Criminal Responsibility for the Disclosure of Occupational Secrets

Sarah Abdullah

Legal Researcher at Zayed Al-Shamsi Law Firm and Legal Consultations 

A secret is defined as any information whose disclosure would harm a person’s reputation or dignity. It is also defined as a fact or attribute whose knowledge is confined to a limited number of individuals, especially when there is a legal interest for one or more persons to keep that information within that limited circle.

As for keeping a secret, it refers to concealing information that is considered a secret and preventing its access by others. Naturally, during the course of their duties, employees may be exposed to a number of secrets that correspond to the importance and sensitivity of the position they hold. These secrets can take various forms, including those related to the job itself, the people involved with the job, and colleagues’ secrets that may be revealed to them due to holding administrative positions.

In order to safeguard occupational secrets, the UAE legislator has mandated that employees preserve the confidentiality of their duties and refrain from disclosing them, under penalty of administrative and criminal responsibility.

In terms of criminal responsibility, the UAE legislator has stipulated in Article 432 that: “Anyone who, by virtue of their profession, craft, position, or art, is entrusted with a secret and discloses it in circumstances not legally authorized or uses it for personal gain or the benefit of another, shall be punished with imprisonment for a period not less than one year and a fine not less than (20,000) twenty thousand dirhams, or with either of these penalties. This is unless the person who owns the secret authorizes its disclosure or use.”

The punishment is increased to a temporary imprisonment for a period not exceeding five (5) years if the offender is a public employee or entrusted with public service, and the secret was entrusted to them during or due to the performance of their duties or services.

Therefore, the employee who is entrusted with a secret must maintain its confidentiality and not disclose it under any circumstances. Occupational secrets are a trust, and it is a moral, religious, and legal duty to preserve them. This enhances the integrity of the public office and strengthens the culture of trust within society.