Executive Summary -

The new UAE bankruptcy law was published in the Official Gazette dated 29 September 2016 following the issuance of Federal Decree Law No.9 of 2016 on Bankruptcy (the “Bankruptcy Law”) and became effective in late December 2016.

The Bankruptcy Law has an increased focus on restructuring and protective composition procedures which suggests that companies will have greater opportunities to instigate protective compositions and work alongside creditors throughout restructuring proceedings. This is in contrast to the previous regime which placed greater emphasis on creditor protections and formal bankruptcy proceedings alongside criminal penalties.