Mohammed bin Rashid issues a decree regulating advertisements in Dubai

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, in his capacity as Ruler of Dubai issued Decree No. (6) for the year 2020 regarding organizing advertisements in the Emirate of Dubai, with the aim of preserving the visual and aesthetic image of the emirate, and ensuring the compatibility of advertising means with the urban environment In it, organizing advertisements in the emirate, according to clear and specific rules and procedures, and enhancing coordination between the competent authorities and the private sector in everything related to advertising, in support of marketing plans and the promotion of goods, products and services, and others.

The decree also aims to maintain public safety and traffic safety in the emirate, by regulating the placement of advertising means on shops, buildings, lands, space, roads, tunnels, bridges, fields, and other public places, and monitoring the advertising material to prevent any misleading or incorrect information that affects the public or It is contrary to public order and public morals.

The provisions of this decree apply to all advertisements that take place in the emirate, including advertisements that take place within private development areas, and free zones, including the Dubai International Financial Center.

Advertising, medium, and website

The decree defined the advertisement as informing the public about a good, service, activity, industrial or commercial product, device, machine, or any project activity or business, whether the advertisement is by writing, drawing, pictures, sound, light, and other means of expression, as Define the advertising medium as any fixed, mobile, traditional or electronic means, permanent or temporary, that are used for advertising, including billboards, fences, columns, balloons, airships, planes, vehicles, marine means, posters, maps, folds, and any other medium, It does not include newspapers, magazines and houses Data, websites, radio and television, and film screens theaters.

The advertising site includes, according to the decree, the commercial centers, the façades and the roofs of the buildings, the lands, the space, the campus, the squares, the parks, the public beaches, the vehicles, the marine means, and any other site where the advertisement can be used using the advertising medium.

Advertising in the emirate

It is prohibited for a person to advertise in any advertisement site in the emirate, except after obtaining the permit that is issued in accordance with the guide that includes a set of procedures, requirements, requirements and specifications that must be met to issue the permit, and everyone who engages in any economic activity in Dubai must put on the front of the store that In this activity, an advertisement indicating his activity and his trade name shall be practiced in accordance with the conditions and controls approved in the guide.

- The competent authority

The decree specified the authorities responsible for issuing advertising permits, which include: Dubai Municipality, the Roads and Transport Authority, the Department of Economic Development, the authority overseeing private development areas, and the authority overseeing the free zone in the emirate, including the Dubai International Financial Center, the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, and the city authority Maritime Dubai, each in its own field.

The authority supervising private development areas, and the authority supervising the free zone in the emirate, are concerned with advertising permits that take place within the boundaries of the special development area, and the free zone including the Dubai International Financial Center, while the Roads and Transport Authority is concerned with issuing permits for advertisements within the road and space of the road, Or on the systems, means, stations of public transport and traffic affiliated to it, and vehicles, while the Department of Economic Development is competent to issue a permit for the advertisement that takes place on the front of the commercial store and inside the mall, to indicate the name and brand of the store Running, folds and stickers.

The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority specializes in issuing permits for advertisements that are made by aircraft, including drones, airships, or using laser devices in the air or any other means, while the Dubai Municipality specializes in what is done in lands, space, buildings, coastal areas, and water areas The land, including constructions and space, and the authority of the Dubai Maritime City regarding the advertisement that takes place on the marine means, with the exception of marine means for public transport of passengers.

Conditions and requesting the permit

The decree stipulated that the permit be issued by the competent authority in accordance with its provisions, procedures, requirements, requirements, specifications and periods specified in the guide. A request for obtaining the permit is submitted through the system and it is a unified electronic platform on the level of the Emirate, aimed at simplifying and organizing the procedures for issuing the permit and documenting private data and information With it, a decision on the fulfillment of the conditions and documents required by the competent authority will be decided within a period not exceeding 10 working days from the date of submitting the application.

Preparing the guide, creating and managing the system

The Dubai Municipality, in accordance with the decree, and in coordination with the competent authorities, shall prepare the guide, which must include all procedures, requirements, requirements, specifications and periods necessary to issue and renew the permit, and implement the declaration.

Dubai Municipality also undertakes the task of setting up, operating, managing, supervising and developing the system in coordination with the competent authorities, and in this way it has: organizing the process of obtaining the permit, creating a database that includes all information related to advertisements in the emirate, coordinating and cooperating with the relevant authorities on organizing ads, linking The electronic connection between them and the system, and the collection of the fees determined for the benefit of any of these bodies and their supply to it, in accordance with the legislation in force.

The municipality, after coordination with the competent authorities, may entrust any public or private authority with the tasks assigned to it in the decree, according to a contract concluded for this purpose, provided that this contract includes a statement of its duration, obligations and peripheral rights, in accordance with the legislation in force.

Ad Site

The use of the advertisement shall be in the advertising sites specified by the permit, and the advertisement may not be used in a number of sites except in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the guide, and these sites include: historical and archaeological buildings, places of worship and cemeteries, surrounding fences and fences, traffic signs and signs, and government agency headquarters, Trees, areas prohibited and prohibited under the applicable legislation, military areas, residential building facades, porches, and places to be determined by a decision of the competent authority.

