Dr. Laura Voda, Author at Fichte & Co

Sorry, you have Javascript Disabled! To see this page as it is meant to appear, please enable your Javascript! See instructions here

September 27, 2020

The New Bankruptcy Law – Stepping up to Challenges in a Post-pandemic Economy

Throughout the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a collective frustration existed with insolvencies due to the time-consuming nature and significantly low recovery rates, which stemmed from outmoded insolvency laws under Book 5, Article 645-900 of Federal Law No.18/1993 (the ‘’Commercial Code’’). Under these ambiguous provisions, it was a criminal offense for directors to fail to petition...

September 20, 2020

How to Safely Close Down a Business in Mainland, UAE?

Introduction The two most prevalent routes that have been undertaken for liquidating a company are either ‘voluntary winding up’ specified under the Federal Law No. 2 of 2015 -The Commercial Company law (the “Companies Law”) and the Department of Economic Development setting out formal requirements for operating entities; or via ‘bankruptcy’ regulated by the Federal...

August 12, 2020

Everything You Need to Know about End of Service Gratuity in the UAE

The End of Service Gratuity (‘EOS’) is a benefit granted by the UAE Federal Law no. 8 of 1980, as amended (‘Employment Law’) to the expatriate workforce in the private sector. Consequently, the benefit applies to expatriate employees in UAE mainland companies and in UAE free zone companies, that operate under the remit of the...

Website Cloning – A Business Reality with Intricate Legal Consequences

The newest and most effective marketing tool for business exists nowadays in the digital world. Whereas a good and attractive website has all the prerequisites to have a strong impact on the market share and positioning of a firm, it has the drawback of exposing important and not always protected content to infringements. Website cloning...

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Data Protection Law 2020

A revisited legal regime and a building block for the high standards of the financial center From July 1, 2020, the date of entry into force of the new DIFC Data Protection Law, the financial center will enhance their already existing standalone data protection regime. This is expected to align the DIFC to the existing...

Change of Options for Changing Times

At the start of this year, there were some significant changes impacting the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) legal framework. Dr Laura Voda and Ifrah George explain how the increased flexibility they provide may aid companies facing a post COVID-19 economy. WHAT’S HAPPENED AND WHY? “In recent years, growth in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre...

Developers’ Right to Terminate off Plan Sales to Defaulting Buyers. No Court Order Needed.

In 2017, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum issued Law No. 19 of 2017, amending Article 11 of Law No. 13 of 2008 on the Interim Real Estate Register in the Emirate of Dubai. The provisions of Law 19 of 2017 are a matter of public policy, therefore any contractual agreement that developers...

What Can a Buyer Do if Faced with a Cancelled Off-Plan Real Estate Project In Dubai?

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the UAE, issued decree N⁰ (21) of 2013 on 23rd July 2013 concerning the formation of a special judicial committee for the liquidation of canceled real estate projects in the Emirate of Dubai and the settlement of relevant rights (Committee...

The ‘Economic Substance Regulations’ – a New Test for the UAE Companies. How does it apply?

Client update In 2019, the UAE Government issued a series of Directives and Resolutions, collectively referred to as the “Economic Substance Regulations” or the ESR. The purpose of the ESR is to curb harmful tax practices in UAE, in compliance with OECD international standards and with the guidelines issued by the European Union Code of...

Things to Know about the “Early Leave” Initiative in UAE

Note: In continuation of our previous article, the NEW Ministerial Resolution on Employment and COVID 19 1. What is the “Early Leave” Initiative? In furtherance to Ministerial Resolution 279 of 2020 and as part of the UAE Government efforts to contain the effects of the COVID 19 pandemics in the labor market, the Ministry of...