Law No. (17)
of 2005
Establishing
the
Roads and
Transport Authority[1]
ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــ
We, Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai,
After perusal of:
The Dubai Police Law of 1966;
Decree of 1961 Establishing Dubai Municipality;
Law No. (5) of 1994 Establishing Dubai Transport Corporation and
its amendments;
Law No. (7) of 2002 Regulating Roads in the Emirate of Dubai; and
Executive Council Resolutions No. (6) of 2003 and No. (3) of 2005
Forming the Permanent Supreme Road Traffic Committee,
Do hereby issue this Law.
This law will be cited as “Law No. (17) of 2005 Establishing the
Roads and Transport Authority”.
The following
words and expressions will have the meaning indicated
opposite each of them unless the context implies otherwise:
Ruler: |
His Highness the Ruler of the
Emirate of Dubai. |
Emirate: |
The Emirate of Dubai. |
Government: |
The Government of Dubai. |
RTA: |
The Roads and Transport
Authority. |
Chairman: |
The chairman of the RTA. |
Board of Directors: |
The board of directors of the RTA. |
Executive Director: |
The executive director of the RTA. |
Pursuant to this Law, a public authority named the “Roads and
Transport Authority” (RTA) is established. The RTA will have an independent legal
personality and the legal capacity required to undertake all acts and
dispositions that ensure the achievement of its objectives. It may enter into
agreements with third parties, sue and be sued in its own name, and appoint any
person to represent it for these purposes. The RTA will be owned by the
Government.
The head office of the RTA will be located in Dubai. The RTA may establish
offices anywhere else within or outside of the Emirate.
Notwithstanding the provisions of any
other legislation, the RTA will undertake the planning
and provision of the requirements of transport, roads, and traffic in the
Emirate, between the Emirate and other emirates of the UAE, and between the
Emirate and neighbouring countries, with a view to providing an efficient and
integrated transport system to achieve the vision of the Emirate and serve its
vital interests through:
1.
setting comprehensive strategic plans related to the transport, roads, and traffic of
the Emirate of Dubai, in coordination with the concerned entities within or
outside of the Emirate;
2.
preparing, developing, and
implementing the policies required to maximise the benefit from all available transport and traffic facilities such
as roads, vehicles, buses, trains, and maritime transport;
3.
studying and approving the
privatisation of certain services related to the work of the RTA;
4.
establishing, managing, and operating an integrated
system for transport, roads, and traffic in order to ensure the provision of
appropriate services in satisfaction of the needs of all segments of the
society in accordance with the highest standards of safety and quality;
5.
preparing the operational and administrative bylaws
and regulations relating to the work of the RTA;
6.
preparing the studies required for determining and
applying the fees related to roads, transport, and traffic, including tolls for
the use of the roads network, fees for licensing
drivers and vehicles, and mass transport fares;
7.
considering updating of legislation and procedures
relating to the registration and licensing of drivers and vehicles, and implementing this update in order to achieve the strategic
objectives of the transport system in the Emirate; and
8.
authorising public mass transport routes and all
activities relating to the work of the RTA.
For the purpose of performing its duties, the RTA may:
1.
own and take lease of real property,
movables, materials, devices, equipment, and software required for conducting
and accomplishing its work;
2.
be a shareholder or partner with entities,
persons, companies, and authorities within and
outside of the Emirate in areas related to its activities and duties, and conclude
the agreements required in this respect; and
3.
perform any other acts related to the work and objectives of the RTA.
A Chairman will be appointed to the RTA pursuant to a decree
issued by the Ruler.
Article (8)
Independent corporations, and companies conducting business in the
areas of roads, transport, and traffic, may be affiliated to the RTA, provided
that any such corporation or company is established by a resolution issued by
the Chairman of the Executive Council.
Article (9)
The RTA will be
managed by a Board of Directors comprised of a chairman and six (6) competent
and specialised members appointed pursuant to a resolution of the Chairman of
the RTA. The term of membership of the Board of Directors will be three (3)
years, renewable upon expiry.
