The Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai (SLC) has launched the four-day Legislative Week 2022 under the theme Legislation Stimulating and Supporting Future Economy. The event will run through November 24, 2022. The agenda of this year edition of the event features talks, panel discussions, interactive workshops, and brainstorming sessions that are designed to enrich legal knowledge and legislative culture and will further offer recommendations on developing balanced and agile government legislation. The event will be attended by representatives of Government entities and a select group of experts and law professionals specialising in drafting legislation, with a view to exploring how to develop a robust future-ready legislative ecosystem that is capable of coping with the future requirements and challenges.

A lecture titled "Legislative Lawmaking in Support of Economy of the Future" was delivered by Senior Legal Advisor Mohammed Salah Al Etawi, Head of the Technical Office, on the first day of the Legislative Week 2022. Mr. Al Etawi emphasised on the role of lawmaking in supporting the economy of the future.

The fist day of the Legislative Week 2022 also featured the Legislative Lab, a comprehensive innovative system that operates in accordance with the national strategy aiming to improve the future for coming generations. The Legislative Lab is as an experimental environment that enables the development of future legislation that is more dynamic and agile through conducting numerous brainstorming sessions.

Ahmad Saeed bin Meshar Al Muhairi, SLC Secretary General, remarked that the Legislative Week 2022 is a significant platform to explore various avenues in improving and revamping Dubai's legislative system in order to ensure its preparedness to assume its role as a supporting and enabling factor for the economy of the future. Al Muhairi stated that the event creates significant opportunities for disseminating, exchanging, and enriching legislative knowledge, as well as sharing legislative best practises, with a view to improving Dubai's legislative system, supporting the strategic goal of creating a sustainable economy, and driving the success and prosperity of vital and future sectors. The SLC is always keen on consult with the concerned entities as well as stakeholder to assess the current legislation and consider ways to make it more efficient, future-proof, and agile to assist the adoption of the methodologies of the economy of the future., Al Muhairi elaborated.

On the second day of the event, Dr. Yehia Al Adwan, a Legal Advisor at the SLC, will lead a panel discussion on creative economy entitled The Technical Aspects of Creative Economy. Guest speakers will include Kholoud Khoury, Director of the Projects and Events at Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), and Lama Bouresli, Advisor to the Director General at Dubai Culture. The second day will also feature a session on metaverse hosted by Bader Al Ali, a Legal Officer at the SLC. During the session, guest speaker Dr. Ahmed Al AAm, Data Science Expert and Consultant on Innovative Digital Transformation, will touch upon relevant topics such as The Concept of the Metaverse, 'Governments and the Metaverse, and 'The Future of the Metaverse.

The third day of the event will focus on virtual assets and currencies, with a session hosted by Hessa Al Maoli, Assistant Legal Advisor at the SLC. Guest speaker, Dr. Marwan AlZarouni, Strategic Advisor, Dubai Digital Authority, will discuss the technical aspects of virtual assets. Another session entitled Towards Effective Regulation of Virtual Currencies will be hosted by Omar Al Sweidi, Senior Legal Officer at the SLC. Guest speaker Dr. Ala'a Yakoob, Professor of Commercial Law, University of Sharjah will focus on the concept of virtual currencies, their legal nature, methods of safeguarding investors and users of digital currencies, and the link between virtual and traditional currencies.
On the final day, a panel discussion will be held on changes to customer concepts, and the new strategies needed for protection of consumers in the digital economy. The panel discussion, led by Dr. Saood Al Mansoori, Assistant Legal Advisor at the SLC, will feature specialised guest speakers, namely: Dr. Marwan Alzarouni, Strategic Advisor at the Dubai Digital Authority; Mr. Mohammed Shael Al-Saadi, CEO of the Commercial Control and Consumer Protection Sector of the Department of Economy and Tourism; Mr. Ahmed Amin Al-Hajri, Director of Legislation and Legal Studies Department of the Department of Economy and Tourism; and Mr. Karim Sofia, Legal Advisor at the Business Policies Department of the Dubai Chambers.

Finally, the Legislative Week 2022 will conclude with a presentation- through live feed- by Prof. Joan Barata, an international expert on Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) studies. Prof. Barata will give an overview of legislative impact assessment studies and will showcase an empirical case study showing the importance of RIA to the legislative process.