Legal Notices.
On 2 January 2020, the DIFC Authority (the Claimant) made an application to the Chief Justice of the DIFC Courts pursuant to Article 5(B)(1)(b) of Dubai Law No.12 of 2004 (as amended) in respect of the Law of the Judicial Authority at Dubai International Financial Centre, requesting the DIFC Court of Appeal to determine questions of interpretation relating to the DIFC Trust Law 2018 and the DIFC Foundations Law 2018.
On 12 February 2020, the Deputy Registrar issued (an amended) Directions Order requiring the DIFC Authority to make the following documents available on its website:
A copy of the written submissions of each of the parties to the matter, along with supporting documentation are available on the DIFC Court’s website, at this link.
On 27 June 2021, the DIFC Data Protection Commissioner’s Office issued a letter analysing the impact of DIFC Data Protection Law on transfers to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of personal data from DIFC-based firms or branches that are registered, required to be registered, or otherwise regulated by the SEC, such as DFSA regulated entities. The Commissioner’s Office concluded that the Data Protection Law, DIFC Law No. 5 of 2020 contains sufficient safeguards to protect personal data, and does not impose legal barriers to the transfer of personal data from these entities directly to the SEC for supervisory or enforcement purposes.
The Commissioner’s decision demonstrates that securities regulatory oversight frameworks can coexist with robust data protection standards, which is also vital to the efforts of the UAE government and its relationship with DIFC to promote KYC due diligence requirements and strategic financial crime prevention priorities.