From 1 July 2021, the substantive implementation of key provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act will finally become enforceable, meaning that businesses that collect and process personal information of South Africans have only a few more weeks to ensure they are compliant with POPIA.
COVID-19 has revealed the high value of personal data to businesses around the world, while also highlighting its susceptibility to abuse and attack. Countries have responded by reviewing their data privacy and protections laws. In South Africa, the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act are new laws that will bring the country’s data protection and cybersecurity legislation in line with global standards.
The Global Financial Institutions Industry Podcast includes 13 episodes on the following topics: Operational Risk, Risk Management Guidelines, Fintech, Financial Institutions, Insurtech, Insurance and Financial Sponsors.
The UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) announced that any person or group proven to have violated the provisions of tax legislation has the right to apply to the FTA to reduce or be exempted from an administrative penalty, provided that there is an excuse acceptable to the FTA, and that there is evidence available justifying the excuse and the violation related thereto, which led to the imposition of an administrative penalty.
On April 28, 2021, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule amending and reissuing the Somalia Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 551 (“Regulations”) to further implement two existing Executive Orders, Executive Order 13536 of April 2010 and Executive Order 13620 of July 2012, and to replace the prior Somalia Sanctions Regulations that were published in May 2010 in abbreviated form.
On 26 March 2021 Saudi Arabia’s long awaited Privatisation Law was published, promulgated by Council of Ministers’ Resolution No. 436 dated 3/8/1442H (corresponding to 16 March 2021) and Royal Decree M/63 dated 5/8/1442H (corresponding to 18 March 2021) (the “Privatisation Law”). The Privatisation Law will come into effect 120 days after publication, and will provide a transparent and flexible regulatory framework for the procurement and documentation of Public Private Partnership projects (“PPPs”) and existing asset privatisations (“Asset Privatisations”) in the Kingdom (“Privatisation Projects”).
Travel restrictions implemented due to the pandemic have changed the way the majority of employers plan their workforce mobility programs. This is especially the case if they are based in countries included on travel red lists due to current high infection rates or different virus variants. While some sectors require employees to be physically present, in many others, remote working has taken off and is expected to remain a permanent feature of the modern workforce, even once cross-border travel has recovered.
Due to rapid advances in digitalization, retail banks are facing increasing client demand for hyper-personalised products and services. However, financial institutions must navigate a myriad of laws and regulations to ensure that in the process of creating hyper-personal solutions for their customers, they are not breaching their privacy.
On April 8, 2021, the US Treasury Department published an updated List of Countries Requiring Cooperation With An International Boycott (the “Treasury List”). Significantly, Treasury announced that it had removed the UAE from the Treasury List following the UAE’s repeal of its law requiring participation with the Arab League Boycott of Israel and subsequent implementation of the new policy.
Dubai senior associate Andrew Massey discusses the scenarios where the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts take jurisdiction over claims. Andrew also talks about how the DIFC Courts have adopted an expansive approach to jurisdiction over disputes and how it has introduced the necessary and proper party jurisdiction into DIFC law to help resolve multiparty and multijurisdictional disputes.