Abu Dhabi Financial Centre to add independent appeals panel

Abu Dhabi’s new international financial centre plans to establish an appeals panel to work alongside its regulatory committee which will be staffed by four senior UK barristers.

Abu Dhabi Financial Centre to add independent appeals panel

|

In a statement released on its website, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) said the panel will have the legal powers to  “review and determine decisions” originally made by the regulatory committee set up on 26 January 2016.

The authority said this will “ensure proper observance of due process and procedural fairness of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA)”.

Independent panel

The appeals panel will comprise four Queen’s Coucils (QCs): Michael Brindle; Patricia Roberston; Rachel Eng and Mark Hapgood. It will also be fully independent of ADGM’s other departments including its court system.

Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, chairman of ADGM, said the new panel will provide a “robust mechanism” for strengthening the Emirate’s regulatory framework to bring it into line with international standards.

“As an International Financial Centre, ADGM will continuously align itself to international expectations and practice to ensure its framework is on par with international financial regulatory standards,” he said.

ADGM launch

ADGM, the newest financial centre in the Middle East, and its Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) opened for business in the United Arab Emirates in October last year.

At the time of its launch, the regulator said it was created to enable registered companies and individual to conduct business in “an international regulatory framework with its own independent judicial system”.

The ADGM has three independent bodies – the Registration Authority, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority and ADGM Courts.

MORE ARTICLES ON