Establishes the Abu Dhabi Global Market as an independent financial free zone governed by a Board of Directors, creates its three authorities (Registration Authority, Financial Services Regulatory Authority and ADGM Courts) and provides that activities inside ADGM are governed by this law and the ADGM Regulations, with Emirate laws generally not applying. Amended by Law No. 12 of 2020.
Abu Dhabi Law No. 4 of 2013 is the founding law of Abu Dhabi Global Market. Issued by the Ruler of Abu Dhabi on 19 February 2013 and effective from issuance (Article 25), it establishes the financial free zone created by Federal Decree No. 15 of 2013 as an entity with independent legal personality and financial and administrative independence, affiliated with the Government and called Abu Dhabi Global Market (Article 2).
A Board of Directors of at least five members is ADGM's supreme authority (Articles 4 and 6). Under Article 6 the Board issues the Global Market Regulations, proposes draft laws to the Executive Council, appoints the heads of the authorities and the judges, approves budgets and sets fees; every ADGM regulation is made under Article 6(1).
Article 10 creates three authorities, each with its own legal personality and budget: the Registration Bureau (the Registration Authority), which registers and licenses establishments, keeps the registers and registers real property and movable-asset mortgages within ADGM (Article 11); the Financial Services Regulations Bureau (the FSRA), solely responsible for regulating financial services (Article 12); and the ADGM Courts, with a single-judge Court of First Instance and a three-judge Court of Appeal hearing civil and commercial matters connected with ADGM (Article 13).
Article 22 contains the operating rules. No person may engage in financial services or any activity requiring an ADGM permit, licence or registration without first obtaining it (paragraph 3); contracts with ADGM establishments are governed by this law and the ADGM regulations unless the parties agree otherwise (paragraph 4); and, without prejudice to Federal Law No. 8 of 2004, ADGM and its establishments are not governed by Emirate laws in matters within ADGM's jurisdiction except where the regulations provide otherwise (paragraph 7). No commercial, economic or professional activity may be carried on inside ADGM without registration (paragraph 11), while land transfers within ADGM remain subject to the Emirate's real estate laws (paragraph 12).
ADGM establishments and their workers are subject to zero taxation, including on transfers of assets, profits and wages abroad, for fifty years from the law's effective date, renewable by the Executive Council (Article 18). Their funds and activities cannot be confiscated or seized except by order of the ADGM Courts, and establishments may be wholly foreign-owned (Article 19).
Article 23 fixes the penalty frame: a fine of not less than AED 5,000 and not more than the higher of AED 50 million and 10% of the value of the relevant transaction, with the Board issuing a schedule of contraventions and administrative sanctions. The law was amended by Abu Dhabi Law No. 12 of 2020 and remains in force.
Abu Dhabi Global Market itself, its Board of Directors and its three authorities; every establishment registered or licensed in ADGM and its employees; any person carrying on an activity inside the ADGM geographical area or contracting with an ADGM establishment.
| Article 2 | Establishes the financial free zone in the Emirate as Abu Dhabi Global Market, with independent legal personality, full legal capacity and financial and administrative independence, affiliated with the Government. |
| Article 6 | The Board of Directors is the supreme authority of ADGM and issues the Global Market Regulations, proposes draft laws to the Executive Council, appoints the heads of the authorities and the judges, approves the budget and sets fees; every ADGM regulation is made under Article 6(1). |
| Article 10 | Creates the three ADGM authorities, the Registration Bureau, the Financial Services Regulations Bureau and the Courts, each with independent legal personality and budget, exercising its competences independently and issuing executive resolutions within its remit. |
| Article 11 | The Registration Authority registers and licenses ADGM establishments, keeps the registers, registers real property and transactions over it within ADGM, registers mortgages over movables and supervises registered establishments. |
| Article 12 | The Financial Services Regulations Bureau (FSRA) is solely responsible for the regulation of financial services and related activities in ADGM. |
| Article 13 | The ADGM Courts comprise a Court of First Instance of a single judge and a Court of Appeal of three judges, hear civil and commercial matters connected with ADGM, and have their procedures fixed by regulation of the Board; parties may choose another court or arbitration. |
| Article 18 | ADGM, its authorities and establishments and their workers are subject to zero taxation, including on transfers of assets, profits or wages abroad, for fifty years from the law's effective date, renewable for a similar period by the Executive Council. |
| Article 19 | Funds, rights and activities of ADGM establishments cannot be confiscated, seized or restricted except by ruling of the ADGM Courts, and establishments may be wholly or partly owned by persons who are not UAE nationals or residents. |
| Article 22 | No person may engage in financial services or licensable activity without the ADGM permit, licence or registration; contracts with ADGM establishments are governed by this law and the regulations unless agreed otherwise; ADGM is not subject to Emirate laws in matters within its jurisdiction; no activity may be carried on inside ADGM without registration; land transfers follow Emirate real estate law. |
| Article 23 | Activity contrary to the law or the regulations is punishable by a fine of not less than AED 5,000 and not more than the higher of AED 50 million and 10% of the value of the relevant transaction; the Board issues a schedule of contraventions, fines and administrative sanctions including notices, warnings and licence suspension or withdrawal. |
| Article 25 | The law is published in the Official Gazette and effective from the date of its issuance, 19 February 2013. |
Article 23: a fine of not less than AED 5,000 and not exceeding the higher of AED 50 million and 10% of the value of the relevant transaction for any commercial or financial activity contrary to the law or the ADGM regulations; the Board issues the schedule of contraventions and fines, which may also impose notices, warnings and suspension or withdrawal of the licence, enforced by the ADGM authorities.
This law is the root of everything we do for ADGM clients. The SPVs, holding companies and foundations we form exist under regulations the Board makes under Article 6(1), the Registration Authority that licenses them derives its powers from Article 11, and the tax and ownership protections our clients rely on are Articles 18 and 19. We cite Article 22(7) when a client asks why Abu Dhabi onshore rules do not reach its ADGM entity, Article 22(12) when the entity wants to hold land inside ADGM, and Article 22(5) when a client plans to market from ADGM into the Emirate. Because Polaris is not an ADGM-registered corporate service provider, the registered office and agent functions for our ADGM clients are provided by an ADGM-registered provider we appoint and coordinate.
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