Musthafa & Almana

UAE-based law firm to open Kerala offices
Legally india.com / Tuesday, 12 January 2010 by Kian Ganz

United Arab Emirate (UAE) firm Musthafa & Almana is starting up to four offices in Kerala and South India.

Musthafa & Almana was founded 12 years ago in Dubai by Indian qualified lawyers and husband and wife team Musthafa Zafeer and Ms Almana, who are both originally from Kerala.

Zafeer said that the firm was now very close to opening offices in Bangalore, and Kochi and Trivandrum in Kerala.

He added that he hoped to follow up with another Kerala office in Calicut to build up a Kerala practice of a total of 15 to 20 lawyers.

Zafeer explained: "There is a lot of money flowing from the Gulf to Kerala for sure - Kerala has been given a very wrong picture in the business market, saying it's not conducive to business investment, which is not fully correct according to me."

Zafeel said that so far Musthafa & Almana has agreed to enter into a joint venture partnership with Bangalore advocate Shakeel Abdul Rehman, who will set up an office for the firm in Bangalore with around four lawyers. Zafeer added that the firm was also recruiting up to four conveyancing, drafting and arbitration lawyers in the city.

In Kochi, Zafeer said that the firm was in the final stages of taking on up to five lawyers, who would be joining the UAE-parent firm on retainer as associates.

In Trivandrum, he explained, the firm would absorb two litigating lawyers running a small law firm, who had both agreed to join in principle.

Commenting on the Kerala legal market, Zafeer noted that there were no other law firms operating there.

"It is a very, very litigation focused community and we want to create a new breed of lawyers," he said. "Even though their educational and English language command is very good compared to other parts of India, very rarely are Kerala lawyers into drafting or arbitration scenarios."

Zafeer said that the offices would handle both in-bound work from the firm's UAE offices in Dubai and Ras Al Khaima, which focus primarily on corporate and commercial law, but that the South Indian offices should also be referring work to the Gulf.

He said that particularly tourism investment was on the rise, as Kerala was now among the five must-see destinations in the world. "The real estate sector is also in very good standing even in that type of recession."

The firm will also target high net-worth individuals in Kerala who are looking to emigrate to the Gulf or do business there.

Musthafa & Almana is a firm of about eight lawyers and late last year opened up a representative office in London.

Zafeer said that he was also hoping to offer internships to Indian law student in the Middle East in future.

Musthafa & Almana has a non-exclusive referral alliance with SN Gupta & Co in North India.

SN Gupta managing partner Rajesh Gupta conceded that the Kerala legal market was difficult but added: "[Zafeer] is himself a Keralite, therefore he knows the local market well… There is a lot of migration which is happening from Kerala to Dubai and what he feels is that between Kerala and Dubai he can generate a good practice."

Mr. Hany Samy Kamel
December 22, 2009

We would like to informed everyone that Mr. Hany Samy Kamel has pass away last 20th December 2009. Mr. Hany Samy Kamel was a highly valueble and respect member of our team, as one of our Advocates at Musthafa & Almana International Lawyers & Legal Consultants. On behalf of the Management, we would like to express our sincere sadness & sympathy to his Family.

New Lawyer joined Ras AL Khaima Office
20/10/.2009

Ms.Sunita Nasar , lawyer from India has joined Musthfa & Almana Ras Al Khaima Office effective 15th Ocotber . Ms.Sunita is specialised in Company laws especially Offshore and FreeZone Company Formations

New Lawyer Joined MUSTHAFA -ALMANA
Oct.5th

Ms.Nargis Ahmed Khan , Intellectual and Real Estate Attorney joined Musthafa&Almana Dubai office .She will be heading the Intellectual property /Real Estate Division .

City Scape Dubai
Oct.5th

City Scape Dubai , the real estate exhibition started at Dubai World Trade Center

