Executive Council Resolution No. (4) of 2025On Promulgating The Executive Regulation of Law No. (10) of 2021 On Competencies of Geographic Information Systems Center We, Mohamed Bin Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Ras Al Khaimah Crown Prince & Chairman of Executive Council After perusal of Federal Decree-Law No. (5) of 2019 On Establishing Federal Geographic Information Center; And Ras Al Khaimah Municipality Law of 1981, as amended; And Law No. (10) of 2021 On Competencies of Geographic Information Systems Center; And Emiri Decree no. (2) of 2004; And after approval of the Executive Council; have promulgated the following Regulation: Article (1) Definitions In applying provisions of this Regulation, the definitions stated in Law No. (10) of 2021 on Competencies of Geographic Information Systems Center shall have the same meaning in applying provisions of this Regulation and in applying provisions thereof, the following words shall have the meanings corresponding to each of them respectively, unless text context requires otherwise: Authority Electronic Government Authority. Center Geographic Information Systems Center. Data Geographic information related to a specific location, which is collected, produced or processed by Data Providers. Sharing Authority The Authority participates in transferring or exchanging data with other authorities or makes its data available thereto. Open Data Data that can be published with no restrictions or within limited restrictions to be set by the Center in coordination with Data Producer. Shared Data Data exchanged among Data Providers according to terms and controls determined by the Center. Data Sharing The mechanism of data transfer via systems distributed in different authorities, along with determining the methodology for data sharing among authorities and the mechanisms for transferring and delivering it. Data Protection and Information Security Systems, procedures, technologies and technical solutions designed to protect data and ensure its integrity and security from any unauthorized access, modification or deletion. Business Data Specialist A technical officer in the authority, who has competence to collect data and coordinate in respect thereof with the Center and the sharing authorities. Activities Include activities related to geographic information and surveying that require a permit from the competent center, in particular: spatial data surveying, collection, processing, preservation, analysis and updating of site-related data, operation of surveying devices and the use of aerial photography cameras. Reference Register The electronic or paper register prepared by the Center, to record all data related to the business permit. Article (2) Application Scope Provisions of this Regulation shall apply to the following: 1. Local, federal government and private authorities that hold any data related to the Emirate. 2. Persons and Authorities designated by the Center that create, produce, publish or exchange data related to the Emirate, including private corporations and companies and academia, in the entire territory of the Emirate, including Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zones. Article (3) Data Management and Governance Policies The following policies shall apply to data management and governance: 1. Data Classification Policy. 2. Data Sharing Policy. 3. Data Protection and Information Security Policy. 4. Open Data & Value Realization thereof. 5. Any other policies issued by resolution from Center Manager. Article (4) Data Classification Policy 1. The concerned authorities shall commit to classify data which they possess according to the following classifications: a. Open Data. b. Shared Data. 2. Classification should be conducted according to the following steps: a. Appoint Business Data Specialist in the concerned authority. b. Collect, inventory and classify all data possessed by the Authority according to the following levels: 1. Very Confidential 2. Confidential 3. Restricted 4. Public Article (5) Data Sharing Policy The Center shall collect, organize, store, analyse, maintain and update data from Data Producers and make an effective link among such authorities that ensures data sharing in safe and efficient way and enhance cooperation and efficiency in using it, in coordination with Data Producer. Data Producers should do the following: 1. Modify its infrastructure of devices, information systems, programs, etc., to enable it to publish, share and exchange its data electronically. 2. Ensure its data quality and update it periodically. 3. Commit to policies, procedures, guidebooks, controls and conditions approved by the Authority and Center. 4. Identify the obstacles that prevent publication and exchange of its data and send the same to the Center or Authority, as the case may be, to study it and propose appropriate solutions. 5. Sign Data Confidentiality Agreement with the Center. 6. Approach the Center to obtain data required from any other sharing authority. 7. The Sharing Authority has the right to refrain from sharing its data with other parties for legal or security reasons. Article (6) Data Sharing Process Steps Upon sharing data, each authority shall commit to the following steps: 1. Share data via electronic services dedicated to publishing and exchanging data. 2. The Business Data Specialist at the authority whose data is required to be shared shall notify the authority requesting the sharing of the necessary procedures and steps, in the event that they are not met, while giving it the opportunity to meet all data sharing requirements. 