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Find out moreAs we witness the evolution of the regulatory landscape across the MENA region, it was timely for us to investigate and lift the lid, on what is keeping the region’s legal decision-makers awake at night.
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Read the full reportLisa Dale
September 2013
According to Article 9 of the New Decree, it shall come into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette. As at the date of preparing this article, the New Decree has not been published.
Background
Article 11(5) of Law No. (13) of 2008 Regulating the Interim Real Estate Register in the Emirate of Dubai, as amended by Law No. (9) of 2009, gave the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (“RERA”) authority to cancel a real estate project based on a reasoned technical report.
Executive Council Resolution No. (6) of 2010 approving the executive regulation of Law No. (13) of 2008 (the “Resolution”) sets out further details of the manner in which RERA is authorised to cancel a real estate project. In particular:
Article 23 of the Resolution sets out the nine (9) grounds pursuant to which RERA may resolve to cancel a real estate project, as follows:
Finally, Article 27 of the Resolution provides that if the developer fails to repay purchasers within the period established pursuant to Article 26, then RERA “shall take all the required procedures to secure the rights of the purchasers, including the reference of the issue to the competent judicial authorities”.
The special judicial committee (the “New Judicial Committee”) that is to be established pursuant to the New Decree will be the ‘competent judicial authority’ referred to in Article 27 of the Resolution.
Provisions of the New Decree
Firstly, it is important to note that the New Judicial Committee will only be concerned with real estate projects that have been cancelled by RERA pursuant to the procedures outlined above – the New Judicial Committee will not be involved at all in disputes arising between developers and purchasers in relation to real estate projects that have not been cancelled. In particular, Article 2A of the New Decree provides the New Judicial Committee the following powers:
To assist in the performance of its duties, Article 2B of the New Decree provides that the New Judicial Committee may do any of the following without limitation:
The New Judicial Committee will consist of one or more panels of judges from Dubai Courts. Each panel must have at least three (3) members (Article 1).
Article 3 of the New Decree establishes the exclusive authority of the New Judicial Committee in relation to cancelled real estate projects in the Emirate of Dubai. In particular:
Judgments, orders and resolutions issued by the New Judicial Committee shall be final and binding, not subject to appeal and can be enforced by the Execution Section of the Dubai Courts (Article 5).
Finally, it is worth noting that the liquidation procedures of real estate projects together with all demands, claims and issues handled by the New Judicial Committee are exempt from court fees (Article 7).
Future Developments
We will report further on the implementation of the New Decree when the New Judicial Committee has been established and further details of its modus operandi are available.
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