July 8, 2013: UAE Central Bank and UAE Banks Federation have signed today Monday (July 8, 2013) a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Courts, on regulations of appointing legal banking experts, following the MoU signed with the Ministry of Justice last year, to ensure the execution of the federal government strategy in modernizing laws and the federal economic legislations to keep up with UAE economic growth, and in line with the federal law 7/2012 on regulating legal experts' profession before UAE judicial authorities, which decided for the first time in UAE, to classify experts.
The MoU was signed at the Ministry of Justice premises in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of H.E. Dr. Hadef bin Jouan Al Dhaheri, Minister of Justice, and in the presence of H.E. AbdulAziz Abdulla Al Ghurair, Chairman of UAE Banks Federation; H.E Saeed Abdulla Al Hamiz, Assistant Governer for banking supervision, Central Bank; H.E. Dr. Ahmed Saeed Bin Hazim, Director General of Dubai Courts. The MoU is intended to promote, develop and regulate the legal experts' profession before the judicial authorities in the country, since banking disputes incorporate technical banking issues which are of sophisticated nature, given the ongoing dynamicity and continuous development of banking industry.
Based on the MoU, candidates wishing to obtain licenses to practice as legal banking experts in Dubai Courts, are requested to present their applications to Dubai Courts, who will be forwarding them to the Ministry of Justice, and thereafter referred to Central Bank for evaluation and opinion, and then sent back to Ministry of Justice, for decision making by the committee of examination of banking experts made up of Ministry of Justice, Central Bank and UAE Banks Federation. In coordination with the Ministry of Justice, The central bank has developed a mechanism and regulations to approve banking experts firms and their experts. Renewal of these firms will be evaluated by the above committee based on the regulations set by the Ministry of Justice.
In May 2012, a MoU was signed between the Ministry of Justice, Central Bank and UAE Banks Federation on regulations of appointing legal banking experts. The MoU included criteria and procedures of examination of banking experts in UAE courts and the mechanism for approval of banking experts firms and their experts. Following that, the UAE Central Bank and UAE Banks Federation have signed in June 2013 a MoU with Ras Al Khaimah Courts, on regulations of appointing legal banking experts.
The banking experts' role is highly important as the judicial authorities may entrust to them the task of providing reports on the technical aspects of banking disputes, under consideration by the courts, which requires the expert to have a high degree of competence and knowledge of the broad and technical nature of banking business.