Q: Dear Sir/ Madam, I would like to have an advice about a bounced cheque. I got a cheque against my pending salary from the company where I used to work before in Dubai. However, the cheque bounced and I filed a complaint at the police station. I was expecting a reply from the police station, as per my knowledge. Yesterday, the company owner called me and said that the police had arrested him and he has paid the fine, so the case is dismissed. I would like to know if I need to file a civil case now or I have to wait till I get a reply from the police in order to recover my money. For the civil case, where and how can I file the complaint? Thanks & regards

Q: I was persuaded by my friend to put money in an online trading, and he will trade on my behalf and will share the profits. He guaranteed me that he will trade very carefully and the principal amount will not decrease, but he lost all the money in one night which is AED 35000. Then he gave me 6 cheques of 5000 each payable after every third month. Kindly advise how to proceed as he is not ready to pay now.

Q: We (12 persons) have invested in a Japanese restaurant (AED 100,000), each with 3 years contract. After 2 years, the owner failed to pay the shop rent for the past 6 months and the landlord had closed the shop. The owner signed a waiver to the landlord that he no longer has a claim on that shop, meaning to say, he already hands over the full restaurant to the landlord. The landlord already sold the shop to another person. 3 of the investors already have bounced cheques while mine will expire in Oct 2018, and others as well. Question 1. What is the procedure for filing a case against the previous owner since he breached our contracts? Question 2. My cheque is still not due, can I file a case against him? Question 3, Do we need to get a lawyer with regards to our case? Best regards, Lea

Q: I want a legal advice on this. I filed a criminal case against one of the real estate companies here in the UAE. I was supposed to rent a flat and paid 3 months in advance cash to the agency without signing a contract because they promised me that I will sign a contract next day. To cut the story short, it didn't go well, so I decided to refund my money back. The manager issued me a company cheque but it bounced. Now, we both agreed that he can pay in instalments and do it in front of the court. The first question is, can we resolve this case without me filing a civil case against him? The second question, will the court give him a travel ban until he settles the full amount? Third, can I get compensation from him for spending money on this case?

Q: Salam Naser, I was in dispute with a client over non-payments and now it's the time we agreed to sign a settlement agreement. Her lawyer has sent the agreement letter which has the following two terms in it and which are not clear to me. It will be nice of you if you can guide me accordingly. "1. Indemnity The Parties agree that it shall indemnify and keep the other party indemnified from and against all liabilities, costs, expenses, damages and losses (including any direct, indirect or consequential losses, loss of reputation and all interest, penalties and legal and other professional costs and expenses) suffered or incurred by the party arising out of the other party carrying out its obligations under this Settlement Agreement or breach or negligent performance or non-performance thereof." Confusion, who will be the authority to define these losses...etc? It's a very technical term. "2. Governing Law This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law provisions. The Parties consent to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the DIFC Courts." Confusion, They're mentioning DIFC law specifically, I don't know the reason. Should it be the UAE courts laws in general? Your help and suggestion will be highly appreciated.

Q: I have a cheque bounce case against me of 63830 Dhs and I paid 14000 out of this. I submitted a petition to get this money adjusted in the case balance. It was approved but the adjustment is not done yet. The other party's attorney has meanwhile requested the court to seize bank accounts, RTA, DLD, Central Bank... etc. to recover the money. I have a travel ban also. I have 2 Queries - How much time do I get to make all payments after all the seize requests has been applied to court. I mean how soon do Banks, RTA, DLD departments reply to court? - Can I get arrested if Banks do not get money in my account? I am willing to settle out of court. But as 14,000 was paid in the party's personal account, they did not acknowledge that in court despite I shared proof. So settlement if any, I want to do in court. Please suggest.

Q: Hello, I took out a loan in the amount of 4,000,000 DHS, and I repaid the principal amount but I refused to pay the interest which was 800,000 DHS, I still own a property in Dubai and the value is around 3,000,000 DHS. The bank wants to take the whole property as collateral for my debt. Can the bank do this? Or do they have to sell the property, take what I owe them, and pay me the rest? Or will they be taking the whole property? Are they allowed to do such a thing?

In the UAE, cheque bounce is a very frequent problem faced by people during their span in the country. It is covered under the purview of Commercial Transactions Law, and legal implications/penalties can be financially severe and daunting for more “serious” offenses. Bounced cheque issues may arise in a variety of commercial transactions, including but not limited to, companies’ exchanges, bank loans, property rents or purchases, and individual transactions.

The provisions of this Law, known as "UAE Labour Law", govern the relationship between employers and employees and other labour matters in the United Arab Emirates. There are special labour related regulations applicable in some of the free zones in the UAE.

This Law promulgates the Federal Penal Code (Criminal Law) of the United Arab Emirates. Crimes and chastisement punishments shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other penal codes.

The law promulgates UAE Civil Procedures Code (Civil Procedure Law) which governs civil procedures in the United Arab Emirates, including the prosecution before the courts, litigation and execution.

The provisions of this Decree by Law amend the Federal Law No. (18) of 1993 by replacing Clause (4) of Article (379) as well as Articles (600), (617), (641), (642), (643), (644), and adding new articles numbered (635) Bis, (641) Bis (1), (641) Bis (2), (641) Bis (3), (641) Bis (4), (643) Bis (1), (643) Bis (2), (644) Bis (1) and (644) Bis (2). The Decree-Law also repeals Articles (401), (402) and (403) of the Federal Law No. (3) of 1987.

The provisions of this Decree-Law, known as "New UAE Labor Law", govern labour relations in the private sector of the United Arab Emirates. The New Labor Law repeals the previous UAE Labor Law (Federal Law No. (8) of 1980).