In this article, Rebecca Ford, partner in Clyde & Co's Dubai office considers the key rules and the potential impact of the new legislation, and implications for employers.

On 20 July 2015, the UAE announced its adoption of a new Federal law on preventing discrimination and hatred. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, announced that the law "guarantees the freedom of individuals from religious intolerance ... and underpins the UAE's policy of inclusiveness." The new legislation is a significant development in the UAE and has been widely welcomed.

Although the main aim of the law appears to be to combat religious contempt or intolerance (with a particular emphasis on preventing extremism), it also introduces a definition of discrimination. Discrimination is prohibited both in the context of the incitement, facilitation or act of religious contempt or other intolerance, but also as a stand-alone punishment–that provision is presumably aimed at combating extremism and terrorism, the drafting of the prohibition is quite wide so it could potentially have an impact in other circumstances.

The law creates a number of new criminal offences and states that freedom of expression will not be a defence for actions breaching the law. The offences can be broadly categorised as those which relate to

  • Religious contempt
  • Discrimination
  • Hatred
  • The incitement or facilitation of these acts

Religious Contempt

It is an offence to show religious contempt, which means committing an act that may offend God, the three main religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism), prophets, messengers, holy books or houses of worship (mosques, churches and temples).

Further offences include:

  • Offending, disparaging or shedding doubt about the Divine Entity
  • Offending, disrespecting or otherwise ridiculing or disparaging any of the religions or any of their ceremonies or holy places or interruption of licensed religious ceremonies or festivals or preventing them by violence or threats
  • Assault of any of the heavenly books by any means
  • Offending, disrespecting or otherwise ridiculing or disparaging any of the prophets or the messengers or their wives, families or companions
  • The destruction or damage of any house of worship, cemetery and tombs or their annexes or any of their contents

Penalties for breach of these offences range from fines of between AED 250,000 and AED 2 million (approximately USD 68,000 and USD 544,000) and minimum prison sentences of five or seven years, depending on the offence.

Discrimination

Discrimination is defined as any distinction, limitation, exception or preference among individuals or communities on the basis of religion, Islamic Mathhab, belief, sect, faith, creed, race, colour or ethnic origin. However, the law expressly excludes from discrimination any advantage, preference or benefit conferred on women, children, the disabled, elderly by any other UAE law.

Committing an act that creates any form of discrimination, by any "means of expression" is punishable by a minimum prison sentence of five years and fines of between AED 500,000 and AED 1 million (approximately USD 136,000 and USD 272,000). An "expression" is any saying, writing, drawing, signal, photography, singing, act or mime and "means" covers the internet, telecommunications network, websites, industrial materials, information technology devices, or any written, audio, or visual means.

Hatred

There are specific offences for arousing hatred speech (defined as any saying or act that may arouse sedition, dissent, or discrimination among individuals or communities), as well as using ways of expression or means to arouse tribal differences in order to encourage hatred among individuals or communities.

Similar penalties apply as those for discrimination.

Incitement and facilitation

Where a public employee commits any of these offences, while they are performing their role (or because of their role), or where the person has a "religious capacity", or where the act is committed in a house of worship, the penalties increase, to up to AED 2 million (approximately USD 544,000) if the act adversely affects public peace.

In addition, there are offences relating to the production, circulation and possession of media in any form that are discriminatory or provoke contempt or hatred. As would be expected, possession of such materials is a lesser offence and carries lower penalties, although the minimum prison sentence is still one year and the minimum fine is AED 50,000 (approximately USD 13,000).

Similarly, those creating or managing any organisation that engages in religious contempt, discrimination or hatred, or encourages or tempts others to do so, will be imprisoned for a minimum of ten years. Anyone joining such groups will be imprisoned for a minimum of seven years, and for those who hold or attend a conference or meeting with the same purpose will be imprisoned for at least five years. Any such meetings can be ended "by force, if necessary". The Courts also have powers to dissolve any group or organisation that engages in activities that are contrary to the law, and to confiscate their assets. Any expatriates who are convicted under this law will be deported once they have served their sentence.

Wider implications of the law

Although the law is ostensibly a criminal law, it is expected to have wide-reaching application.

In an employment context, managers will have to be alert to potential issues posed by employees with competing interests or ideas. One person's beliefs could, depending on the manner and context in which they are expressed, cause offence and give rise to potential claims under the new law.

However, what is likely to concern employers most is joint liability for representatives, managers or agents of a company if any of their employees commit an offence in the name and on behalf of the company, the manager or representative will receive the same penalty as the perpetrator if it is proved they were aware of it.

While this provision is presumably aimed primarily at organisations and other bodies set up to incite or facilitate the criminal acts referred to above, nevertheless, we recommend that employers ensure that key policies, such as those relating to social media, are up to date. Employees must understand that they cannot make unauthorised comments (of any nature, but in particular, those which may be considered offensive or breach this law) that could be attributed to the organisation as a whole, particularly where this is done during work time and/or the employee uses the company's telecommunications systems.

Internal policies should make it clear what is and what is not acceptable and employees should be informed of the consequences of breaching the rules, namely dismissal.

Employers should be mindful that anyone who commits an offence under the law will not be given a penalty if they report the crime before it is detected. If however they report the crime after it is detected, they will only be discharged if their report leads to the arrest of other offenders. Accordingly, employers must act quickly and inform the authorities if any suspected breach of the law comes to light.

It was announced recently that the first lawsuit under the new law is likely to be against Dr Mohammed Al Hadif, for tweets criticising the UAE and inciting hatred. How the new law will be enforced and how the case against Dr Mohammed Al Hadif will play out remains to be seen, but the new law will undoubtedly play a significant role in preserving and contributing to the on-going stability of UAE society.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.