India Latest Judgements
August 18th

DELHI HIGH COURT ALLOWS CIPLA TO SELL COPY OF BAYER.S CANCER DRUG: IN A major win for Indian pharma companies, the Delhi High Court (HC) has dismissed German drug major Bayer Healthcare.s attempt to stop the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) from giving marketing approval to Indian company Cipla for the generic version of Bayer's patented kidney cancer drug, Nexavar
HYDERABAD CIVIC BODY POLL GETS SUPREME COURT CLEARANCE:: THE Supreme Court has allowed Andhra Pradesh government to go ahead with the process for conducting elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) with .creamy layer. OBC candidates contesting from the reserved constituencies
DELHI HIGH COURT REJECTS PETITION BY MULTINATIONAL CHEMICALS GIANT SYNGENTA TO STOP RIVAL FIRM CRYSTAL PHOSPHATES FROM IMPORTING CHEMICAL: THE Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition by multinational chemicals giant Syngenta challenging the government.s decision to allow rival firm Crystal Phosphates to import a key insecticide and sell in India, currently exclusively sold here by the MNC.
SUPREME COURT TURNS DOWN I-T DEPT PLEA AGAINST ESCORTS ON TAX EVASION: THE Supreme Court has dismissed the Income-Tax Department's petition against Escorts Asset Management Ltd, which had alleged that the assessee had furnished inaccurate particulars to evade tax.
CIPLA GETS RELIEF AS SUPREME COURT REJECTS ROCHE PLEA: THE Supreme Court has rejected Swiss drugmaker Roche's petition to stop Indian firm Cipla from selling the generic version of its cancer drug Tarceva, to ensure that Indians have access to the medicine at a lower cost till the Delhi High Court decides on Cipla.s patent-challenge plea.
SUPREME COURT: PETITIONER MUST BE PRESENT AT THE TIME OF FILING PLEA: The Supreme Court has ruled that the election petitioner must be personally present at the time of filing the petition under section 81(1) of the Representation of the People's Act in the High Court.
AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 243D FOR ENHANCING RESERVATION FOR WOMEN IN PANCHAYATS TO 50%: The Union Cabinet approved the proposal for moving a Constitutional Amendment Bill for enhancing reservation for women in Panchayats at all tiers from one third to at least 50%.
JASWANT SINGH MOVES SUPREME COURT AGAINST BANNING OF HIS BOOK: Expelled BJP leader and former Union Minister Jaswant Singh has approached the Supreme Court challenging the ban on his book titled "Jinnah: India-Partition- Independence" imposed by the Gujarat governmen

INDIA BUSINESS ALERT: Housing Loans to Fit Lower Rates with Slab Remake
India Business World, May 2009

State-run banks will now charge 9.25% or less interest rate for the first five years on home loans up to Rs 30 lakh, in a bid to revive housing demand. Banks are working to raise the cap for availing the special offer to Rs 30 lakh by tweaking their loan slabs and keeping the offer open for a longer period, executives said. At present, public sector banks offer a special rate of 9.25% for the first five years only on loans up to Rs 20 lakh, under a special scheme open till June 30, 2009.

Corporation Bank, for instance, would do away with two concession slabs of up to Rs 5 lakh and Rs 5-20 lakh and replace them with a new slab of up to Rs 30 lakh.

"We are working on restructuring slabs for home loans to bring down the lowest slab to Rs 30 lakh. We find that 75% of the demand for home loans was in this segment," chairman and managing director JM Garg said. He said the interest rate for the first five years will be capped at 9.25% or lower. "There is further room for interest rate cuts and our next asset liability committee will take a call," Mr Garg added.

IDBI Bank chief financial officer RK Bansal too confirmed that the bank was in advanced discussions on restructuring slabs while other public sector banks such as Canara Bank have already initiated the exercise.

The move by state-run banks is expected to revive demand for new homes, which has been tottering since last September. Indeed, the December quarter saw an almost negligible growth in housing loan off take compared to the previous quarter.

The demand for lower-priced houses improved in the March quarter, with developers slashing prices and banks coming up with special schemes.

Visas Available for Property Owners - UAE

The UAE has announced that from 1 June 2009 it will grant non UAE property owners with multiple entry visas valid for 6 months which will be renewable but which permit a maximum stay of 6 months. Conditions for the visa are that the property must be worth at least AED 1 million, be ready for occupation and be wholly owned by the visa holder who must also have a minimum monthly income of AED 10,000. Indications are that these visas are modelled on visas available in Europe to non resident property owners but they are not meant as a form of retirement visa permitting non UAE nationals to remain in the UAE past the termination of their employment or upon their retirement.

DUBAI REAL ESTATE ALERT: Ammendment Issued to Article 11 of Dubai Law 13

An important and much anticipated amendment to Article 11 of Dubai Law 13 of 2008 (“Article 11”) has been issued. Dubai Law No. 9 of 2009, which describes the amendment, is expected to be published in the Government Gazette shortly and will have effect from the date of publication.

Article 11, as amended, will set out:
• the procedure that must be followed in the event that a developer wishes to cancel an off plan sale contract by reason of purchaser default; and
• monies that a developer may retain in such circumstances.

