His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, issued Decree Law No. 2 of 2020 regarding expropriation of real estate for the public benefit in the Emirate of Sharjah.
A decree by law stipulates that property may not be expropriated except for the public benefit, and in return for fair compensation in accordance with the provisions of this decree by law, its executive regulations, and the decisions issued according to it.
And the decree of the Public Benefit Law in the Emirate of Sharjah defined the following: 1. Urban planning, rehabilitation and replacement projects.
2. Establishing or developing public projects, infrastructure, public and service facilities, government buildings, and the like.
3. Establish natural reserves and pastoral areas.
4. Defining and protecting the physical cultural heritage sites.
5. Expropriating the surrounding or adjacent real estate that negatively affects public projects, infrastructure, public and service facilities, government buildings and the like, or on real estate expropriated, in terms of achieving the public benefit, urban form, appearance, area, improvement, or required development.
6. Achieve security, serenity, health and public morals.
According to Article No. / 4 / of the Decree-Law: First: The following Committees Law is established by this Decree and is affiliated with the Department of Planning and Surveying in Sharjah: 1. The Compensation Committee, which specializes in the following: A- Study of projects that may result in expropriation for the public benefit and determine the estimated cost of compensation.
B- Inventorying the properties required to be expropriated for the public benefit and the persons entitled to compensation, in coordination with the Planning and Survey Department and the relevant government agencies.
C- Valuation and appraisal of real estate to be expropriated for the public benefit in accordance with the controls and criteria specified by the executive regulations.
D- Determining the value and type of fair compensation for expropriation for the public benefit in accordance with the controls and criteria determined by the executive regulations.
E- See all the plans and studies presented by the project consultants and ensure that they are in conformity with the reality, conditions, specifications and technical controls approved in coordination with the Planning and Survey Department and government agencies.
F- Coordination with the concerned departments of the Planning and Survey Department and the concerned authorities regarding real estate that is to be expropriated for the public benefit.
G- Coordination with the department to determine lands that can be used for in-kind compensation and follow up on their preparation to be at the disposal of the committee.
H - Any other functions assigned to the committee by the Planning and Survey Department or the Executive Council of the Emirate of Sharjah.
2. The Grievance Committee is concerned with examining and deciding on grievances submitted by rights holders regarding the value and type of compensation specified in the compensation committee’s decisions or in case of delay in its payment and its decisions are final.
Second: The executive regulations regulate the work system of the committees referred to in the first paragraph of Article No. / 4 /.
According to Article No. / 5 / of the Decree-Law: First: The Compensation Committee shall be formed by a president, vice-president and a sufficient number of members to be named by a decision of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Sharjah, taking into account the representation of the following bodies: 1. Urban Planning Council.
2. Planning and Survey Department.
3. Real Estate Registration Department.
4. Public Works Department.
5. The Central Finance Department.
6. Roads and Transport Authority.
7. Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority.
8. Any other parties that the Executive Council deems necessary to represent in the committee
Second: The Chairman of the Compensation and Government Housing Committee or whoever replaces him with the committee members of the Municipal Council in whose jurisdiction the real estate is required for expropriation for the public benefit shall be invited to attend the committee’s meetings, and he shall have the right to participate in the committee’s deliberations and vote on its decisions related to the jurisdiction of his municipality.
The Grievances Committee shall be formed by a decision of the Executive Council, taking into account the representation of the following entities: 1. The Central Finance Department.
2. Planning and Survey Department.
3. The General Secretariat of the Executive Council.
4. The Legal Department of the Ruler's Office.
5. Any other parties that the Executive Council deems necessary to represent in the committee.
Article No. / 7 / of the decree stipulates a law. It is not permissible to combine the membership of any of the committees referred to in Article No. / 4 / of this law.
And Article No. / 8 / procedures for expropriating real estate are specified: 1. Real estate ownership is expropriated for the public benefit by a decision of the Executive Council or whoever he delegates based on the proposal of the head of the Planning and Survey Department.
2. Government agencies must submit their requests for expropriation of real estate for the public benefit to the head of the Planning and Survey Department for consideration and to submit appropriate recommendations in this regard to the Executive Council. In the event of approval, the Executive Council may upload the government agency - which submitted the application for expropriation - all or part of The amount of compensation for the right holder.
According to Article No. / 9 /, the Planning and Surveying Department must notify the right holder and the concerned authorities of the decision to expropriate property for the public benefit within 60 days of its issuance, according to the procedures determined by the executive regulations.