3. The Business Data Specialist at the authority whose data is required to be shared shall ensure that the data is classified at the appropriate level according to the classification stated in Article No. (4) of this Regulation, before submitting it to the Center to be shared with the requesting authority. 4. The Center shall return the data to the issuing authority to classify it or modify classification level thereof if the Center finds that it is not classified or classified at an inappropriate level. Article (7) Data Protection Policy 1. Without prejudice to the legal protection of data provided for in any other legislation, all authorities that share and exchange data are obligated to take the necessary measures to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of data during the process of publishing and exchanging it. 2. The Center’s spatial data is considered an asset owned by the government and no person or authority may collect, process, disclose, dispose of or publish it by any means except in accordance with the provisions of applicable laws and legislation, this regulation and the resolutions promulgated pursuant thereto and in accordance with the purposes for which it is intended. 3. The other authorities which share data are entitled to the following: a. To be aware of its data with any holder thereof and who wants to view, access or obtain it. b. Retract previous approval to share its data with other authorities, maintain or process it. c. Correct, amend, erase, update or process its data or adding thereto. 4. To collect, process and maintain data, the following conditions should be met: a. Collect data for legitimate, specific and declared purposes to the Center in accordance with the agreements in place between it and the authority concerned with the data. b. Process data in a legal manner and appropriate for the purposes for which it was collected, within the framework of the Center’s responsibilities. Article (8) Data Protection Responsibility a. The Authority and the Center, or any other authority entrusted with the responsibility of data protection in coordination with the Center, shall be responsible for data protection in accordance with the approved terms and procedures to ensure data confidentiality, protection and security. b. The Center shall monitor and supervise the procedures applied for data exchange, in addition to receive and share data with the concerned authorities, in accordance with the provisions of the Law and this Regulation. c. The Authority or any other entity assigned with the responsibility of protection shall commit to coordinate with the Center in the following: 1. Conduct periodic evaluation and inspection of data protection and hacking prevention systems, while adhering to application of information security standards that are in line with the Authority’s policy and register the evaluation results accurately and issue the necessary recommendations based thereon. 2. Cooperate and coordinate with the Center in implementing the provisions of this Regulation to ensure data confidentiality and protection. 3. Notify the Center and the authority concerned with the data immediately in the event of any breach or violation thereof. 4. Set approved procedures for data confidentiality, security and protection. 5. Take all technical and organizational procedures and apply the necessary standard criteria to protect and secure data, maintain its confidentiality and prevent penetration, destruction, changing, or tampering thereof. d. The Authority, in coordination with the Center, shall support and maintain the Center’s digital infrastructure and link spatial information systems to government business systems. Article (9) Data Value Realization Policy 1. The value realization policy shall apply to all data, and any person or government or private authority shall be entitled to obtain a permit from the Center to use the data against a fee to be determined according to data classification level. Academic and research institutions shall be exempted from the fee or part thereof if the use is limited to purely research purposes. 2. Data Producers shall be entitled to collect the value thereof, in coordination with the Center. Article (10) Geographical Names Register The Center shall set up, manage and update geographical names register in the Emirate, provide and operate its services and issue the necessary instructions to get them, in accordance with the standards and specifications approved in this regard. Article (11) Create and Issue Official Maps 1. The Center shall prepare the standards and specifications for producing the official maps of the Emirate. 2. The concerned authorities must provide the Center with information related to the official maps and any updates thereto. 3. The Center shall, in coordination with concerned authorities, issue and publish official maps and provide electronic services related thereto. Article (12) Practice Activities Permit 1. Activities are prohibited unless a permit is obtained from the Center. 2. Upon issuing the permit, it is required to adhere to the general conditions and policies issued by the Federal Geographic Information Center to regulate the practice of activities. Article (13) Permit Issuance Conditions The license is granted to establishments that may practice economic activities in the Emirate whenever the following conditions are met: 1. Submit all documents specified by resolution issued by the Center and pay the fee. 2. The establishment shall obtain all necessary approvals from the authorities concerned with the activity required to be licensed, which shall be determined by resolution issued from the Center. 