Former SCA Law

Former federal law establishing the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority and Market and regulating licensing, listing, trading and disclosure in the securities markets; repealed by Article 29 of Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2025 from 1 January 2026.

Summary

Federal Law No. 4 of 2000 was the founding statute of the UAE's onshore capital market. It created the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), provided for licensed securities and commodities markets, restricted trading in listed securities to licensed brokers, and set the first disclosure, insider dealing and market abuse rules with criminal penalties. It was issued on 29 January 2000 and took effect on publication in the Official Gazette (Article 49). It was amended by Federal Law No. 25 of 2006, Federal Law No. 6 of 2009 and Federal Decree-Law No. 15 of 2019.

It is repealed. Article 29 of Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2025 repealed it with effect from 1 January 2026, when the Capital Market Authority replaced the SCA and Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2025 took over the regulation of the capital market. Resolutions made under the 2000 law stay in force so far as they do not conflict with the new laws, until replaced (Article 27(4) of Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2025), which is why most current CMA decisions still cite it.

Its main rules were: the Authority's power to propose Cabinet regulations and make its own on market functioning, brokers, trading, clearing, custody, membership and disclosure (Article 4); markets as local public establishments or public joint stock companies licensed by the Authority (Article 20); transactions in listed securities void unless recorded by the market (Article 24); brokers only (Article 25), with market penalties of up to AED 100,000 (Article 27); prompt disclosure of price-sensitive information by listed companies (Article 34); prohibitions on false information, exploiting undisclosed information and insider trading, with void transactions (Articles 36 to 39); and imprisonment of three months to three years and fines of AED 100,000 to AED 1,000,000 for those offences (Articles 41 and 42).

Who it applies to

Historically: the Securities and Commodities Authority, licensed securities and commodities markets, brokers and their representatives, listed companies and their directors and staff, and investors. Today it is relevant only to conduct and documents before 1 January 2026.

Contents

English official text in 49 articles. Open the full text or jump to a provision:

1. Article 1
2. Article 2
3. Article 3
4. Article 4
5. Article 5
6. Article 6 — [4]
7. Article 7
8. Article 8 — [6]
9. Article 9 — [7]
10. Article 10
11. Article 11 — [8]
12. Article 12
13. Article 13
14. Article 14 — [9]
15. Article 15
16. Article 16
17. Article 17
18. Article 18
19. Article 19
20. Article 20 — [10]
21. Article 21 — [11]
22. Article 22
23. Article 23
24. Article 24
25. Article 25
26. Article 26
27. Article 27
28. Article 28
29. Article 29
30. Article 30
31. Article 31
32. Article 32
33. Article 33
34. Article 34
35. Article 35
36. Article 36
37. Article 37
38. Article 38
39. Article 39
40. Article 40
41. Article 41
42. Article 42
43. Article 43
44. Article 44
45. Article 45
46. Article 46
47. Article 47
48. Article 48
49. Article 49

Key provisions

Penalties

Article 40 punished breaches of client confidentiality by brokers and market staff with imprisonment and a fine up to AED 100,000. Articles 41 and 42 set imprisonment of up to three years and fines of AED 100,000 to AED 1,000,000 for false information, insider dealing and undisclosed director dealing. These provisions no longer apply from 1 January 2026; Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2025 now sets the penalties.

History and citations

“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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