MBA 5002 Assessment 3 Final Draft
MBA 5002 Assessment 3 Final Draft
Table of Contents
Type chapter title (level 1) 1
Type chapter title (level 2) 2
Type chapter title (level 3) 3
Type chapter title (level 1) 4
Type chapter title (level 2) 5
Type chapter title (level 3) 6
Introduction
Knowing that the Revenue in the Hotel market is estimated to recover in UAE by 2024 with
an annual growth of 8.9% mainly in Dubai [2] while in Australia its estimated to grow by
14.7% by 2025. [3]
Purpose
This is a Legal Collaborative Research Project which compares Australia and the UAE’s court
structure and laws to provide detailed information for BIA to make an informed decision on
expanding its Hotel Brand, “The Beverly Hills Hotel” into one of these growing tourist markets.
The research will aim to answer which country provides the best choice in terms of legal
jurisdiction laws in the establishment of an agreement for future developments. We will also
identify whether turnkey or unit contracts is a better matched for the prime country.
Law Analysis
Based on the four categories of law analysis in the following sections. We aim to show which
country’s law is best fit for Beverly Hills Hotel’s next Capital purchase.
AGENCY LAW:
UAE [1] AUSTRALIA
COMMERCIAL Is an agent who represents a principal for a Is a legitimate relationship
AGENT certain service in exchange for an agreed between anybody acting as an agent,
DEFINITION charge, and these services can only be authorized by another party or entity
done By UAE nationals’ weather they own acting as a principal to
a company or not. perform assignments on its behalf.
The contract should specify which emirate [2]
will be covered.
[1]
FORM OF A written legalized contract must be a written contract in terms of
AGREEMENT [1] ‘’POWER OF ATTORNEY’’, where the
agent must legally declare the
services that will do as requested by
the principle
[2]
REGISTRATION The agency should be enlisted in the The parties of this contract should be
commercial agencies presented by the legally competent for the agreement
Ministry of Economy either for the selected to be legal and official.[2]
emirate in UAE or the ministry in the
federal capital if the agreement involves all
UAE.
The contract should be signed in UAE,
otherwise it should be validated by the
Ministry of Economy in UAE.[1]
AGENT The agent should do exactly what is The agent should act honest for the
OBLIGATIONS mentioned in the contract best interest of the entity by fulfilling
the following duties:
The agent can accept a commission for all
the arrangements which are done for a Act in person
specific service.[1] Act efficiently and effectively
Do what is best for the principal's
interests
Respect confidentiality
Work with integrity and not
accepting bribes [2]
Authorities IMPORTATION OF PRODUCTS: can be either:
given by Only the authorized agency can import the 1.Actual (the agent has actual
principle to the products for the principle if the contract is authority given orally or written by
agent valid, and the principle cannot agree with the principle Infront of the third
another agency unless the first contract is party) [4]
terminated. 2.Expressed (when the agent is
[6] representing his agency and at the
same time his principle, he is showing
expressed authority) [4]
3. Implied (signing a binder with the
client, gives the sense of implied
authority) [4]
4. Apparent (in front of the third
party the agent appears to have
authority, in contrast to the actual
truth) [5]
TERMINATION The termination is not given unless there is The termination of a contract can be
a valid reason presented to the agency obtained:
committee in the ministry of economy Mutual Agreement between
the parties
The possible ‘valid reason’ may be: If it is not originally present in
Agent failed to do the task the contract, either party can
Agent damaged the reputation of the ask for termination with a
service or entity notice period.
The agent plays a double role with the Death of either agent or
competitors principle
The agent did not respect the agency Breach in the contract by the
law agent [3]
Death of one the parties should be
notified to the ministry of the economy
within one week [1]
COMPENSATIO Due to sudden termination or non-renewal There is no legal right to
N of contract a compensation must be paid compensation. [7]
by the principles, these compensations are
calculated based on the following:
The duration of the contract
The quality of agents in
promoting the service
The net profit produced by the
agent. [1]
COMPETENCE The UAE courts are banned from discussing Jurisdiction is the law of choice in
AND cases for any agencies that are not Australian law and should be
JURISDICTION registered in the Ministry of Economy. [1] mentioned in the contract.
OF THE UAE however, sometimes the law in
COURTS Australia is enforced regardless of the
chosen law in contract especially
when:
• the validity of the contract is
questioned.
Comparative Analysis
The biggest drawback for UAE’s law is that it tends to stand by the local agent which is usually a
UAE citizen. Unlike the Australian law is unbiased and protects the rights of all parties.
For instance, there is no clear liability law in the UAE for the principle and agent. The UAE does
not clearly state the responsibilities of each party which may jeopardize the partnership. And
the termination law favors the agent as well, where the principle must pay compensation to the
agent and cannot sign or import anything unless all these payments are settled.
