The UAE government issues updated laws for agricultural and veterinary quarantine and the protection of endangered plant and animal species
Abu Dhabi, 7 January / WAM / The government of the United Arab Emirates issued an integrated set of updated laws to support and develop agricultural and veterinary quarantine, the protection of new plant varieties, and international trade in endangered animals and plants, which reflects the country’s efforts to continue strengthening the legal and legislative framework for these vital sectors.
The new law to regulate and monitor international trade in endangered animals and plants supports the state’s directions in the field of protecting and preserving biodiversity, enhancing legal protection for endangered animal and plant species and regulating international trade in them in line with the International Convention on Trade in Certain Endangered Species of Animals and Plants.
This law replaces Federal Law No. 11 of 2002 regarding the regulation and control of international trade in endangered animals and plants, which has not undergone any amendments for more than 22 years. It comes to keep pace with developments in the field of protecting endangered species, to consolidate the state’s compliance with the requirements of the International Convention on Trade in Certain Species of Endangered Animals and Plants, and to support the effectiveness of law enforcement by enabling the national administrative authority to Broader powers that contribute to the speedy taking of measures and implementation of supervisory measures, and expanding the scope of the legal protection of the law, especially in light of the periodic amendments that occur to the annexes and procedures of the aforementioned agreement.
The law includes many provisions that include introducing accurate and updated definitions of some concepts, such as: endangered species, pre-convention specimens, falcon passport, shipment, and agricultural health certificate, and updating the wording of the rest of the definitions and legal terms to be more consistent with the legislative system in the country. The provisions of the law apply to all state lands, including free zones, with regard to endangered specimens and species listed in the appendices attached to the law, and any amendments to them.
The law regulates the prohibition of the import, export, re-export, transit, or introduction from the sea of any species threatened with extinction, through all border crossings of the country, in a way that enhances the tightening of control over the country’s ports. It also defines the powers of the national administrative authority, the “Ministry of Climate Change and Environment,” in a more comprehensive way, and considers it the body responsible for implementing the provisions of the law, following up on the enforcement of legislation regulating international trade in specimens of endangered animals and plants and combating illicit trade in them, and the body responsible for issuing certificates that regulate international trade in endangered species and approving any conditions it deems necessary to issue the certificate. The law also grants the national administrative authority executive powers that were not in the previous law, such as disposing of seized samples of endangered animal and plant species confiscated pursuant to a judicial ruling. A new legal provision was also added that was not in the previous law with regard to samples in transit, which stipulates stopping the transit process and seizing the samples, in the event of suspicion that they have not obtained an export or re-export certificate or that the accuracy of the data received does not match the documents.
The law tightened the penalties, as fines were raised to not less than 30 thousand dirhams and not more than two million dirhams, and custodial penalties were added, some of which reach imprisonment for a period of not less than 4 years, with the violator being obligated to bear all the financial costs incurred as a result of the arrest, including the costs of being placed under guard, transporting and disposing of samples, and preserving live animals and plants during the period of detention, with a ruling to deport the foreigner in the event of recidivism.
The concerned authority that seized any of the violating samples was also obligated to notify the national administrative authority of the seizure and hand it over to the place of the seizure to complete its procedures in this regard. This is for the purposes of enabling the national administrative authority to perform its supervisory and executive role, and to unify procedures to ensure consistency in the application of the law. The law also specified new mechanisms for technical coordination with the competent authorities for the purposes of implementing the provisions of the law, so that the new law included a provision obligating the national administrative authority to coordinate with the Emirates Drug Corporation in the event that any sample of the types mentioned in the appendices falls within the jurisdiction of the institution.
Veterinary quarantine is one of the means and the first line of defense against the leakage and spread of infectious diseases of animal origin, and it contributes to protecting public health, enhancing the sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystems, and protecting national food security, as the new veterinary quarantine law replaces Federal Law No. (6) of 1979 regarding veterinary quarantine, which has been issued for 45 years, to be compatible with legislative developments and international standards and requirements in the field of animal health, and to achieve an increase in the efficiency of control over animal consignments imported to The country, transiting from it, or exporting from it.
