This Update is produced on a monthly basis. It provides an update on new legislation in certain Middle East countries (Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates) where SNR Denton has offices. We also include Turkey and Lebanon updates from our affiliate and associate firms in Istanbul and Beirut respectively.
This Update is not an exhaustive list of all new legislation, but a summary of new legislation that we feel may be significant for clients. Should you require further detail on any of the laws referred to in this Update, please contact the relevant managing partner. Please note that, in some jurisdictions, new laws may come into effect which have not been officially published in the publications we have reviewed as mentioned below. Also, some of the official publications in these jurisdictions are not published on a regular basis.
Gulf Cooperation Council
No relevant news since the last edition of this Update.
Bahrain
New legislation is published weekly in the Official Gazette.
No relevant new legislation since the last edition of this Update.
Egypt
New legislation is published weekly in the Official Gazette.
Ministerial Decree No. 626 of the year 2011
Amends the Import & Export Law and The Examination and Control System of Procedures on Imported and Exported Commodities in relation to the import of textile manufacturing products.
Promulgated on 17 November 2011 Effective 21 November 2011
Ministerial Decree No. 660 of the year 2011
Amends the Import & Export Law and The Examination and Control System of Procedures on Imported and Exported Commodities in relation to the import of leather products.
Promulgated on 24 November 2011 Effective 25 November 2011
Jordan
New legislation is published in the Official Gazette. There is no set date for publication.
No relevant new legislation since the last edition of this Update.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
New legislation is published once a week in the Official Gazette.
No relevant new legislation since the last edition of this Update.
Kuwait
New legislation is published weekly in the Official Gazette.
No relevant new legislation since the last edition of this Update.
Lebanon
New legislation is published weekly in the Official Gazette.
No relevant new legislation since the last edition of this Update.
Qatar
New legislation is published monthly in the Official Gazette.
No relevant new legislation since the last edition of this Update.
Sultanate of Oman
New legislation is published twice monthly in the Official Gazette.
No relevant new legislation since the last edition of this Update.
Turkey
New legislation is published daily in the Official Gazette.
Regulation Introducing Amendments to the Electricity Market Ancillary Services Regulation (Official Gazette No. 28145)
Introduces new provisions to certification principles governing the ancillary services, charging of primary frequency services and selection of generation facilities providing secondary frequency control.
Amends provisions regarding the cost of establishing a reserve for ancillary services, performance tests, ancillary service agreements with respect to the reactive power control as well as payment notifications and invoicing ancillary services.
Promulgated on 17 December 2011 Effective 17 December 2011
Regulation Introducing Amendments to the Regulation on Permits and Licences to be granted Pursuant to the Environmental Law (Official Gazette No. 28159)
Amends Annexes 3B and 3C, which include the "Temporary Activity Application Form" and "Information and Documents to be presented at the Stage of Completion of Environmental Permit and Licence Procedure".
Promulgated on 31 December 2011 Effective 31 December 2011
Capital Market Board (CMB) Communiqué on Determination and Application of the Corporate Governance principles, Serial IV, No. 56 (Official Gazette No. 28158)
Provides a list of corporate governance principles concerning "Shareholders", "Public Disclosure and Transparency", "Stakeholders" and "Board of Directors".
Makes compliance with some of the corporate governance principles (i.e. issues to be announced through the company’s website, transfer and lease of significant assets, election and powers of independent Board members etc.) binding upon the listed joint stock companies in the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
Promulgated on 30 December 2011 Effective 30 December 2011
United Arab Emirates
New legislation is published monthly in the Federal and Local Gazettes.
No relevant new legislation since the last edition of this Update.
