His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defense, in his capacity as Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, issued Council Resolution No. (13) of 2026, regulating the use of cameras in documenting violations and enforcing judicial rulings, decisions, and orders, in accordance with applicable legislation and under the supervision of the competent judge.
his resolution reflects the Dubai government’s commitment to promoting professional conduct and ensuring the quality of performance by officers—those tasked with enforcing or enforcing regulations—in carrying out their duties. It also aims to guarantee the highest levels of transparency and credibility, protect individual rights, ensure compliance with applicable legislation in the Emirate of Dubai, and utilize technology to verify the validity of procedures and measures taken by officers.
The decision detailed the rules and regulations for camera use, including: that cameras be used to document officers’ duties in apprehending violators or carrying out enforcement procedures, specifying the nature of the tasks that may be documented using cameras, and the locations where they are used. Furthermore, recordings must be stored in a secure and encrypted database and protected from unauthorized access, tampering, violation, hacking, or illegal processing, in accordance with the mechanisms and timeframes stipulated by the legislation in force in the Emirate of Dubai and the requirements adopted by the Dubai Electronic Security Center in this regard.
The rules and regulations for camera use also included the application of information security and business continuity policies approved by the Dubai Electronic Security Center, adherence to the Center’s approved mechanism for delivering and receiving recordings, and implementation in accordance with the procedures and instructions issued by the Center. The government entity must also maintain a database identifying individuals with access to recordings and their permissions, and obligate all its employees, staff, and authorized personnel to comply with privacy protection standards.
The decision also outlines the obligations of officers tasked with enforcing violations or implementing court rulings, decisions, and orders. These obligations include using cameras solely for official purposes and in accordance with instructions issued by the relevant government entity. Cameras must not be operated in highly private spaces, such as private residences, places of worship, changing rooms, and other similarly private areas. Furthermore, officers must inform individuals present during the enforcement of violations or implementation procedures that the task or procedure is being documented and recorded by camera.
The officer is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the recordings and may not hand them over, transfer, store, send, or publish them except to the relevant government entity and to a person designated by that entity. Recordings may not be copied, transferred, or stored on any personal device or storage medium not authorized by the government entity, nor may they be used for any personal, illegal, or unlawful purpose, or in violation of this decision, any decisions issued pursuant to it, or any applicable legislation in the Emirate of Dubai. The decision mandates that government entities conduct a training course for officers before granting them judicial authority. This course must cover the mechanism for implementing the provisions of this decision, the mechanism for documenting violations or carrying out enforcement procedures, and how to preserve, deliver, and transfer recordings to the person designated by the government entity. It must also cover the ethical and legal duties and responsibilities that officers must adhere to when using cameras, particularly those related to protecting privacy.
Executive Council Resolution No. (13) of 2026 outlines the obligations of private companies and institutions contracted by the government entity or entrusted with any of its assigned responsibilities under applicable legislation.
Confidentiality: The decision stipulates that recordings be created and stored electronically by the government entity and shall be considered confidential, in accordance with the rules for recording preservation established by the Dubai Electronic Security Center. These recordings may not be exploited, published, disclosed, copied, or made accessible to others without written permission from the government entity holding the recordings, and only for the purposes specified in that permission and in accordance with the legislation in force in the Emirate of Dubai.
With the exception of decisions issued by the Chairman of the Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai in accordance with the provisions of this resolution, the responsible official of the government entity shall issue, within the scope of the government entity’s jurisdiction, the decisions necessary to implement the provisions of this resolution. Any provision in any other resolution shall be repealed to the extent that it conflicts with the provisions of this resolution, which shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into effect from the date of its publication.