The new law includes several provisions that include updating definitions and expanding their scope, so that the list of definitions contained in the current law was updated to keep pace with scientific developments and international practices in the field of animal health, and the inclusion of new definitions, including, for example: veterinary quarantine procedures, veterinary health certificate, animal waste, animal feed, and border crossing. The law also applies to all animal consignments imported to, exported from, or transiting through the country.
The law aims to enhance the state’s ability to respond quickly and prevent the entry of cross-border animal diseases by taking proactive precautionary measures, such as banning imports, or imposing temporary quarantine restrictions based on scientific indicators or international warnings regarding the outbreak of epidemic diseases in any country, including emerging, emerging, and cross-border diseases included in the list of the World Organization for Animal Health, and taking veterinary quarantine procedures for any infected animal consignments.
The import of animal consignments was also prohibited except through the approved border crossings in the country, which are determined by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and allow the import of animal consignments through them. Veterinary quarantine was organized through an integrated system that includes prevention, evaluation, prevention, examination, quarantine, and disposal of animals infected with epidemic diseases, for any animal consignments imported into the country, exported, or transiting from it.
The law also specifies the powers of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the competent authorities, including their authority to allow the import, export and transit of consignments of animals infected with epidemic diseases into or outside the country, and to establish veterinary control measures, including identifying temporary sites as quarries in emergency cases or in cases where it is not possible to quarantine live animals in approved veterinary quarantine centers, in accordance with health and preventive procedures.
The new law supports digital transformation, as it stipulates that the veterinary health certificate may be a paper or electronic document issued by the authority responsible for implementing the veterinary quarantine in the country of export, and includes the detailed conditions and procedures that were applied to the animal consignment, in addition to strengthening control over means of animal transport by requiring operators of ships, planes, and land carriers to adhere to the necessary specifications and requirements for transporting animal consignments, which are determined by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment or the competent authority, as the case may be, including the obligation to disinfect the means before entering the country and after their use, and preventing Entry into the country if it is suspected of transmitting epidemic diseases or through contaminated means of transport or in violation of transport requirements. The new law also promotes the safe disposal of dead animal carcasses, live animals infected, or animals carrying an epidemic disease, or their products or waste, in accordance with the procedures specified by the executive regulations of this law. The penalties were also increased and expanded, and the new penalties included imprisonment and fines, in addition to confiscation, to ensure deterrence and achieve compliance.
Agricultural quarantine is the first line of defense to protect the state from agricultural diseases and pests, the direct impact of which is reflected in food security, public health, the environment, and the safe trade of agricultural and plant products around the world. The new agricultural quarantine law replaces Federal Law No. 5 of 1979 regarding agricultural quarantine, which has been issued for 45 years, to consolidate the state’s position as a leading center for international trade in the field of import and export of agricultural products and crops, and to comply with the amendments to the standards of the International Plant Protection Convention, and confirms the state’s obligations resulting from Its membership in international agreements and organizations contributes to enhancing biosecurity in the country and reducing biological risks that may arise from the trade exchange of agricultural consignments and goods of plant origin.
The most prominent provisions included in the new law are the addition of many terms that were not referred to in the previous law, including, for example: phytosanitary regulations and materials subject to them, beneficial organisms, and phytosanitary certificate.
The provisions of the law apply to plants, plant products, beneficial organisms, and other materials subject to phytosanitary regulations imported to and exported from the state, and agricultural shipments in transit to the state.
The law specifies the powers of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment for the purposes of implementing the law, including, for example: regulating the import of plants, plant products, beneficial organisms, and other materials subject to phytosanitary regulations, applying quarantine procedures for agricultural shipments after they enter the country as necessary, designating any site as a quarantine area, taking the necessary phytosanitary measures to prevent the transfer of quarantine pests to the country and their spread within the country, conducting periodic reviews of phytosanitary measures in accordance with international standards, and studying and evaluating imported plants to ensure that they do not cause environmental impacts. Negative impact on the country’s natural biodiversity.
