The temptations of competitors and ease of implementation are the main reasons for it... and deterrent penalties if proven
3 conditions for convicting those accused of disclosing work secrets
The crime of disclosing the secret requires criminal intent, and the employer's request is not explicitly required not to disclose the secret because of the crime.
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Disclosure of the secret must occur in a clear manner, and there is no room for interpretation until the accused is convicted of it.
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Several cases examined by the courts implicated their owners in the crime of “disclosing business secrets” to competitors or for their personal benefit, some of them end in conviction, and others end in the innocence of the accused after confirming the maliciousness of the accusations against them for one reason or another, but this crime remains a modern crime in light of the communications technology boom and the permission Many institutions operate their employees remotely, whether due to an emergency such as the Corona pandemic or to reduce expenses, which makes the company’s information available for circulation away from its headquarters, and thus makes the implementation of this crime easier.
It was proven from the reality of the cases monitored by «Emirates Today» that competitors exploit weak-minded employees and tempt them to sell their companies’ secrets, especially customer databases, bids and tenders, and other information that may cause their companies great losses without knowing the reason.
The arbitrator and legal advisor, Muhammad Najib, said that there are three main conditions that must be met to convict the accused of disclosing secrets, according to Article 432 of Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 and also contained in Article 379 of the Penal Code of 1987, the first of which is that he be a repository of secrets by profession, craft, status or The art that he performs, and the second is to disclose the secret for his benefit or the benefit of others, in cases other than those authorized by law, which are cases of permissibility, such as disclosing the secret to prevent a crime, or coercion, and the third is that this is without the permission of the person concerned or the work.
For his part, Lawyer Badr Abdullah Khamis said that disclosing the secret must take place in a clear way that there is no room for interpretation until the accused is convicted of this, except in certain cases in which he does not commit the act of disclosing himself, but is involved in facilitating its occurrence, such as allowing the custodian of the secret to others to see it, Or not to prevent others from seeing the secret even though he could.
Lawyer Muhammad Al-Najjar explained that disclosing secrets is one of the intentional crimes in which science is an essential pillar, so the criminal intent is negated if there is a disclosure of negligence or lack of precaution, as if the employee forgets his computer is open, for example, so whoever happens to be in the place looks at it, or if The accused of disclosing the secret was unaware that what he was secretly transmitting was not allowed to be broadcast.
In detail, the various courts in the country have decided on several cases whose owners were accused of “disclosing secrets.” The Dubai Civil Court finally decided to oblige a former director to pay a huge compensation amounting to one million and 390 thousand dirhams after he was criminally convicted of disclosing the secrets of his company to another competitor, which incurred heavy losses as a result of the transfer of its clients to its competitors, and shake its image in front of them.
The convicted manager tried to plead the accusation leveled against him by the company, and resorted to the three levels of litigation, but was convicted by all of them after it was proven that he had leaked the data of 14 clients, and then the victim company resorted to the civil court to obtain appropriate compensation for the losses incurred because of it.
Dubai Courts had previously convicted two Asian employees who leaked confidential and private information to a competing company that included a list of contract prices, which led to the loss of important contracts by the party they work for. They also leaked additional information about other companies that deal with their companies by e-mail.
In another case, two engineers were acquitted of the same accusation after the first engineer was accused of disclosing secrets of designs for one of his company's projects to the second accused who works for a competing company, and the accusation was proven through the malicious trial.
The arbitrator and legal advisor, Muhammad Najeeb, said that keeping secrets in general is an important moral value that everyone must possess, and a legal obligation towards employers in particular, so the UAE legislator addressed it in several laws, and Article 432 of Decree Law No. 31 of 2021 regarding crimes and penalties stipulates Shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of no less than one year and a fine of no less than 20 thousand dirhams, or by one of these two penalties, whoever, by virtue of his profession, profession, status, or art, is a secret repository and discloses it in cases other than those authorized by law or uses it for his own benefit or for the benefit of a person another, unless the person concerned in the secret authorized its disclosure or use.
The penalty shall be temporary imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years if the offender is a public servant or is charged with a public service and the secret was deposited during, because of, or on the occasion of performing his job or service.
He explained that there are three basic conditions for conviction in the crime of disclosing the secret, the first is that the person is a repository of this secret according to his profession, and the second is that the secret is disclosed in cases other than legally authorized and used for his benefit or the benefit of others, and that this is without permission from the person concerned.
He pointed out that the legislator enacted the two penalties of imprisonment and a fine or one of them, allowing the discretionary authority of the court to judge the appropriate penalty, noting that disclosing secrets is a misdemeanour, except in the event that the offender is a public employee or assigned to a public service, according to Article 432, as it is considered a felony in this case. Provided that he deposited the secret during the performance of his work, because of it, or on the occasion of it.
He pointed out the need to pay attention to the fact that disclosing work secrets is a formal crime, as the law will be held accountable for it as soon as the previous conditions are met without waiting for a material effect of disclosure or the occurrence of damage because of it, because its result depends on the act of disclosure itself, which results in compromising the dignity or honor of persons or violating the confidentiality of information This is an ethical aspect that the UAE legislator was keen on.
For his part, lawyer Muhammad Al-Najjar said that some employees fall into the trap of disclosing secrets due to miscalculation or negligence, so it is necessary to take good care and familiarize themselves with the legal aspects of this crime before the occurrence of the unfortunate consequences, pointing out that the information should be classified confidential by the company or party. work, until the employee is held accountable for its leakage.
He added that the defense in such cases usually focuses on the motives of the accused, the nature of the information, and whether he is a beneficiary of the leak or not, but in general, the employer's information and data remain sacred and must be taken care of.
He pointed out that there is what is known as passport disclosure, which are cases in which this is allowed, such as disclosure to prevent a crime, and the court takes these aspects into consideration.
In addition, lawyer Badr Abdullah Khamis said that the crime of disclosing the secret requires a criminal intent based on knowledge and will. is being held accountable.
He added that the crime may also be realized in independent professions such as medicine, law and others, so the doctor or lawyer has no right to divulge the secrets of his clients, indicating that it may also occur implicitly, such as allowing the custodian of the secret to others to see it, or not interfering to protect the secret with his knowledge of the possibilities of its leakage. .
Khamis explained that the current technical boom may make it easy to tempt the employee to leak his company’s data and divulge its secrets, unlike the previous one, it no longer requires more than sending an email in seconds, without the need to carry papers or documents, so it is necessary for employees to pay attention and are well aware of the consequences. legal for such practices.
• The various courts in the country have decided on several cases whose owners were accused of “disclosing secrets”.
• Dubai Courts convicted two employees of leaking confidential and private information to a competing company that included a contract price list.
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