Consequently, this vagueness in the UAE law can result in a lot of disagreements and future
conflicts. Therefore, the Australian agency law shows a more secure contract for both parties as
compared to the UAE.
Contract Laws:
Globalization has opened a vast array of opportunities for companies to expand their brands
into emerging markets. For Beverly Hills Hotel Chain to develop in either Australia or the UAE, a
clear understanding of contract law in both countries would serve in making the best decision.
In the table below, we did a quick comparison of both Court structure in Australia and the UAE
in which both countries have comparable in structure. We decided to add the legal framework
to aid in the
decision making of which country to propose the development plan to build a new hotel in the
region.
Australia [1] [2] UAE [3]
Court Structure
-
- High Court with other Federal courts created - Federal Court Structure with a Court of Appeal
by Parliament in Abu Dhabi. (Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah both
maintain independent Federal court systems)
Civil Court
- Federal Courts In Australia (FCA) Handles - Court of First instance and hears claims
Civil matters which stem from Federal Law related to commercial matters to maritime
and some Criminal offenses. Some matters disputes.
handled- bankruptcy, corporation, consumer
law, taxation.
- Family Court of Australia which handles
disputes against family members and Family
law matters from the court above.
- Federal Circuit Court hears matters of less
complicated than (FCA) such as lesser
bankruptcy, administrative, copyrights,
privacy, admiralty and more.
Criminal Actions
- Hierarchy of State Court in each state or - Criminal Court - Handles complaints and
jurisdiction hears matters of a criminal offenses where police investigations occur.
nature including murder. These offenses are criminal in nature theft,
robbery, laws punishable by the government,
crimes against the public and more.
Sharia Courts
- Australia does not have Sharia/Islamic laws - UAE courts has Sharia law which is the Islamic
Court which holds sessions to dispute matters
between Muslims and other civil matters. [3]
provides a legal framework for two parties entering a contract or agreement to resolve their
disagreements and to regulate contractual provide an effective legal framework for contracting
Another form of contract that must be considered prior to deciding to develop in another
country are international contracts which cover a variety of agreements in forming legal
relationships or joint ventures. According to Up counsel [7], international contracts are
additional legal tools put in place to help companies limit their risk when expanding globally.
Things that should be considered when planning an international contract are [7]:
There are several types of contract agreements which are covered under international laws but
the ones specific to endeavor include:
Intellectual Property (IP) Agreements which covers the licensing, sublicensing,
trademark, assigning copyright and any other matters related to IP
Franchise agreements
Joint venture agreements
Development agreements
Comparative Analysis of Country Specific and International Contracts
In comparing Australia and the UAE legal systems, there are similarities with both frameworks. However,
the UAE is also governed by Sharia law which runs parallel with the civil law courts and can be quite
difficult due to the language and translation process. Companies planning to do business in the UAE must
be aware of the legalities of sharia law prior to conducting business in this country.
Australia’s Civil Court structure is more detailed and structured than the UAE’s system which
provides clearly defined functions for each type of matter, dispute, or instance. Whereas the
UAE provides a court of First instance which covers all civil cases.
In looking into the contract laws, there are subtle differences that should be carefully reviewed,
for instance, Good Faith applies to all contracts in the UAE whereas in Australia law does not
mention Good Faith as an element which binds an agreement.
Another consideration when planning to develop in one of these countries is international law
of contracts which requires very specific content especially in the jurisdiction and laws which
will decide all legal matters with the contract.
In order for the Beverly Hills Hotel Franchise to expand its brand into either Australia or the
UAE, it would be best to approach international contract law which is a tool which will limit its
risk by combining several agreements to protect its brand into the global market.
The Turnkey contract is well suited for the Australian court system because it promulgates
being administered by a joint committee.
Employment Law:
Employment law is governed by Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MoHRE) in UAE. It is
regulated by Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 which outlines the standards of employee’s benefits and their
rights.
In Australia, Fair Work Act (2009) governs the employment law for most of the employees in Australia.
Below information is presented for the full-time permanent employees.
Australia UAE
Form of Contract
Employment contract in Australia does not The contract in UAE must be in written form and a copy
have to be completely in written form. The of the contract has to be submitted to the ministry as
contracts are mostly in semi written and well as to be provided to Employee.
semi verbal form.
Working hours
8 hours per day or 38 hours per week. 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week. However, the
working hours may vary and increased based on the
approval from MoHRE for some businesses like cafes,
restaurants and hotels.
Annual Leaves
Full-time and part-time employees get 4 Employees who have completed at least one full year
weeks of annual leave, based on their receive 30 days of paid leave per year
ordinary hours of work.