The law stipulates that all agricultural shipments imported to the country or exported abroad must be inspected, and the procedures stipulated in the law and its executive regulations must be taken if the agricultural shipment threatens to introduce and spread a pest in the country, or if it does not comply with the provisions of the law, its executive regulations and the decisions implementing them, or in the event of suspicion of the presence of pests or diseases in it, and obliges any person or importer to disclose to the customs employee at the port of entry into the country any materials subject to phytosanitary regulations. Or beneficial organisms, and these materials are not released except after the approval of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
It is also prohibited to enter sand used in agriculture or natural agricultural soil, or accompanied by agricultural shipments and untreated and unsterilized organic fertilizers, except after obtaining a license from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment or the Emirates Drug Corporation, depending on the jurisdiction, in accordance with the conditions and procedures specified by the executive regulations of the law. The law tightened the penalties for violators of its provisions, as fines were raised to “500,000” dirhams, with a ruling deporting the foreigner in the event of recidivism.
The new Law on the Protection of New Plant Varieties aims to protect new plant varieties, regulate the granting of plant breeders’ rights and protect these rights. It promotes the development of new plant varieties adapted to environmental conditions, raises the state’s bio and food security rates, and increases the level of the state’s participation in the Council of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants as an effective member. The new law replaces Federal Law No. 17 of 2009 regarding the protection of new plant varieties, and is consistent with best practices. And the international standards applied in the field of plant variety protection, especially the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants issued by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).
The law includes a number of provisions regulating new plant varieties, the most important of which are: establishing a registry for the protection of new plant varieties at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment in which new plant varieties and the rights of plant breeders are registered in accordance with the provisions of this law. The law also specifies the powers and tasks of the Registrar (the competent administrative unit in the Ministry) who supervises the registry, and defines who is a plant breeder, so that it includes the person who bred a variety or discovered and developed it, as well as the employer of that person, or the person who assigned him to undertake this work, or the legal successor of that person. The conditions for granting the right of the new variety to the plant breeder were also specified, as being new, distinct, homogeneous and stable, stipulating that granting the right of the plant breeder may not depend on any additional or different conditions that conflict with the provisions of the law, and setting the duration of the right of protection for the plant breeder for a period of “20” years and “25” years for vines and trees, and it begins from the date of granting the breeder’s right.
The law reformulated the conditions for considering a variety to be new with clearer wording, applying the law to any genus and plant species to which it had not previously been applied, and considering varieties belonging to this genus or plant species to meet the conditions of newness stipulated in the law even if the sale or disposal of them to others occurred on state lands within “4” years before the date of filing, or within “6” years before the aforementioned date in the case of trees or vines, and that this provision applies to requests to protect the right of plant breeder deposited within one year after applying the provisions of the law.
The provisions relating to a distinctive plant variety have also been reformulated so that the variety is considered distinct if it can be clearly distinguished from any other variety known publicly on the date of filing the application, without requiring that the application be filed inside or outside the country, and the provisions relating to the homogeneous plant variety, the right of priority in submitting applications for protection of the variety, the scope of the plant breeder’s right, the exceptions to that right, and other provisions relating to the protection of plant varieties, its nomenclature, and the temporary protection of the interests of the plant breeder, have also been reformulated in a formulation consistent with the provisions of the new International Convention for the Protection of Plant Varieties.
In addition, articles were introduced that comply with the provisions of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, and the provisions related to the waiver of the plant breeder’s right and cases of invalidation and cancellation of this right were amended. The law also tightened the penalties imposed on violators of the provisions of this law, by stipulating a penalty of imprisonment for a period of no less than two months and up to “3” years, and a fine not exceeding “250,000” dirhams.
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