Dubai Crown Prince issues resolutions on higher education institutions in the emirate's Free Zone

Dubai: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, on Wednesday issued two Executive Council resolutions regarding institutions of higher education in the emirate's Free Zone, and the second regarding fees and fines pertaining to legal advice and practicing the law profession in Dubai.

The bylaws of resolution No. 21 of 2011, regarding educational institutions, states that the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) will be responsible for supervising all institutions in the Dubai free Zone, and will issue the preliminary permits for institutes applying for a commercial license. This will be done according to accredited criteria and conditions stated by the authority.

Institutions that are found to be violating any of the bylaws of the issued resolution will face fines as per the table attached to the resolution. If the institution repeats the violation within the same year, the fine amount will be doubled.

Resolution No. 22 stipulates that the Judicial Affairs department in the Dubai Government will be responsible for regulating the law profession and legal advice operations, including in Dubai Free Zone and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). It will also be responsible for registering lawyers and legal advisors and issuing licenses for legal offices.

The resolution forbids people from seeking such services from lawyers and legal advisors that are unlicensed by the Legal Affairs Department. The license must be displayed in a location that is easy to view by people visiting the legal office.

Any changes made by the office, such as the address, partners, management or name of the establishment or the number of legal advisors, must inform the department of the said changes within 10 working days. 

The resolutions define fines, violations, responsibilities of the KHDA and Legal Affairs department, among others.

Resolution No. 21 and 22 of 2011 come into effect from the date of their issuance and are to be published in the official gazette.