In January, we commented on the release of a consultation paper by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) relating to proposed employment regulations. At the time, ADGM indicated that it would not be introducing more general legislation to regulate the handling and processing of personal data in the new free zone.

The Board of Directors of ADGM has subsequently reconsidered the issue and issued a consultation paper inviting public comment on a proposed set of standalone data protection regulations. This would be an alternative to the individual provisions currently legislating for a limited level of data protection on the employment regulations.

Today the European Council approved its version of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The next stage is for the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council (each has its own preferred version of the regulation) to jointly agree on the final text of the regulation. These discussions will commence officially on June 24, 2015, and are currently scheduled to produce the final version of the GDPR by December 2015.