Law No. (26) of 2021
Amending Law No. (4) of 2013
Concerning Notaries Public in the Emirate of Dubai[1]
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We, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of
Dubai,
After perusal of:
Federal Law No. (1) of 2006 Concerning Electronic Transactions and
e-Commerce;
Federal Law No. (4) of 2013 Regulating the Notary Public Profession
and its amendments;
Law No. (2) of 2002 Concerning Electronic Transactions and
e-Commerce;
Law No. (3) of 2003 Establishing the Executive Council of the
Emirate of Dubai;
Law No. (4) of 2013 Concerning Notaries Public in the Emirate of
Dubai (the “Original Law”);
Law No. (13) of 2016 Concerning the Judicial Authorities in the
Emirate of Dubai and its amendments; and
Executive Council Resolution No. (4) of 2014 Approving the Fees and
Fines Related to Notaries Public in the Emirate of Dubai,
Do hereby issue this Law.
Articles (2), (4), (7), (8), (10), (14), (20), (33), (34), (35),
(36), (37), (39), (43), and (44) of the Original Law are hereby superseded by
the following:
Definitions
Article (2)
The following words and expressions, wherever mentioned in this
Law, will have the meaning indicated opposite each of them unless the context
implies otherwise:
|
UAE: |
The United
Arab Emirates. |
|
Emirate: |
The Emirate
of Dubai. |
|
Executive
Council: |
The
Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai. |
|
Judicial
Council: |
The Judicial
Council of the Emirate. |
|
Courts: |
The Dubai
Courts. |
|
Court: |
The Court of
First Instance at the Courts. |
|
Chief
Justice: |
The chief
justice of the Court. |
|
Directorate: |
The Notary
Public Directorate at the Courts. |
|
Notary
Public: |
A Government
Notary Public, a Private Notary Public, an employee of a Government entity
registered on the Roll, or the e-Notary Public. |
|
Government
Notary Public: |
A public
servant appointed at the Courts and assigned the functions stipulated in this
Law.
|
|
Private
Notary Public: |
A natural
person registered on the Roll to exercise certain functions of the Government
Notary Public pursuant to this Law. |
|
e-Notary
Public: |
An
Electronic system that performs certain functions assigned to Government
Notaries Public pursuant to this Law without any human intervention and
without the need for the Concerned Parties to appear in person at the office of the Notary Public. |
|
Committee: |
The Notary
Public Affairs Committee. |
|
Grievances
Committee: |
A committee
formed at the Courts to consider and determine the grievances submitted to it
by Notaries Public, Firms, or Concerned Parties against any decision or
procedure taken against them under this Law and the resolutions issued in
pursuance hereof. |
|
Roll: |
The paper or
electronic record maintained by the Courts in which Private Notaries Public
and employees of Government Entities, who meet the conditions and
requirements stipulated in this Law, are registered. |
|
Firm: |
Any company
or sole proprietorship duly licensed to operate in the Emirate and authorised by the Courts
to provide Notary Public services. |
|
Authorisation: |
A document
issued by the Courts authorising a Firm to provide Notary Public services in
accordance with the requirements and procedures stipulated in this Law and
the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof. |
|
Instrument: |
Any document
or contract which is registered or attested by a Notary Public, or whose date
is validated by a Notary Public, in accordance with the provisions of this
Law or any other legislation. |
|
Instrument
File: |
The file
which contains the signatures of Concerned Parties and in which the Notary
Public keeps an original
copy of the Instrument
and the documents related thereto. |
|
Registration: |
Creating or
drafting a document or a contract by the Notary Public at the request of the
Concerned Parties, and recording it in the registers maintained for this
purpose. |
|
Attestation: |
Manual or
Electronic certification of the authenticity of the signature or thumb
fingerprint of a Concerned Party. |
|
Date
Validation: |
Validating
the date of an Instrument by a Notary Public. |
|
Concerned
Party: |
A person who
requests a Notary Public to process an application in accordance with the
provisions of this Law. |
|
Translator: |
A legal translator
certified by the competent authority to translate from a foreign language
into the Arabic language, and vice versa. |
Notary Public work in the Emirate may be performed only by:
1.
Government Notaries Public;
2.
Private Notaries Public;
3.
the employees of Government Entities registered on the Roll; and
4.
the e-Notary Public.
To be appointed as a Government Notary Public, a person must:
1.
be a UAE national;
2.
be of full capacity;
3.
be of good conduct and repute; and not have been sentenced by a definitive judgement
for a felony or misdemeanour affecting honour or trustworthiness, even if he
has been rehabilitated or pardoned;
4.
be a holder of a bachelor of laws, a bachelor
of Sharia and law, or an equivalent degree from a university or an institute
accredited in the Emirate;
5.
be medically fit to perform his job duties;
6.
not have been dismissed from service pursuant to a definitive
judgment or a final disciplinary decision;
7.
successfully pass the prescribed tests and interviews; and
8.
meet any other conditions determined pursuant to the relevant
resolutions of the Director of the Courts.
a.