Maternity and Paternity Leaves
18 weeks’ paid maternity leave at minimum Total of 45 calendar days of maternity leave fully paid.
national wages. UAE labour law is silent on paternity leave and it is up
Fathers are entitled to two weeks’ paid to the employers.
leave.
Sick Leaves
Full pay for 10 days Full pay for the first 15 days
No pay for up to 3 months Half pay for the next 30 days
No pay for the remaining 60 days
Notice Period in case of Termination
1 year or less | 1 week 30 days of minimum paid notice period
1 year to 3 years | 2 weeks
3 years to 5 years | 3 weeks
More than 5 years | 4 weeks
Trade Union
Union membership is allowed and plays an Trade unions are not allowed as per UAE labor law
important role in settlement of workplace
dispute.
Restrictive Covenants Enforcement
Restrictive covenants are enforced when It is implied by default in UAE. If a non-competition
employer can show a cause of protecting clause is included in the contract, it will be recognized
legitimate interest. by the court of law.
Restrictive Covenants Period
Reasonable period Reasonable period considering the risk to the
employer.
Financial Compensation in Case of Covenants
It is decided by court in Australia. Employees do not have to be compensated in case of
covenants.
Comparative Analysis
Based on the above outlined comparison, basic rights of an employee are the same in Australia and in
UAE in terms of the work hours, leaves etc.
The important point to note is the laws in UAE are more protective to the employers as compare to the
Australian labor laws.
UAE does not allow to create trade unions; they are strict in covenants enforcement and are very clear
about them. In Australia however it is subjective and depends on case to case basis. The decision is
taken by the criminal court.
The employment laws and conditions in UAE might be favorable for Beverly Hills Hotel to build a hotel
here. However, the final decision requires further analysis of intellectual property law as well as agency -
laws.
2.2 Intellectual Property Law
Intellectual property is any product of the human intellect that the law protects from unauthorized use by
others. The ownership of intellectual property inherently creates a limited monopoly in the protected
property.
In Australian IP law, the registration of a trademark can be extended after 10 years. For five
years from the date of filing a patent, the patent registration will run. The patent owner under
Australian IP law will apply for an additional five years to renew their application.
Patent law in the UAE refers to new innovations arising from or involving an innovative phase
which can be used or used by industry. Patent protection in the UAE is valid for Twenty (20)
years from the date of filing (no time of grace or extension).
Patents for the purpose of avoiding any questions provide protection within the United Arab
Emirates only and only in the UAE and are not automatically safeguards under either the Gulf
Cooperation Council or GCC (the Emirates of Abu Dhabi , Dubai , Sharjah, Ras al Khaimah,
Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain or Ajman). A patent application may be submitted with the GCC
Patents Office in order to provide patent rights in the GCC.
Any patent cases can be referred to civil courts. Arabic is the only official language accepted
before the United Arabian courts and used throughout the proceedings. No other language is
accepted, and all the other relevant documents submitted to the Court must be duly translated.
Arabic is the primary language accepted by the UAE courts and must also, therefore, be used
during proceedings. [10]
An Intellectual Property breach is when another person uses the intellectual property without
the owner’s consent. In the event of an infringement, the owner may only take legal action
when the registered design is inspected, and a certificate of evaluation is given if they think
their IP rights have been infringed.
The owner may even call for a hearing or argue a situation involving formalities or conclusions
of investigation based on an IP infringement. This choice is not widely used but can help protect
the design. Fees vary if an IP owner calls for a hearing. [11]
In Australian intellectual property regulation, trademarks and opposition can be broad, dynamic
and expensive. The services of an IP expert are required if an IP owner decides to be filing or
defend an infringement. [11]
Conclusion
After this collaborative law analysis, for Beverly hills to establish itself in UAE or Australia it
should focus on two vital segments in this analysis which are the contract law and agency law.
as mentioned above, the UAE agency law have a lot of gaps in the contract clauses, the court
authority inaddtion to the diversity and inclusion of other nationals.
Whereas the agency law in Australia is clearer about the responsibilities, terms and liabilities of
each parties with minimal bias regarding nationality of the agent. Such clear legal clauses in the
contract will minimize future conflicts.
Regarding the contract law, in Australia the law discusses in details the types of errors,
violations and other future glitches and how to manage them. Unlike the UAE contract law
which doesn’t give much attention to the possible breaches.
Moving forward to the employment law, in UAE its better in terms of indemnities and exist
benefits. Unlike in Australia where each case demands a specific action.
Consequently, the contract law, agency law and intellectual law are secured better in Australia
than in the UAE.
when it comes to the type of contract used, the turnkey contract shows a heavier weigh in
Australia than the unit contract, because The Turnkey contract is well suited for the Australian
court system as it publicized to be managed by a joint committee.
As a recommendation for Beverly hills hotels, it is advised for its next capital purchase to occur
in Australia under a Turnkey contract.
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