On 1 November 2023, the Board of the General Authority for Competition (“Authority”) announced that new financial thresholds would apply to determine whether a transaction is reportable to the Authority. By implementing such change, the aim of the Authority is to provide further clarity on the local nexus test required for a transaction to be notifiable to the Authority and to align the Saudi merger control regime further with international standards. This announcement follows the…
On 13 September 2023, the Communication Space & Technology Commission of Saudi Arabia (CST) proposed a draft law on Global Digital Content Safe Harbor (please find the draft law here). The proposed law is aimed at providing a legal framework for intermediary service providers hosting and transiting global digital content in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in a way that ensures no objection, deletion or modification of content hosted in and accessible within the…
In brief The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court of First Instance (DIFC Court) has considered in its recent Order of 19 September 2023 in Muhallam v Muhaf [ARB 021/2022] (the “Order”) whether a provisional award introducing interim measures is enforceable in the DIFC as an “award”. The dispute centred around the controversial issue of whether interim awards are final awards capable of recognition, including under the New York Convention. The DIFC Court held that…
End of Service Gratuity, Proposed Changes to DIFC Employment Law, Unemployment Insurance and More In brief There have been a raft of developments to the UAE’s employment regime over the last few months as the UAE government ramps up initiatives to attract and retain talent in the country. We have set out below a summary of the legal and commercial updates and key considerations for employers to comply with the changes and minimize potential business…
In brief The recent issue of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) official gazette published in early June 2023 includes the Resolution No. 1321/1444 of 6 June 2023 (“Resolution”) issued by KSA’s Minister of Finance. The resolution adopts: The model general arbitration submission agreement; and The model arbitration submission agreement providing for the arbitration in the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA). The Resolution follows the liberalization of the dispute resolution regime in KSA, specifically…