CMA Decision No. 46/CEO of 2016 · UAE Federal
Administrative resolution regulating grievances against resolutions relating to capital market transactions, including the grievance committee and its procedure.
Administrative Decision No. 46/R.T of 2016 sets up the Authority's Grievance Settlement Committee and the procedure for challenging decisions on capital market matters inside the Authority (now the Capital Market Authority, CMA) before any court. It was issued by the Acting Chief Executive Officer on 23 June 2016 and took effect on issue (Article 11). It is in force without amendment.
Article 2 defines what can be challenged: decisions on complaints in disputes between investors and supervised entities; penalties imposed on supervised entities, their employees, investors or listed companies; the Authority's decisions on financial activities and services it supervises; and market decisions on violations by supervised entities, their staff or investors. Article 3 sets the admissibility conditions. The grievance must be filed with all required documents within 30 days of notification of the decision (moving to the next working day if the last day is a holiday), on the prescribed form through the Authority's electronic system, smart application or another accepted channel, by a person with an existing and legitimate interest. Directives, admonitions, warnings and referrals to the judiciary cannot be grieved.
Article 5 lists the contents: a reasoned explanation, the decision under challenge, party details and identification, any earlier complaint, the original power of attorney if filed by an agent, and supporting documents. Article 4 requires the committee's reporter to register the grievance and put it to the chair within two working days. Under Article 7, unless the Authority decides otherwise, the decision is suspended until the grievance period ends and, if the grievance is admitted, until it is settled. The committee meets with a majority quorum, may hear the parties and call on Authority staff, the market or the competent department (Articles 6 and 9), and sends its majority recommendation to the Chief Executive Officer within 10 working days of a complete filing, a period it may extend (Article 8). The two-day and ten-day periods are regulatory: missing them does not invalidate the process. A grievance may be closed by reconciliation or withdrawal (Article 10).
From 1 January 2026, Article 69 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2025 requires every CMA penalty notice to state the right to submit a grievance within the legally prescribed period.
Investors, CMA-licensed and supervised entities and their employees, listed companies, and anyone with a legitimate interest who wishes to challenge a CMA or market decision on complaints, penalties or financial activities and services.
English official text in 11 articles. Open the full text or jump to a provision:
| Article 1 | Establishes the Grievance Settlement Committee within the Authority to consider decisions relating to financial markets transactions. |
| Article 2 | The committee hears grievances against decisions on investor complaints, penalties on supervised entities, staff, investors and listed companies, the Authority's financial activities decisions, and market violation decisions. |
| Article 3 | File within 30 days of notification with all documents, on the prescribed form or electronic channel, with a legitimate interest; directives, admonitions, warnings and judicial referrals cannot be grieved. |
| Article 5 | The grievance must explain its subject, requests and grounds and attach the decision, party details and ID, any prior complaint, the original power of attorney if filed by an agent, and supporting documents. |
| Article 7 | Unless the Authority decides otherwise, the challenged decision is suspended until the grievance period ends and, if the grievance is admitted, until it is settled. |
| Article 8 | The committee recommends by majority to the Chief Executive Officer within 10 working days of a complete filing, extendable if justified, and informs the appellant of the outcome. |
| Article 10 | A grievance may be closed at any stage by reconciliation between the parties or by the appellant's waiver. |
| Article 11 | Effective from the date of issue, 23 June 2016. |
The 30-day clock in Article 3 is the point we stress when a client receives a CMA or market decision, such as a fine on a licensed entity it owns or a rejected complaint against a broker. Missing it ends the internal route, and directives, warnings and admonitions cannot be grieved at all. We are not licensed by the CMA and do not appear before it as advocates; we diarise the deadline, assemble the decision, correspondence and corporate documents, prepare and notarise the power of attorney for the client's representative, and coordinate with the licensed compliance adviser or lawyer handling the substance of the grievance.
| Cites | Former SCA Law |
“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.
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