Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Suing a foreign bank in UAE courts while all agreements are signed abroad

Q: If a UAE resident (natural person) signs a loan agreement (simple Lombard loan agreement with the pledge of securities at the same bank) with another jurisdiction bank (e.g. in a European Union country like Austria), and if a conflict occurs between the bank and the UAE resident natural person in the future, could he sue the bank in UAE court jurisdictions even though all loan agreement documents signed in Austria by just referring Austrian court jurisdictions at the loan agreement and even though his financial assets are invested and pledged at an Austrian bank account? Best regards,

Presenting the guarantor cheque if the loan original cheque bounces

Q: My bank presented my cheque which bounced obviously. It was against a loan amount, they had taken a cheque from my guarantor for the same amount. Can they present his cheque? And is it legal to present two cheques for the same amount and for the same loan account?

Can the tenant prohibit the landlord from accessing the property?

Q: My tenant has served 90 days notice and expressed his intention not to renew the tenancy. I did offer a rent reduction and also monthly payments, however, he insisted that they will move out and return to their home country. We had agreed on a time for an agent to visit and take photos to market the property, however, they are not allowing me or the agent to access the property. Further, he has not accepted any of my many calls or responded back to messages. Where do I stand legally in terms of gaining access, especially as he has served a written notice to vacate? My objective is to ensure that I do not have an empty villa once they leave given the tough economic times.

Labour complaint against the employer for deducting visa change fees

Q: I have just been hired last April with unlimited contract and 6 months probation. I have a question about visa and processing costs. After signing the job offer, they asked me about my attested documents and my passport, so I gave the original for the processing. Then I started working on May 3. Today May 31, I have received my employment visa and expecting to receive my first salary. However, our accounts told me that there would be AED 559 deduction due to Visa Status Change (Which I believe that employer should be the one covering the fee). In addition to this, I have also paid AED 210 for the translation of my papers. Until now, all original documents are with my employer. I plan to resign if he insists on the deduction. Questions: 1. Is it legal to charge me 559 for visa status change and 210 for translation? 2. Should I take my original documents from him? 3. If we have an understanding and we cannot agree, can I not continue the employment? I am still under 6 months probation period.

The requirements to set up an equity crowdfunding platform in DIFC

Q: I would like to know the answer to the following: (1) What are the requirements to set up an equity crowdfunding platform in DIFC? (2) If there are any limitations on international investors and where international investments should be done.

Arbitrary dismissal of a pregnant woman in the time of COVID-19

Q: Please help me with the below scenario. I had worked with a company for 2 years and 11 months. I was terminated on the basis of redundancy on 2nd March 2020. They gave me one month notice period which ended on the 31st of March 2020. I completed the notice period and I do understand the situation due to pandemic. But in my situation also, my company knows that I am pregnant and it is very difficult to face this kind of situation. I just want to know what shall I do and what are the benefits that I can get from my company. Please I need your advise and help to solve this. I will deliver by next month and hope to be in good health. Thank you and hope someone will answer my concerns and will not stress my self in this situation.

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The rights of a foreign investor when the unit is not delivered on time

Q: I bought a studio. According to the SPA, the unit must have been handed in December 2019. As I understand, developers in the UAE have 1 year grace period so, technically speaking, the project must be completed in December 2020. However, according to the project tracking website, the likely completion date is Q1 2021. When I enquired about this, they are reluctant to comment on it. As a foreign investor, what are my rights in this situation? The project is only 47% complete thus far. Thanks!

Changing the legal structure of an LLC to full foreign ownership

Q: Hello. We have an LLC company where 49% is owned by an overseas company and 51% owned by a local partner. We are not doing any transaction with this company and hence would like to make a representative company with an overseas company owning 100% of the shares. Can we change an existing LLC in Dubai to a fully-owned entity limited only for marketing activities?

Continuing work after the expiry of a limited contract without renewal

Q: My limited contract has finished on 07 April and I`m still working and receiving my salary, however, my employer hasn`t notified me yet about renewing the contract. In case he does not renew my contract, am I entitled to receive compensation for not being given an earlier notice for non-renewal?