Article (10)
The Board of Directors will manage the RTA and supervise its administrative,
technical, and financial affairs. It will make the decisions and apply the
procedures it deems appropriate for achieving the objectives and goals of the RTA
including:
1.
setting the general policy and project plans of the RTA and its affiliates;
2.
preparing the draft budget of the RTA
and its affiliates, and submitting this to the Executive Council for approval;
3.
preparing the organisational structure
and the bylaws related to regulating the administrative, financial, and technical
affairs of the RTA and its affiliates, and submitting these to the Executive
Council;
4.
approving the fees related to transport
in the Emirate including road tolls, public parking charges, vehicle
registration fees, and determining passenger transport fares; and
5.
appointing auditors and determining
their remuneration at the beginning of every financial year.
Article (11)
The Board of Directors will be convened at least once every one (1)
month at the invitation of its chairman. Meetings of the Board of Directors will
be valid only if attended by a quorum of at least five (5) members including its
chairman. Resolutions of the Board of Directors will be passed by the majority
vote of attending members, and in the event of a tie the chair of the meeting will
have the casting vote. Resolutions of the Board of Directors will be recorded
in minutes signed by the chair of the meeting and attending members.
Article (12)
1.
The Board of Directors may
form temporary or permanent sub-committees to assist it in performing its
duties. The Board of Directors will determine the functions and powers of these
sub-committees, and may delegate any of its powers to them.
2.
In performing its functions, the Board of Directors
may seek the assistance of experts and specialists whom it deems appropriate to invite to its meetings, provided that they do
not have the right to vote in its deliberations.
Article (13)
Neither the Board of Directors, nor its chairman, nor any of its members
will, in the course of managing the RTA and its operations, be liable to third
parties for any act or omission with respect to this management. The RTA will
be solely liable to third parties for such act or omission.
Article (14)
The chairman of the Board of Directors is the Executive Director
of the RTA, will represent it before third parties, and will, within the powers
vested in him, manage all its affairs to ensure the achievement of its
objectives including, but not limited to:
1.
implementing the
resolutions issued, and the general policy set, by the Board of Directors;
2.
drafting the annual budget of the RTA
and presenting it to the Board of Directors;
3.
supervising the work of the
executive body of the RTA;
4.
proposing the organisational
structure and the financial, administrative, and technical bylaws regulating
work at the RTA;
5.
supervising the work of the
corporations and entities affiliated to the RTA and signing the memoranda of
understanding required in this regard; and
6.
exercising any other powers vested
in him by the Board of Directors or stipulated by any resolution issued in
pursuance of this Law.
Article (15)
The executive body of the RTA will be comprised of the Executive
Director and a number of employees and administrative officers who will be governed
by the Employee Affairs Regulation of the Emirate of Dubai or any superseding
legislation.
Article (16)
Pursuant to this Law, all rights, liabilities, responsibilities,
and powers of the Roads Department, the Dubai Metro Sector, the Department of
Public Transport, the Road Maintenance Section, the Road Lighting Division of
the General Maintenance Department of Dubai Municipality, the Traffic Engineering
Section, the Traffic Safety Section, the Vehicle Registration Section, the
Driver Licensing Section, and the Plates Factory Section of the General
Department of Traffic at the Dubai Police General Headquarters will be
transferred to the RTA.
The RTA may transfer to its employment, as it deems appropriate,
any of the employees of the above-mentioned organisational units or appoint new
employees according to work requirements.
Article (17)
The financial resources
of the RTA will consist of:
1. the support allocated
to the RTA in the general budget of the Emirate;
2. fees and charges for
the services provided by the RTA to the public;
3. grants and gifts to
the RTA which are approved by the Chairman; and
4.
any other resources approved by the Executive Council.
Article (18)
The RTA will be exempt from all taxes and customs duties on all
its imports that are required for its operations and for the achievement of its
objectives.
Article (19)
In regulating its accounts and records, the RTA will follow the
rules and principles of commercial accounting. The financial year of the RTA will
commence on 1 January and will end on 31 December of each year, except that the
first financial year will commence on the day on which this Law comes into
force and will end on 31 December of the following year.
Article (20)
Any provision in any other resolution or legislation will be repealed
to the extent that it contradicts the provisions of this Law.
Article (21)
This Law will be published in the Official Gazette and will come
into force on the day on which it is issued.
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Ruler of Dubai
Issued in Dubai on 1 November
2005
Corresponding to 29 Ramadan
1426 A.H.
© 2015 The Supreme Legislation Committee in the
Emirate of Dubai
[1] Every effort
has been made to produce an accurate and complete English version of this
legislation. However, for the purpose of its interpretation and application,
reference must be made to the original Arabic text. In case of conflict the
Arabic text will prevail.