Dubai Internationl Finance Center DIFC A Financial "Free-Trade Zone"

Noah Shaikh, General Counsel, Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), UAE

In February of 2002, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced on behalf of the U.A.E. the intention to establish the Dubai International Financial Centre (the “Centre” or the “DIFC”) as a financial marketplace serving a region extending across the time zones between the financial centres of London and Hong Kong. Distinguishing the DIFC from other regional financial centres is a robust legal system based on the common law system and having an independent judiciary, a financial regulatory body and an administrative authority. The DIFC proposes its own laws and regulations for enactment, thus enabling DIFC entities to operate in a best-standards environment on par with those of major global centres. Since the DIFC’s inception in 2004, 26 DIFC laws to date have been enacted along with a number of regulations.