decree-Law No. 4/2016. It differentiates between declarations of death resulting from cardio-respiratory arrest and death resulting from complete loss of brain functions. This is intended to be a guide for hospitals, especially for those with intensive care units. Brain death is defined as an irreversible cessation of all functions of all parts of the brain. The conditions and exceptions for the declaration of brain death, including proper diagnosis through clinical preliminary examination are laid out.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan has announced a new Ministerial Decision amending the Executive Regulations to the Federal Traffic Law has been published in the Official Gazette. Under the new rules, driving licences issued for the first time will be valid for two years, while renewed licences will be valid for 10 years for citizens and five years for expatriates. Expatriates will also need to have a valid residence permit to renew licences. The new rules also cover registration and licensing rules, stopping distance rules, driving in residential areas, who can sit in the front of a car and traffic routes for buses.