The amendments grant listed companies greater flexibility in determining distributable profits and establish clear controls for the removal of board members by the general assembly.
By Salman Al-Sudairi, Basil Al-Jafari, and Hatem Abdulghaffar
Key Points:
The law has extraterritorial reach over digital platforms and internet service providers that operate in, or target users in, the UAE.
By Brian A. Meenagh, Danielle van der Merwe, Ksenia Koroleva, and Fady Saleh
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has enacted Federal Decree‑Law No. 26 of 2025 on Child Digital Safety (the CDS Federal Law), establishing a…
The draft law proposes a data embassy ecosystem and comprehensive framework in Saudi Arabia, promoting its position as a global AI hub.
By Brian Meenagh, Ksenia Koroleva, and Faisal Imam*
On April 14, 2025, Saudi Arabia’s Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) issued a consultation draft of a “Global AI Hub Law.” This draft law…
The healthcare and life sciences ecosystem is witnessing significant growth in the Middle East as the GCC continues to seek economic diversification.
By Brian A. Meenagh, Sara Patel, and Lucy Tucker
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are advancing initiatives to nurture a thriving life sciences ecosystem in the Middle East and North…
The PDPL has broad extraterritorial scope and substantial penalties for non-compliance, with full enforcement expected to start in September.
By Brian A. Meenagh and Lucy Tucker
The Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) is the first comprehensive data protection law in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is expected to start full enforcement of the PDPL from…
Recognizing new realities in decentralization, the regulations aim to provide market players with governance flexibility within distributed ledger technology foundations.
By Stuart Davis, Brian Meenagh, Andrew Moyle, and Ksenia Koroleva
On October 2, 2023, the Board of Directors of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a financial free zone in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), enacted the Distributed…
The amended PDPL diverges from international privacy laws in several areas, including personal data transfers, penalties, and breach notification.
By Brian A. Meenagh and Lucy Tucker
An amended version of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) was published in the Official Gazette of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on April 7, 2023. The amended PDPL contains…
The Dubai International Financial Centre urges companies to protect personal data when using artificial intelligence.
By Brian A. Meenagh, Ksenia Koroleva, and Lucy Tucker
On 18 April 2023, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a financial free zone with its own data protection laws, published a consultation paper (the Consultation Paper) regarding amendments to DIFC Data Protection…
The Middle East’s rapidly advancing space sector has seen a slew of landmark achievements in the last few years.
In 2014, the UAE established the UAE Space Agency to oversee and grow its space sector, and it has since successfully completed numerous projects. In July 2020, it became the fifth country in the world to launch a…
The new regime specifies licensing and reporting requirements for a range of activities related to virtual assets in the Emirate of Dubai.
By Brian A. Meenagh, Matthew Rodwell, and Ksenia Koroleva
On February 7, 2023, the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulation Authority (VARA) adopted the Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023 (the Regulations) together with four compulsory…
The regime introduces rules on various crypto tokens, including cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
By Brian A. Meenagh, Matthew Rodwell, and Ksenia Koroleva
On November 1, 2022, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) crypto token regulatory regime came into effect.
The rules expand upon the DFSA framework for regulating investment tokens established in 2021…
The guidance is part of the rapidly evolving rules on anti-money laundering and aims to promote UAE as a jurisdiction compliant with best practices.
By Brian Meenagh, Ksenia Koroleva, and Matthew Rodwell
On August 1, 2022, the UAE Central Bank (CBUAE) issued the Guidance for Licensed Financial Institutions on the Risks Relating to Payments.[1]
The guidance was…