The consequences of terminating staff due to COVID-19 pandemic

Q: If the employment contract has a clause that either party can terminate the contract with one-month notice, using this clause, can an employer terminate a staff without mentioning any other reasons or should we specifically mention that due to COVID 19 unfortunate situation we need to do a staff redundancy? If so, are there any specific criteria or documents to be kept for selecting those staff?

Validity of the employment contract if based outside the UAE

Q: Hi, I was employed by a DMCC business but was based overseas (in Australia), not working in the UAE. My employment contract was not registered with DMCC or MOHRE and I am looking to confirm what specific law requires UAE businesses to register employee contracts. Is this requirement applicable to workers based overseas? I`m in dispute with my employer and have been advised that my employment contract is not valid due to it not being registered. Many thanks.

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Terminating an employee after being absent for 10 days during COVID-19 pandemic

Q: How can I terminate my employee who has not come to work for 10 days? He is asking for a permission letter so that he can work freely anywhere but I don’t want to give him such things. I just want to terminate him!

Protecting a software while making a demo for a potential client

Q: Hi, Is there a way to protect my software while making a demo for a potential client in the UAE?

تطليق الزوجة بسبب تواصلها مع رجال عبر مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي

س: إذا اكتشف الزوج أن زوجته لها علاقات دردشة مع رجال على مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي وألقى عليها يمين الطلاق، فما حقوق الزوجة؟ هل تكفي نسخ المحادثات لاعتبارها دليلاً قانونيًا للخيانة؟

استرداد المبلغ المدفوع لمطور عقاري والمطالبة بالتعويض عند إلغاء المشروع

س: أنا مواطنة إماراتية. اشتريت شقة قيد الإنشاء في دبي. المبلغ الإجمالي ٣٣٠٠٠٠ درهم. دفعت قرابة ٥٦٪‏ من قيمة العقار حتى الآن. *طريقة الدفع المُتَّفق عليها في العقد كانت كالتالي: ١- دفع ١٠٪‏ من قيمة العقار مُقدمًا. ٢- دفعات شهرية لمدة ٣ سنوات (٣٦ دفعة). ٣- دفع ٢٠٪‏ من قيمة العقار عند الاستلام. ٤- دفعات شهرية لمدة سنة ونصف (١٨ دفعة). دفعت حتى الآن ١٠٪‏ مُقدَّم و٣٦ دفعة بالكامل، وهو ما يعادل ٥٦٪‏ من قيمة العقار تقريبًا على أساس أن الدفعة المطلوبة القادمة ستكون عند التسليم. كان التسليم كان مُتوقَّعًا في شهر 06/2018. أُلغي المشروع في دائرة الأراضي والأملاك. ١- ما نصيحتكم لي؟ ٢- هل يمكنني المطالبة بالمبالغ السابقة بالإضافة إلى تعويض وأتعاب المحاماة؟ وكم يبلغ التعويض؟ ٣- كم تكلفني القضية بالكامل تقريبًا؟ أتمنى أن يكون ردكم سريع وكامل لأنني أريد المطالبة بالمبلغ بأسرع وقت، ونعتذر لطول الموضوع.

حقوق الشركاء في قطعة أرض سكنية وإمكانية البناء عليها

س: اشترينا قطعة أرض سكنية في إمارة الشارقة. وسُجِّلت باسم شريكين مواطنين. الشريك الأول يمتلك ٣٣٪؜، والشريك الثاني يمتلك ٦٧٪؜ من الأرض على أساس الشريك الثالث أجنبي سيأخذ نصف نسبة الشريك الثاني عن طريق المبايعة. هل تتأثر حقوق الشريك الأول بصغر نسبته؟ وهل يحق للشريك الأول بيع الأرض؟ هل يجوز البناء على قطعة الأرض بدون معرفة حد الشراء؟ ما المبايعة للأراضي وما الحقوق المترتبة عليها وعلى صاحب المبايعة؟