A permanent committee named the “Notary Public Affairs Committee”
will be formed pursuant to a resolution of the President of the Courts. The
resolution will appoint the chairman and members of the Committee, who must include one or more
Judges of the Courts. The resolution forming the Committee will determine its
terms of reference, the quorum of its meetings, and the procedures for passing
its resolutions.
b.
In addition to the functions assigned to it under this Law, the
Committee will have the duties and powers to:
1.
determine applications to register and renew the registration of
Private Notaries Public;
2.
determine applications filed by Government Entities to register and
renew the registration of their employees on the Roll;
3.
determine applications for issuing and renewal of Authorisations of
Firms;
4.
determine applications submitted by Firms to suspend their
activities;
5.
determine applications for transferring Private Notaries Public
between Firms;
6.
determine, and take the necessary action in respect of, the appeals
filed by Concerned Parties against the actions taken against them by Firms,
Private Notaries Public, and employees of Government Entities registered on the
Roll, in accordance with this Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance
hereof;
7.
consider, and render decisions
on, the violations
committed by Firms, Private Notaries Public, and employees of Government
Entities registered on the Roll and the complaints against them; and take the necessary action in
respect of these violations and complaints, including imposition of the
penalties stipulated by this Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance
hereof; and
8.
exercise any other duties or powers assigned to it by the President
of the Courts.
To be registered on the Roll, a person must:
1.
meet the requirements stipulated in Article (7) of this Law. The
Director of the Courts may
exempt any person, whether or not he is a national of an Arab country, from the requirement to be a UAE
national as stipulated in sub-paragraph (1) of Article (7) of this Law,
provided that he is proficient in written and spoken Arabic;
2.
perform the Government Notary Public functions assigned
to him on a full time basis. Nevertheless, upon an approval issued by the
Director of the Courts based on the recommendation of a Government Entity requesting to register its employee on the Roll, or based on the Committee's recommendation in case of a practitioner of a profession licensed in the Emirate, the employee or
practitioner may perform Government Notary Public work, in addition to practising his profession or performing his original job duties, as the case may be. That approval
will be issued in accordance
with the requirements determined pursuant to the relevant resolution of the
Director of the Courts.
3.
have practised a judicial or legal profession within the UAE for a
period of not less than two (2) years;
4.
pay the fee prescribed for registration on the Roll; and
5.
meet any other requirements determined pursuant to the relevant
resolution issued by the Director of the Courts.
a.
A Firm must:
1.
display its Authorisation at a prominent place for easy reference
by the public;
2.
notify the Directorate of all Private Notaries Public employed by
the Firm, and of any variation of their details, as recorded in the Roll, within
five (5) working days from the date of that variation;
3.
obtain the Directorate’s prior approval of any amendment or variation
of the details of the licence issued to the Firm by the licensing authority;
4.
maintain, for the period prescribed by the Courts, a special record
of the details and completion dates of the applications processed by the Firm,
and the names of relevant parties;
5.
provide the equipment, records, documents, technology, and systems
required to provide Notary Public services;
6.
electronically archive Instruments, and the documents related thereto, and send
their original copies to the Directorate within five (5) working days from the
date of processing the Instruments; and
7.
perform any other obligations determined pursuant to the relevant resolutions of the Director of the Courts.
b.
The Firm will be fully liable for any faults committed by the
Private Notaries Public employed by it. This includes the liability to pay the
fines prescribed by this Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof. A Firm must pay the fines within thirty
(30) days from the day following the expiry date of the grievance time limit,
or from the day following the date on which the resolution of the Grievances
Committee is issued under this Law, failing which, the Authorisation of the Firm will be suspended until full payment of these fines.
c.
The Courts will not be liable to third parties for any damage they
may sustain as a result of the provision by a Firm of the Notary Public services under this Law
and the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof.
a.
A Notary
Public will have the following functions:
1.
to undertake the Registration of all types of documents
and contracts as prescribed by law or requested by Concerned Parties;
2.
to undertake the Attestation of the signatures of Concerned Parties on all types of
documents and contracts upon their request;
3.
to undertake the Date Validation of all types of documents and contracts by assigning them serial numbers in the
records maintained for this purpose, registering the dates on which they are
filed and signed by the Notary Public, and stamping them with the official
seal;
4.
to undertake the Registration and Attestation of affidavits after administering
oath to Concerned Parties, and enter the same in the records maintained for this purpose;
5.
to undertake Attestation to the authenticity of recognised
signatures on marriage contracts for non-Muslims, and on documents issued by the places of worship and religious entities
licensed in the Emirate;
6.
to affix the executory formula on the Instruments registered or attested by him, pursuant to the provisions of Article
(34) this Law;
7.
to undertake the Attestation of wills made by non-Muslims; and
8.
to perform any other functions vested in him pursuant to the
legislation in force in the Emirate or assigned to him by the Director of the
Courts or the Chief Justice of the Court.
b.
