To illustrate transparency, the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) is ready to present the first of three phases of the development of a regulatory framework around digital certification services – including the regulatory policies, standards, and guidelines to license the relevant parties – to a number of specialists, ministry officials, various parties who have a stake in implementing regulations in the UAE, and the public at large; for their comments and suggestions as a prerequisite to presenting such a regulatory framework to H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAE Minister of Economy, in accordance with the law.
With respect to Article 20 of the Federal Law No. 1 of 2006 (“Act”), following the recommendation of the UAE Minister of Economy, the UAE Cabinet has agreed in its Decision (8/291) of 2006, dated October 15, 2006 to appoint the TRA as the authority with responsibilities relating to the licensing, approval, monitoring and overseeing of the activities of Certification Service Providers; whereby the Ministry of Economy will continue its supervisory role under the terms of the Act.
In this respect, Mr. Hani Obeid, Director of eCommerce at the TRA, stated: “The TRA has conducted a detailed study on the licensing, approval, monitoring and supervision of the activities of Certification Services Providers, based on the international best practices as a prologue to preparing the draft of the regulatory framework for licensing Certification Service Providers, including the regulatory policies, the guidelines and the standards to certify such relevant parties. The study encompassed a comparison among various jurisdictions known for following international best practices and having well developed regulatory regimes in the area of ecommerce; these jurisdictions include Canada, the European Union, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Singapore and the United Kingdom.”
“The outcome of the study revealed that the UAE has reached a high stage in substantive regulation as a result of having a solid and comprehensive Electronic Commerce and Transactions Law; therefore, it was vital to develop all the necessary mechanisms, procedures and rules for controlling such substantive regulation. Moreover, the study revealed three models being used among many of the jurisdictions ranging from Prescriptive to Minimalist, such that the minimalist models involved very little, if any, regulation or statutory conditions pertaining to the authentication process, allowing the market to drive the process; the Prescriptive Models have a highly rigid, complicated and expensive electronic authentication process to comply with; while the Hybrid models contained elements from both extreme models and strive to achieve a balance among policy considerations, support economic growth and technological innovation and satisfy market interests. Hybrid regimes act as effective catalysts for the promotion of trusted eCommerce, within a region and on the global stage. They are congruent with international trends. Therefore, the TRA recommended such a hybrid approach to UAE eCommerce regulation,” added Mr. Obeid.
Finally, in accordance with the UAE pattern in providing long-term strategies, H.E. Mohamed Al Ghanim, TRA Board Member & Director General, stated: “The TRA has established a long-term work plan to implement the eCommerce Law that includes three major phases that may be summarized by establishing a regulatory framework for eCommerce transactions that results in transparency and consumer protection, by strengthening the public trust in the credibility of eCommerce, and by contributing to the development of the digital and electronic economy of the UAE; in a way that copes with the government general strategy.”
