"Federal National Council" Approves Amendments to Infectious Diseases Law and Cultural Heritage Law

The Federal National Council (FNC), during its 13th session of the third ordinary sitting of the 18th legislative term, held today under the chairmanship of His Excellency Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Council, at Zayed Hall at the Council's headquarters in Abu Dhabi, approved amendments to a draft federal law on combating communicable diseases, in the presence of His Excellency Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of Health and Prevention. The Council also approved a draft federal law on cultural heritage, in the presence of His Excellency Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Culture.

Before discussing the cultural heritage bill, the Council reviewed a report by its Education, Culture, Youth, Sports and Media Affairs Committee, which explained that it had examined the draft law through a methodology that included conducting legal, social and economic studies, and holding meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Culture to discuss its articles and clarify a number of related aspects.

The draft law aims to protect and document the country's cultural heritage in all its forms, preserve, manage and promote it, encourage its study, strengthen cultural diversity and exchange, ensure its sustainability and transmission to future generations, support heritage and cultural tourism, integrate cultural heritage into sustainable development plans, and strengthen coordination between the Ministry of Culture and the competent authorities in managing and safeguarding cultural heritage.

Within the definitions article, the Council introduced two new concepts: "digital heritage", which covers digital materials and resources of cultural, historical, scientific, social, environmental or economic value, whether created digitally or converted into digital formats; and "archaeological survey", which covers the exploration, documentation and recording of archaeological sites using various scientific methods.

The draft law provides that its provisions apply to cultural heritage in the country, including free zones, with the exception of foreign tangible heritage present within the country, except in cases stipulated by the law and its executive regulations.

The bill also defines the mandate of the Ministry of Culture, in coordination with the competent authorities and government entities, in preparing legislation, policies and strategies for the protection of cultural heritage, implementing awareness, media and tourism promotion programmes, supporting education and scientific research, and building national capacity in this sector.

The draft law permits the nomination of cultural heritage elements for registration on regional and international lists, following the Ministry's approval, in accordance with the procedures determined by the executive regulations, in a manner that contributes to enhancing their protection and highlighting their civilisational value.

The bill requires anyone who discovers tangible heritage or an antiquity, or becomes aware of its existence, to report it to the competent authority, the Ministry, or the nearest police station within 48 hours, with the possibility of granting a reward to the person reporting it, as determined by the competent authority.

The draft law includes stringent penalties to protect cultural heritage, with penalties reaching temporary imprisonment and fines ranging from AED 500,000 to AED 10 million for perpetrators of serious offences, including deliberately damaging tangible heritage or antiquities, stealing or smuggling them, or carrying out construction, alteration or relocation work without a permit.

It also provides for penalties of imprisonment for up to ten years and fines of up to AED 5 million for offences including excavating for antiquities without a permit, misusing heritage sites, submitting forged data to import or export antiquities, forging archaeological pieces, negligence leading to their damage or loss, or deliberately harming cultural heritage.

The bill further includes penalties of imprisonment for up to three years and a fine, or either of these two penalties, for a number of violations, including tampering with tangible heritage, trading in extracted archaeological materials, possessing counterfeit antiquities with intent to defraud, failing to register tangible heritage, neglecting its maintenance, obstructing the work of the competent authorities, organising heritage-related events without a permit, or failing to report discovered antiquities within the specified period.

The draft law also provides for the confiscation of the tangible heritage subject to the offence, along with the equipment, machinery and means used in committing it, with the seized items permitted to be handed over to the competent authority for disposal, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties.

Source: Emirates News Agency – WAM