UAE Cabinet reviews National Legislative Plan, launches Legislation Platform

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai on Monday chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE and Lt. General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
Sheikh Mohammed said: “Today, I chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting where we reviewed the country’s legislative plan and were briefed on the 2023 plan, within which more than 73 federal legislations were accomplished in the financial, banking, educational, health, and government regulatory sectors, indicating the highest number since the establishment of the union.”
Sheikh Mohammed noted that more than 1500 specialists and 50 governmental teams took part in implementing this plan.
Sheikh Mohammed added: “Our goal is to keep our legislations updated, flexible and adaptable to changes, ensuring the best business environment in the world.”
He said: “Also today, we launched the UAE Legislation Platform (www.uaelegislation.gov.ae) an integrated platform which includes all federal legislation, decrees, executive regulations, and decisions issued in the country since the foundation of the Union in 1971. The platform is accessible for public and includes all legislation in force in both Arabic and English languages. Specialists and experts will be able to provide input on existing legislation, express opinions, and participate in the legislation drafting process through offering suggestions and observations.
“Our aim is to promote government transparency, enhance participation and engagement of various segments of society, and maintain the status of our legislative environment among the best globally”, His Highness added.
Sheikh Mohammed said: “Within the UAE Cabinet agenda, we approved a new indicator for the Government, the “law enforcement” indicator. It involves assessing the implementation of laws and their effects on investors, citizens, residents, or specialised groups. The objective is to measure the impact of the laws, update them if needed, and ensure equal application to all.”
He noted that the UAE has established a global approach in its laws and procedures, its transparency is well-established, and the rule of law will remain a key priority.
Sheikh Mohammed further noted: “Today, in the Cabinet we approved the ‘Science, Technology and Innovation Policy’. The national policy encompasses six main areas including energy transition, health, food security, water security, technology, cybersecurity, and manufacturing. Investing in R&D programmes will add value to our GDP and multiply chances for our future generations.”
Sheikh Mohammed concluded: “We approved the ‘National Policy for Improving Women’s Health’ in the UAE, to ensure providing the highest healthcare services quality for women, whether curative, preventive or rehabilitative services. All government and private sectors will work together to champion health research, to cultivate in the country the best environment that prioritises women’s health.”
Reviewing the National Legislative Plan
Sheikh Mohammed reviewed the National Legislative Plan of 2023, which included the issuance of 73 federal laws covering multiple sectors.
The new or updated legislation further facilitates procedures, reduces requirements of receiving services, and encourages doing business and activities related to various vital sectors. They also enhanced coordination between federal and local governments entities. More than 1500 specialists and 50 teams from federal and local governments as well as the private sector took part in implementing the legislative plan.
The new as well as the updated federal laws support the efforts of transition to a more flexible legislative system, whose positive impact on services in the UAE is tangible to the community, enhancing government work development and ending duplication of governmental functions and responsibilities.
Within the meeting’s agenda, the Cabinet launched the UAE Laws Implementation Index and went through the results of the implementation of the laws of 2020-2022 by the ministries and the federal entities. It also gave its directives to regularly submit reports on the achievement progress and the challenges.
Legislative updated included 10 federal laws which were issued for the first time in the country, such as: law on commerce through modern means of technology, law establishing Emirates Drugs Establishment, law on regulating the use of the human genome, law on regulating the genetic fingerprint database, law on regulation the role of places of worship of non-Muslims, and law on pensions and social security.
Motivating legislative updates in economy, finance and banking
Key laws introduced in the economic and financial sector in 2023 included laws on commerce through modern means of technology, which, for the first time in the UAE, gives legal aspect to doing business digitally through applications, smart platforms, social media, and technical media such as Metaverse. It regulates consumer rights in E-commerce, intellectual property rights, and data, as well as regulating the recovery and exchange of goods and services, dispute settlement mechanisms, digital payment gateways, and cybersecurity requirements.
Other laws issued in this sector regulate matters such as competition, consumer protection, combating commercial fraud and regulating financial restructuring and bankruptcy, in addition to the Trust Law.Other laws issued on economy and finance sector included matters such as the establishment of the Financial Stability Council, the Central Bank of the UAE functioning, regulating financial establishments and activities, arbitration and corporate tax.
Updating social legislation