Pursuant to the relevant resolution of the Director of the Courts,
Private Notaries Public, and employees of Government Entities who are
registered on the Roll, may be assigned any of the Government Notary Public
functions set forth in paragraph (a) of this Article.
c.
The Director of the Courts may assign the provision of one or more of the Government Notary
Public services to the e-Notary Public.
a.
The validity of an Instrument processed by a Notary Public may not
be prejudiced by any material typographical or mathematical error made by him. The Notary Public must correct any such
errors in accordance with the relevant procedures prescribed by the Director of
the Courts.
b.
Where a Concerned Party makes an error related to any data or
information included in the Instrument, the Notary Public may, at the request
of that Concerned Party, correct the error in accordance with the relevant
procedures prescribed by the Director of the Courts.
a.
At the request of a Concerned Party, a Notary Public will affix the
executory formula stamp to any Instrument which is registered or attested by
him in accordance with this Law where this Instrument includes established and
enforceable obligations whose amount is specified. The Concerned Parties may be
delivered only one (1) copy of that Instrument.
b.
An additional copy of the Instrument to which the executory formula
stamp is affixed may be delivered to a Concerned Party only pursuant to a
written order of the Chief Justice of the Court, or any Judge of the Court authorised by him,
in the event of loss of, or impossibility to use, the first copy for any
reason.
a. The work of a
Notary Public may, in
accordance with the rules prescribed by the Director of the Courts, be performed by means
of digital processes, including any acts or procedures related to identity
verification, remote communication, Electronic Signature, payment of fees, or other matters. These acts and procedures will be deemed valid and
legally effective without requiring the Concerned Parties to appear in person
before the Notary
Public.
b. A traditional or Electronic Instrument
processed by a Notary Public will have the evidentiary value of an official
document, as prescribed by the legislation in force. The validity of the
Instrument may only be challenged by claiming forgery.
a.
A committee named the “Grievances Committee” will be formed
pursuant to a resolution of the President of the Courts. The resolution will
determine the chairman and members of the Grievances Committee, who must include
one or more Judges of the Courts. The resolution will also determine the terms of reference of the Grievances Committee, the quorum of its meetings, and the
procedures for passing its resolutions.
b.
The Grievances Committee will have the duties and powers to:
1.
consider and determine the grievances filed by Notaries Public and
Firms in respect of the decisions, penalties, measures, or actions taken
against them under this Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof;
2.
consider and determine the grievances filed by Concerned Parties in
respect of the decisions, actions, or measures taken against them under this
Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof; and
3.
exercise any other duties or powers assigned to it by the President
of the Courts.
The following procedures will be followed in filing grievances:
1.
A grievance will be submitted to the Directorate on the form
prescribed by it for this purpose within fifteen (15) days from the date of
issuance of the contested decision, penalty, measure, or action in case it is
rendered in the presence
of the Concerned Party; or from the date of being notified of the same in case it is rendered in absentia.
2.
The Directorate will present the grievance to the Grievances Committee for determination within
five (5) working days from the date of its submission.
3.
The Grievances Committee may request the grievant to provide it with any documents
required for determining the grievance. The grievant must provide the
Grievances Committee with these documents within the time frame prescribed by it.
4.
The Grievances Committee will determine the grievance presented to
it within thirty (30) days from the date of presenting it by the Directorate. Where the Grievances
Committee requests the grievant
to provide it with additional documents, the grievance will be determined within
thirty (30) days from the date of providing the Grievances Committee with these documents. The decision of the Grievances Committee in
respect of the grievance will be final.
a.
Firms and Notaries Public will be subject to inspection in
accordance with the relevant procedures prescribed by the resolution issued by
the Director of the Courts in this respect.
b.
The Committee may not impose any penalty on a
Firm or Notary Public unless a written interrogation is conducted, and the statements and defence of the Firm or Notary Public, as the case may
be, are
heard.
c.
The Committee hearings, interrogations, and deliberations will be
held in camera.
The Employees of the Directorate nominated pursuant to a resolution
of the Director of the Courts will have the capacity of law enforcement
officers to record the acts committed in breach of the provisions of this Law
and the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof. For this purpose, they may
issue the necessary violation reports; and, where necessary, seek the
assistance of police personnel.
a.
In return for the services provided by Notaries Public in
accordance with this Law, for issuing Authorisations, for registration on the
Roll, and for other services relating to Firms, Private Notaries Public, and Government Entity employees registered on the Roll, the
fees determined pursuant to the relevant resolution of the Chairman of the Executive Council will be
collected.
b.
Applications submitted by federal or local Government Entities in
the Emirate will be exempt from payment of the fees prescribed for Notary
Public services.
This Law will be published in the Official
Gazette and will come into force on the day on which it is published.
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Ruler of Dubai
Issued in Dubai
on 18 November 2021
Corresponding to
13 Rabi al-Thani 1443 A.H.
©2022 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.