3. The facility’s employees must have the academic qualifications and technical experience as determined by resolution from the Director General. 4. The Center shall prepare a permit application form, which takes into account the inclusion of data related to identifying and describing the activity. 5. The permit issued by the Center must include the following data: a. Permit Holder details. b. Category and nature of the permitted activity. c. Permit scope and term. d. Terms and conditions stipulated in permit application form. Article (14) Permit Issuance Procedures The following procedures shall be followed when applying for permit to practice activities: 1. The establishment shall apply for the permit on the form approved by the Center, attached by the following: a. Photos of vehicles, drones and equipment to be used at the activity site, copy of the Civil Aviation Authority permits for the aircrafts and copy of vehicle driving license. b. Map indicating activity location. c. Copy of the trade license for private establishments. d. Security clearance issued by Ras Al Khaimah Police General Headquarters e. Any other documents determined by resolution from the Director General. 2. The Center shall review and evaluate the application within a period not exceeding fifteen days from the date of completing submission thereof and fulfilling all the conditions stipulated in this regulation and shall take any of the following decisions: a. Approve on issuing the permit for a period of one year from its issuance date. b. Notify the applicant of the necessity to complete the data, documents and approvals within the period specified in the notification; otherwise, the application shall be considered rejected immediately upon the expiry of this period. c. Refuse issuing the permit by a reasoned decision that shall be notified to the applicant. 3. Anyone, whose application has been checked off as data needed to be completed and he does not see it as justified, or whose application has been rejected, shall be entitled to submit a grievance to the Center within ten days from the date of notifying him of the decision to complete the application or reject it. The grievance will be decided on within ten days by the Department’s Grievance Committee or Committee set up by the Director General who will determine its working mechanism to decide thereon. Failure to decide on the grievance within this period will be considered as rejection thereof. 4. In the event of loss or damage of the permit, the permit holder may obtain a replacement for the lost or damaged permit from the Center after paying the prescribed fees. Article (15) Permit Review and Renewal 1. The permit holder must notify the Center of any changes that occur after the license is granted that related to its terms and conditions and the authorized activities. 2. The Center may amend, cancel or not renew the permit based on the assessment obtained through monitoring the compliance of permit holder with the conditions thereof. 3. The Center may renew the permit for a similar period or periods based on a request submitted on the form prepared for this purpose, no later than one month before the expiration of the permit period. Upon renewal, the results of the permit holder evaluation and meeting the necessary conditions for the permit shall be taken into account. The Center shall issue its decision regarding renewal within a period not exceeding fifteen days from the date of submitting the request. Article (16) Permit Cancellation a. The Center may cancel the permit in one of the following two cases: 1. If the permit holder failed to meet any of the permit conditions. 2. If he entered data in the permit application or renewal application or attached documents or papers thereto, and it turned out after obtaining it that they were incorrect. b. The permit holder shall be notified of the cancellation decision within seven days from the date of its issuance by the means determined by a resolution from the Director General. Article (17) Entry in Reference Register The permit data shall be recorded in the reference register, along with copy of both the permit holder’s trade license and the permit issued to him by the Center. In the event that the permit is cancelled or modified, the registration data shall be updated in the reference register. Article (18) Emirate Geodetic Reference a. The Center, in coordination with the Survey Department in the Department, shall update the geodetic reference of the Emirate in line with the available geodetic infrastructure and information. b. The geodetic reference consists of the following items: 1. Synchronous Monitoring Stations Local Network. 2. Tidal Stations National Network. 3. Local Horizontal and Vertical Geodetic Network. 4. Horizontal Geodetic Reference linked to the updated Global Reference 5. Local Vertical Geodetic Reference prepared based on tide levels in the Emirate 6. Emirate Local Geoid. Article (19) Regularization All persons and authorities that practice activities prior to the application of this Regulation must regularize their status in line with its provisions, within a period not exceeding six months from the date of application thereof. Article (20) Each provision in other Resolution contradicts with provisions of this Resolution shall be repealed. Article (21) This Resolution shall come into force as date of its promulgation and be published in the Official Gazette. Mohamed Bin Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Ras Al Khaimah Crown Prince & Chairman of Executive Council Promulgated by us on this day twenty second of Rajab 1446H. Corresponding to twenty second of January 2025G.