Application
Importantly, Article 11 (as amended) will apply to all cancellations of all off plan sale contracts irrespective of the date on which the relevant contract was signed. The indication is that contrary provisions in sale contracts will be void. It appears that sales of land which are not made “off plan” will not be caught by the amended Article 11, and will remain subject to the provisions of the relevant contract. Background Dubai Law 13 of 2008 came into effect on 31 August 2008. The existing Article 11 provides that in the event of cancellation of a sale contract due to the default of the purchaser, the developer may retain 30% of monies paid by the purchaser. The existing Article 11 concerned many developers in light of recent economic conditions. In addition, there has been considerable uncertainty regarding the application of the existing Article 11 to contracts entered into prior to 31 August 2008. The amendment to Article 11 is intended to address these issues and uncertainties.

Amendment Article 11 (as amended) will provide the following:
1. Before taking any cancellation action, a developer must notify the Land Department if a purchaser is in default of a contract for sale. The Land Department will then give the purchaser a notice providing a 30 day period within which the purchaser must fulfil its obligations.
2. If at the end of the 30 day notice period the purchaser has not fulfilled its obligations, the following rules will apply:
(a) Where the developer has completed construction of at least 80% of the project, the developer may retain all monies paid and request that the purchaser settle the remaining amounts. If this is not possible, the developer may request that the property be auctioned in order to collect the outstanding monies.
(b) Where the developer has completed construction of at least 60% of the project, the developer may revoke the contract and retain 40% of the purchase price stipulated in the contract.
(c) Where construction has commenced but construction of less than 60% of the project has been completed, the developer may revoke the contract and retain 25% of the purchase price.
(d) Where construction of the project has not yet commenced for reasons beyond the developers control, without any negligence or omission on the developer’s part, the developer may revoke the contract and retain an amount equal to 30% of all monies paid by the purchaser. Commencement of ‘construction’ is defined as meaning handover of the site by the developer to a contractor and commencement of construction works in accordance with designs approved by relevant authorities.
3. For the purposes of paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) above, the developer shall return any monies due to the purchaser within one year from the date of revocation or within 60 days from the date of a resale of the property by the developer, whichever is earlier.
4.The Real Estate Regulatory Agency may cancel a project following consideration of a status report, in which case the developer must return all monies paid by purchasers and the provisions of Dubai’s escrow laws will apply.

Conclusion
The amendment provides much anticipated clarification regarding the procedures required to be followed by developers in respect of defaulting purchasers, as well as the rights of developers to retain purchaser monies upon cancellation. We expect further clarification and guidance regarding the implementation of the changes to be provided by the Dubai Land Department in due course.

Specialised Departments for Consumer Cases

Dr. Hadif Bin Jawaan Al Dhaheri, Minister of Justice, issued yesterday a resolution forming specialised departments at the federal courts of first instance to consider consumer protection cases.

The resolution states that specialised departments shall be formed at all federal courts of first instance in the UAE to consider penal cases relating to consumer protection as follows:

First: Sharjah Federal Court of First Instance, presided by Judge Nazeer Ahmed Al Sousi.

Second: Ajman Federal Court of First Instance, presided by Judge Mohammed Abdullah Al Noman.

Third: Um AL Quwain Federal Court of First Instance, presided by Judge Abdelsamad Mohammed Al Amoudi.

Fourth: Al Fujairah Federal Court of First Instance, presided by Judge Saeed Ali Bahbouh.

Fifth: Khor Fakan Federal Court of First Instance, presided by Judge Mohammed Ahmed Sulaiman Shahin.

Sixth: Kalbaa Federal Court of First Instance, presided by Judge Matar Mubarak Al Sharqi, Presiding Judge.

Seventh: Deba Al Hesn Summary Court, presided by Judge Ahmed Ahmed Abu Al Majd.

Eighth: Deba Al Fujairah Summary Court, presided by Judge Ali Abdullah Jamou.

Ninth: Al Zaid Summary Court, presided by Judge Abdullah Nasser Hilal.

Tenth: Al Medam Summary Court, presided by Judge Abdullah Nasser Hilal.

UAE Launches Initiative to Amend GCC Unified Customs Law

The UAE Federal Customs Authority has launched a legal initiative within the frame of the GCC Unified Customs Law Committee to amend the text of the GCC unified customs law to clearly stipulate that customs shall have a role in the protection of intellectual property.

General Manager of the Federal Customs Authority Mohammed Khalifa bin Fahad Al Muhairi said that the UAE is seeking explicit legal consolidation of intellectual property rights and anti fraud and counterfeit. Al Mugairi added that the Authority is keen to include this item in any bilateral agreements on customs co-operation with countries of the world based on the authority’s belief in the importance of protecting such rights and the customs role in achieving the same.

Al Muhairi further added that the UAE commitment to implement and apply the standards of the intellectual property convention and combating infringement and counterfeit of trademarks comes out of the awareness that it would curb commercial fraud and damage to national interests as well as industrial and commercial investments and help facilitate incoming and outgoing trade movements and flow.