According to Article No. / 10 / of the Decree-Law, it is prohibited, after notifying him of the decision to expropriate property for the public benefit, to do the following without prior permission from the Planning and Survey Department: 1. Direct any of the legal actions that would entail rights to the property.
2. Make any improvements or changes to the property, whatever its type or nature, except for the work necessary to maintain public safety.
Article No. / 11 / requires that the ownership of the expropriated property for the public benefit be transferred to the government as of the effective date of the expropriation decision.
Article No. / 12 / has permitted representatives of the Planning and Surveying Department to enter the expropriated real estate for the public benefit and inspect it after the expiry of the expropriation decision and notify the right holder of it. In the event that the real estate is occupied, it must notify its occupants at least 14 days before the date of entry.
Article No. / 13 / stipulated that compensation is estimated according to the market value of the property at the time of the expropriation decision issued by the Compensation Committee, and the executive regulations specify the rules and principles for assessing compensation.
In Article No. / 14 /, the compensation for the expropriated property for the public benefit shall be in cash or in kind with an alternative property or both, according to what is decided by the Compensation Committee.
According to Article No. / 15 /: 1. The Planning and Surveying Department shall present the compensation to the right holder within a period not exceeding / 90 / days from the date of the enforcement of the expropriation decision for the public benefit.
2. If the holder of the right refuses compensation or refuses to receive it or cannot present it to him, the department shall deposit the compensation in his name if it is in cash according to the financial system of the government, or allocate it in his name if it is in kind.
Article No. / 16 / of the Decree-Law indicated that if the payment of monetary compensation was delayed for more than a year from the date of its presentation to the right holder, he would be entitled to compensation in accordance with what is specified in the executive regulations, unless he refrains from receiving compensation.
Article No. / 17 / of the decree clarified by law: 1. Compensation for the expropriated part is estimated only if the expropriation for the public benefit relates to part of the real estate and is in a condition suitable for it to fulfill the intended benefit in full.
2. Compensation for the entire property is estimated if the remainder of the expropriated property is part of its ownership for the public benefit and is not fit to fulfill the intended benefit in full in accordance with the requirements or the planning statement approved by the department before the expropriation decision is issued.
And Article No. / 18 / of the Decree-Law stipulated that if the property in respect of which the decision of expropriation for the public benefit is seized by it is executive, conservative, or mortgaged on the debt, then the cash compensation will be paid to the right holder according to its value determined by the Compensation Committee.
And Article No. / 19 / of the Decree-Law approved the annulment of the expropriation decision for the public benefit and restored the case to what it was with the right holder deserving compensation in accordance with what is determined by the executive regulations.
Article No. / 20 / stipulated that the employees approved by the Planning and Survey Department and issued by a decision of the Minister of Justice in accordance with the text of Article / 34 / of the Federal Penal Procedures Law issued by Federal Law No. / 35 / for the year 1992 AD have the status of judicial arrest officials in proving what is in violation The provisions of this decree are related to the law, regulations and other decisions issued pursuant thereto within the scope of their respective competence.
And Article No. / 21 / of the decree of the law stated that the Planning and Surveying Department takes all procedures for evicting the expropriated real estate for the public benefit according to what is determined by the executive regulations, and it has the right to seek the help of forced execution.
According to Article No. / 22 /, a decision of the Executive Council is issued based on the Chairman’s presentation of the following: 1. The executive regulations.
2. Administrative violations and penalties.
3. Topics for which no regulation is stipulated in this decree by law in a manner that does not contradict or contradict its provisions.
And Article No. / 23 / Executive Council Decision No. / 31 / of 2012 regarding organizing the permanent compensation committee in the Emirate of Sharjah was canceled, and any provision that contradicts the provisions of this decree is repealed by law, provided that all regulations, regulations and executive decisions issued in a manner that does not contradict the provisions of This decree is a law until it is amended or canceled according to the executive regulations of this decree by law or the decisions issued according to it.
And Article No. / 24 / stipulates taking into account the provision of Article No. / 26 / of this decree by law, the provisions of this decree by law apply to what was not a final decision issued by the relevant committees and what had not been done before the date of its implementation.
Article No. / 25 / informs the Sharjah Consultative Council of this decree of a law as soon as it is held.
According to Article No. / 26 /, this decree is effective by law after / 6 / months from the date of its issuance, and the concerned authorities must implement it in their respective areas, and it will be published in the Official Gazette.