The UAE is redefining bank check transactions as a powerful fulfillment...

The UAE is redefining bank check transactions as a powerful fulfillment tool in commercial transactions

It comes as an important motive to support the economic, legislative and social sectors

Dubai: «Middle East»

The UAE has redefined cases of criminalizing bank checks through an amendment adopted by the Council of Ministers in some provisions of the Federal Law on Commercial Transactions, which included amending the provision for bounced checks or issuing checks without balance contained in the Penal Code, by providing advanced and fast civil mechanisms to collect its value.
According to the amendments required by the decree of the law, which will be enforced starting from the beginning of 2022, which included redefining the criminalization cases related to the check and defining them to include the offenses of counterfeiting checks, fraud using checks by giving an order to the bank not to cash the check without any right, and withdrawing the entire balance before the date of issuing the check. And intentionally writing or signing the check in a way that prevents it from being cashed, the criminalization currently contained in the Penal Code regarding the check has been canceled, especially with regard to issuing checks without balance, except for the cases mentioned in the Decree-Law.
The amendments also included the provision of a set of mechanisms and alternatives that ensure that the check value is collected in the fastest and simplest way possible, including obligating the bank to partially fulfill the check after deducting the full amount available to the beneficiary, and making the bounced checks an executive document to be executed directly by the execution judge in the court, in addition to Emphasis on the means of protection against the criminal case and facilitating its procedures, with the equality between reconciliation and payment of the check value as a basis for the expiry of the criminal case or the suspension of the execution of the adjudged punishment.
The amendments introduced a number of ancillary penalties, such as withdrawing the check book from the convicted person, preventing him from giving him new books for a maximum period of 5 years, stopping the professional or commercial activity, and penalties for the legal person – except for banks and financial institutions – were introduced, including a financial fine, and suspension of the license to practice the activity for a period of 6 Months, revoking the license or dissolving the legal person when the violation is repeated.
The amendments shorten the judicial procedures for a civil claim to the value of the check by granting the beneficiary the right to submit a direct request to the execution judge in the court to execute the funds of the source of the check in the event of its return without disbursement, which is in line with the government’s strategy aimed at facilitating litigation and speeding up adjudication of cases.
This amendment to the provisions of the law will contribute to enhancing the strength of the check as a fulfillment tool in commercial transactions. The amendments to the law constitute a qualitative step and an important motivation to support the economic, legislative and social sectors, which would contribute to achieving the strategic objectives of many national indicators aimed at supporting the process of societal development by establishing the concept of “a safe society and a just judiciary”, in addition to enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy and increasing its attractiveness. Through the continuous development of legislation to accommodate the changes and developments taking place in various sectors.
In addition to the amendments related to returned checks issued without balance, the amendments to the decree-law also included that in the event that a joint account was opened between two and more persons, and when one of the joint account holders dies or loses legal capacity, the rest of the joint account holders must notify the bank of this within a period not exceeding 10 days from the date of death or disqualification, and from the date of its notification, the bank must stop withdrawing from the joint account within the limits of the person’s share of the account balance on the day of his death or loss of capacity, and it is not permissible to withdraw from his share until the successor is appointed.