Two-article federal decree establishing a financial free zone in Abu Dhabi under the name Abu Dhabi Global Market pursuant to Federal Law No. 8 of 2004, effective on issuance.
Federal Decree No. 15 of 2013 Concerning Establishing a Financial Free Zone in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi is the two-article federal act that creates the Abu Dhabi Global Market. Issued by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan as President of the UAE at the Abu Dhabi Presidential Palace on 11 February 2013 and effective on issuance, it was made on the approval of the Federal Cabinet in exercise of the power in Federal Law No. 8 of 2004 concerning financial free zones, which provides that a financial free zone is established by Federal Decree. The preamble cites the Constitution, Federal Law No. 1 of 1972 on the competence of ministries and Federal Law No. 8 of 2004 as its legal basis.
Article 1 provides that a financial free zone shall be established under the name Abu Dhabi Global Market. Article 2 provides that the Decree is to be implemented, upon its issuance, by all relevant authorities within their respective competence, and disseminated in the official newspapers. The Decree says nothing more. The boundaries and area of the zone were fixed separately by Cabinet Resolution No. 4 of 2013, and the Market's constitution, its three authorities (the Registration Authority, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority and the ADGM Courts) and its licensing regime were set by the Ruler of Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi Law No. 4 of 2013 under Article 7(3) of the federal Law; the ADGM publication of the Decree lists both as related legislation.
The legal effect is foundational. Because the Decree establishes the ADGM as a financial free zone under Federal Law No. 8 of 2004, the Market acquires a body corporate that answers alone for its obligations, and the zone and the activities licensed in it fall outside federal civil and commercial law while remaining subject to federal criminal, anti-money-laundering and other federal legislation (Article 3 of the Law) and to the domestic-market limits in Article 4 of the Law and Cabinet Resolution No. 28 of 2007. That exemption is what allows the ADGM to apply English common law and its own Companies, Foundations, Employment, Insolvency and Data Protection Regulations through the Registration Authority, and to run its own courts. It is also why an ADGM special purpose vehicle or holding company is a free-zone entity outside the federal Commercial Companies Law.
The Decree is the Abu Dhabi counterpart of Federal Decree No. 35 of 2004, which established the Dubai International Financial Centre under the same federal Law. It has not been amended or repealed and remains in force.
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the federal and Abu Dhabi authorities charged with implementing the Decree; indirectly the ADGM Registration Authority, Financial Services Regulatory Authority and Courts, and every company, SPV, foundation, branch or other entity registered or licensed in the ADGM, whose status as a financial free zone entity derives from it.
| Preamble (legal basis) | The President issues the Decree upon perusal of the Constitution, Federal Law No. 1 of 1972 concerning the competence of ministries and its amendments, and Federal Law No. 8 of 2004 concerning financial free zones, which requires a financial free zone to be established by Federal Decree. |
| Preamble (approval) | The Decree is made upon the approval of the Federal Cabinet and is signed by the President of the United Arab Emirates. |
| Article 1 | A financial free zone shall be established under the name Abu Dhabi Global Market. |
| Article 2 (implementation) | The Decree is to be implemented, upon its issuance, by all relevant authorities within their respective competence. |
| Article 2 (publication) | The Decree is to be disseminated in the official newspapers; it was issued at the Abu Dhabi Presidential Palace on 11 February 2013. |
This is the federal counterpart of the DIFC decree, and together with Abu Dhabi Law No. 4 of 2013 it is what makes an ADGM SPV or holding company a free-zone entity outside federal commercial law. When we form an ADGM company or foundation for a client, or act in a fiduciary or secretarial capacity for one, the registered office and registered agent functions sit with a third-party ADGM-registered provider we appoint and coordinate, because Polaris is not registered as a corporate service provider there; what we supply is the structuring, documentation and the explanation of status. For that explanation we use the same short chain as for the DIFC: Federal Law No. 8 of 2004 permits a financial free zone by Federal Decree and removes it from federal civil and commercial law, this Decree creates the ADGM, Abu Dhabi Law No. 4 of 2013 gives it its authorities, and the ADGM Regulations govern the entity. Overseas banks onboarding an ADGM SPV often ask for exactly this.
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