Obligatory Obligations

The decree stipulated that the authorized person be bound by a number of obligations, namely: the controls, areas, time periods, type of advertising medium specified in the declaration, procedures, conditions, requirements, and specifications contained in the guide, and not relinquishing the permit to others before obtaining the approval of the competent authority, and putting the permit number and the competent authority on Advertising, as indicated in the guide, and seeking accuracy, objectivity and reliability in the content of the advertisement.

The person authorized to declare the advertisement must not be inconsistent with the provisions of Islamic Sharia or public order and public morals, and traditions in the emirate, and the use of the Arabic language in advertising, and any foreign language may be used next to it, provided that the Arabic language is the primary language in the declaration, and not less than (50%) of the size of the advertising medium, that it is on the top or on the right side of it, and that it be linguistically and dictately sound, and that the use of the advertising medium does not affect the overall aesthetic appearance, public health and safety, traffic safety or safety of navigation And it should not be that the use of the advertising medium obscures another advertising medium, or harms people or public or private funds, and the authorized person must take into account the periodic maintenance of the advertising medium and maintain its cleanliness, in order to preserve the aesthetic appearance of the emirate, and the environment and public safety, And provide a copy of the permit on the site to create and install the media.

- Remove the ad and cancel the permit

He obligated the authorized decree, at his own expense, to remove the advertising medium and restore the case to what it was during the time limit set by the competent authority, in cases that are: the expiration of the term of the permit or the contract concluded with the authorized person, cancel the permit in accordance with the provisions of this decree, and violate any Among the obligations stipulated in this decree, or to violate the conditions, requirements and specifications specified in the declaration or evidence, the person is prohibited from removing, stripping, distorting or destroying any advertising medium, other than the conditions stipulated in this decree, and if the declaration includes a violation of For public order and public morals, the competent authority must ask the authorized person to remove the advertisement at his own expense, within the time limit it sets for him.

According to the decree, the competent authority may revoke the permit, reduce its duration, amend the space authorized for advertising, or change and remove the advertising site for the advertising medium, whenever the planning and construction regulations and traffic safety requirements require, or preserve the aesthetic character of the emirate, or the public interest, and in In these cases, the licensee must, at his own expense, take the necessary measures to implement the instructions issued to him by the competent authority in this regard, including the removal of the advertising medium, and return the case to the way it was.

In this case, the authorized person is granted an alternative permit on another advertising site without any consideration, or return the permit fees to him according to the remaining period of the declaration in the absence of an alternative advertising site, or if the authorized person does not agree on the alternative advertising site, and the owner of the advertising site may not, Or the person who is permitted to use the property belonging to him or any part of it as an advertising site, to prevent the removal of the advertising medium, which is decided to remove it in accordance with the provisions of this decree, otherwise he was directly responsible to the competent authority for the removal at his own expense, in addition to his responsibility for the violation S involved.

Breach of obligations

The decree stipulated that if the authorized person does not commit to removing the advertising medium within the time limit specified for him from the competent authority, then the competent authority will have the right to remove the advertising medium and return the case to what it was at the authorized expense, in addition to it (25%) of the value of the removal costs As administrative and supervisory expenses, provided that the total amount to be collected in this case is not less than 2000 dirhams, and the competent authority's estimate of these costs is considered a final estimate.

The governmental authorities in the emirate may, in accordance with the decree, exploit the property belonging to it from real estate and movable property as advertising sites for the placement of advertising means on it, according to a contract concluded with the authorized person for this purpose, in which the allowance for the exploitation of these properties, and the rights and obligations of the parties are specified in it.

Administrative violations and penalties

Without prejudice to any more severe punishment stipulated in any other legislation, anyone who violates the provisions of this decree and decisions issued pursuant to it shall be punished by a financial fine of no less than 1,000 dirhams and not exceeding 15,000 dirhams, and the value of the fine will be doubled if the offense itself is repeated within one year from the date Committing the previous violation in the same advertisement site, provided that the value of the fine in the event that it is doubled does not exceed 30,000 dirhams, and the President of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai determines, by a decision issued in this regard, the actions that are prohibited to be committed and the financial fines imposed on the perpetrators, and the competent authority may also Take one or more measures against the violator, including: removing the advertising medium at the violator's expense, revoking the permit, suspending the validity of entering the system, and stopping the violating facility from operating for a period not exceeding six months.

Grievance and remedy

Any interested party may, in accordance with the decree, file a grievance in writing with the Director General of the competent authority of the decisions, actions or measures taken against him under this decree and decisions issued pursuant thereto, within 30 days from the date of notification of the grievance, decision or measure, and this grievance is decided upon 30 days from the date of its submission by a committee formed by the general manager for this purpose, and the decision issued in this grievance will be final, and all establishments operating in the field of advertisements covered by the provisions of this decree must reconcile their conditions in accordance with its provisions within six months from the date of work with , The President of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai to extend the deadline for a similar period.

The President of the Dubai Executive Council shall issue the necessary decisions to implement the provisions of this decree. Local Decree No. (30) for the year 1986 regarding the monitoring of advertisements in the Emirate of Dubai and its executive regulations, as well as any text in any other legislation to the extent that it contradicts the provisions of this decree, shall be canceled, provided that the decisions, regulations and regulations in force with the competent authorities in Everything related to advertisements, to the extent that its provisions do not conflict with the provisions of this decree, until the decisions, regulations and regulations that replace it are issued, and this decree is published in the official gazette, and it is enforced three months after the date of its publication.