The new Pledge Law of the UAE was enacted on 12 December 2016 as Federal Law No. 20 of 2016. The Pledge Law was published in the Federal Official Gazette on 15 December 2016 and will become effective on 15 March 2017. The Pledge Law introduces a new regime for registering a pledge over movable assets which are pledged as security for the repayment of a debt. Whilst the Pledge Law provides some helpful guidance on the type of movable asset pledges that can be registered and the effects of registration, the key administrative details regarding the administration of the pledge register, including the entity that will establish and operate the register, the format of the pledge contract that will be registered and the registration procedure and fees will be outlined in the Executive Resolutions to the Pledge Law; which will be issued by the UAE Cabinet within 6 months of the effective date of the Pledge Law (the “Executive Regulations”). The most significant development under the Pledge Law is that it is no longer necessary for a lender to take possession of movable assets in order to perfect a pledge over the same. This means that a lender is no longer required to appoint an employee/representative of the pledger, as its agent, in order to take possession of any pledged movable assets … (see PDF below to read the full article)