Book an appointment with us, or search the directory to find the right lawyer for you directly through the app.
Find out moreWelcome to the first edition of Law Update for 2025. As we begin this exciting year, we are pleased to turn our attention to one of the most dynamic sectors in the UAE and the broader GCC region – healthcare. Over the past several years, the region has seen unprecedented growth in this sector, driven by legislative advancements, technological innovations, and the increasing focus on sustainability and AI. As such, healthcare is set to be one of the most important sectors in the coming decade.
In this issue, we explore key themes that are significantly shaping the future of healthcare in the UAE, such as recent changes in foreign ownership laws. These reforms present a major opportunity for foreign investors, opening up new avenues for international collaborations and improving the overall healthcare infrastructure. The changes in ownership laws are an important milestone, and we provide an analysis of what this means for the industry and the various players involved.
Read NowFaisal Raad - Special Consultant - Banking and Finance
This article provides an overview of key matters arising in connection with Jordan’s Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (No.20 of 2017) (‘Disabilities Law’) with a focus on its application to the banking industry.
The Jordanian Constitution states that all “Jordanians shall be equal before the law. There shall be no discrimination between them as regards to their rights and duties on grounds of race, language or religion…. The Government shall ensure work and education within the limits of its possibilities, and it shall ensure a state of tranquillity and equal opportunities to all Jordanians”. While Jordan has made significant progress in the pursuit of perfecting such lofty ideals as they apply to persons with disabilities, there remain significant challenges before this can be fully achieved.
It is estimated that over 10 per cent of the Jordanian population are living with some form of disability, and indeed, Jordan is rightfully considered a regional trailblazer in seeking to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are effectively protected and accommodated. This includes efforts by both private and public sectors to rehabilitate their premises to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities and running campaigns to increase public awareness and empathy regarding the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in the health, employment, education, and transportation sectors.
In line with these objectives, and prompted by Jordan’s continued commitment under previous local and international legislation, including the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ratified on 31 March 2008), Jordan passed the Disabilities Law, which is generally considered to be one of the most progressive and developed laws in the MENA region with respect to the rights of persons with disabilities. To quote HRH Prince Mired Raad Zeid Al Hussein, the President of the Higher Council for People with Disabilities: “Jordan created a paradigm shift in disability rights with the issuance of the [Disabilities Law]; a product which culminated from in-depth and thorough examinations of legislative reviews and extensive technical consultations with stakeholders in the field, ranging from individuals, organisations and families, to workers, supporters and those actively concerned with disability issues.”
The Disabilities Law defines a person with disabilities to be “a person who has long-term physical, sensory, intellectual, mental, psychological or neurological impairment, which, as a result of interaction with other physical and behavioural barriers, may hinder performance by such person of one of the major life activities or hinder the independent exercise by such person of any right or basic freedom…”. This definition is a uniquely broad and holistic way of defining a person with disabilities, which not only takes into account the medical condition of the person, but goes further to include the surrounding physical and social environment in which they find themselves on a daily basis. Under this definition of a person with disabilities:
The Disabilities Law, for the first time in Jordanian legislative history, expressly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of a disability, which is defined as being “every limitation, restriction, exclusion, nullification or denial either direct or indirect due to disability of any rights or freedoms stated in this Law or in any other law, and that constitutes discrimination on the basis of disability and reluctance to provide reasonable accommodation contrary to the provisions of this Law.”
This prohibition on discrimination is intended to encompass all aspects and day-to-day activities of a person with disabilities, including without limitation, activities relating to the banking industry. On this point, Article 43 of the Disabilities Law (‘Article 43’) states that “it is impermissible to exclude a person or restrict a person’s access to banking and credit services on the basis of, or because of, disability”.
Further, Article 43 sets out obligations, standards and processes to be observed and adhered to by all banks and non-banking financial services’ companies (to the extent applicable), including:
Article 43 also authorises and instructs the Central Bank of Jordan to monitor the banking sector’s implementation of these requirements. Consequently, and shortly after the promulgation of the Disabilities Law, the Central Bank of Jordan issued the Instructions of Financial Consumer Protection for Customers with Disabilities No. (18/ 2018) (‘Instructions’), the stated purpose of which is to “protect the consumers of financial and banking services on the basis of equality among all segments of the society without any form of discrimination or derogation of the rights of any of them, and with the aim of deepening financial inclusion in Jordan and empowering all segments of society to access financial and banking services,” and are meant to “to remove all physical and behavioural barriers which impede or hinder access to the banking and financial services by customers with disabilities…”
These Instructions direct banks and non-banking financial services’ companies (as applicable) to, and among other things:
With respect to the paramount point of Accessibility which is defined under the Disabilities Law as “the construction of buildings, roads, facilities, and other public and private sector venues in a way that is accessible to all the public, and making adjustments in accordance with the Building Code Requirements for Persons with Disabilities….”, the Instructions require that:
The Instructions further emphasise the importance of raising not only the level of competency of banking personnel about the needs and requirements of persons with disabilities, but also the level of awareness and knowledge of persons with disabilities of the banking sector and how it operates. To this end, the Instructions mandate that all banks are to coordinate with the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Central Bank of Jordan, charities and other relevant entities to raise the level of awareness of persons with disabilities regarding their right to use the financial and banking services as well as their duties and responsibilities regarding the use of these services. Banks are also required to make available on their websites and social media (if any) information dedicated to persons with disabilities, including relevant banking services and products, and how to apply for them.
In order to ensure effective adherence to the above, the Instructions require banks to provide the Central Bank of Jordan with annual reports on clients with disabilities, including the number of such clients, the type of disability, the services and products provided to them, the relevant branches they are dealing with, and recommendations, if any, of amendments to banking processes and procedures as they apply to persons with disabilities.
These sweeping legislative changes go a significant way towards advancing Jordan’s progress and commitment to developing the appropriate legal infrastructure to effectively protect the rights and interests of persons with disabilities, and provided the appropriate levels of political and financial support remain steadfast, Jordan is expected to achieve greater strides in its continued pursuit of enhancing the quality of lives of all Jordanians living with disabilities.
For further information, please contact Faisal Raad (f.raad@tamimi.com)
To learn more about our services and get the latest legal insights from across the Middle East and North Africa region, click on the link below.