Personal Status Law

Article One

Promulgating Decree-Law

The Personal Status Law attached to this Federal Decree-Law shall be implemented, and the provisions thereof shall apply to all matters covered by the articles therein contained. If the judge does not find a provision, he/she shall render a judgement in conformity with the Islamic Law “Sharia”, provided that the most appropriate solutions shall be chosen as interest requires. Otherwise, the judge shall render a judgement based on custom, provided that it does not contradict the rules of Sharia, public order, or public morality.

Article Two

Promulgating Decree-Law

The provisions of the Civil Procedure Law, the Evidence Law in Civil and Commercial Transactions, and the Civil Transactions Law shall apply to matters not specifically stated in the herewith-attached law.

Article Three

Promulgating Decree-Law

1. The Federal Judicial Council and the competent local judicial authorities shall issue, each within their jurisdiction, the following regulations and guides: a. Regulations for certifications and documentation. b. Regulations for the function of the Personal Status litigation department and the competencies of the supervising judge. c. Regulations governing the work of authorized marriage officers. d. Regulations governing legacies and minors' assets. e. Family Guidance regulations. f. Visitation regulations for children in custody. g. Regulations governing the work of the two arbitrators. h. Regulatory procedural guide on Personal Status matters. i. Guidebook regulating the rules necessary for estimating the value of alimonies, wages, and the like. j. Any other regulations in implementation of the provisions of the attached law. 2. The Cabinet, based on the proposal of the Minister of Justice and after coordination with the relevant federal and local authorities, may assign the implementation of alimonies rulings and their collection to one of the government authorities or private legal persons, to undertake paying them to the judgment creditors and then collecting them from the judgment debtors in accordance with controls and procedures to be issued in this regard. It shall have the status of judgment creditors in following up on the collection of alimonies and any resulting fees and taking the necessary procedures. 3. The Cabinet, based on the proposal of the Minister of Justice and after coordination with the relevant federal and local authorities, may issue a decision to assign the task of implementing visitation, handing over the child in custody, and implementing the rulings, orders, and decisions related to the affairs of the minor to any entity that has the qualifications to do so in accordance with the controls and procedures issued in this regard. 4. The regulations and decisions issued in implementation of the provisions of Federal Law No. (28) of 2005 Concerning Personal Status shall remain in effect until the Cabinet and the Federal Judicial Council and the competent local judicial authorities, each within their jurisdiction, issue the regulations and guides referred to in Clause (1) of this Article.

Article Four

Promulgating Decree-Law

The law attached to this Decree-Law shall replace Federal Law No. (28) of 2005 Concerning Personal Status, and any provision that contradicts or conflicts with the provisions of this Decree-Law and the law attached to it shall be repealed.

Article Five

Promulgating Decree-Law

The present Decree-Law shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into force (6) six months following the date of its publication.

Article (1) Scope of Application of the Law

Chapter One: General Provisions

1. The provisions of this Law shall apply to UAE citizens if both parties of the relationship or one of them is Muslim. 2. The provisions of this Law apply to non-Muslim UAE citizens unless they have provisions specific to their sect and religion or they agree to apply another law permitted by the legislation in force in the State. 3. The provisions of this Law shall apply to non-UAE citizens unless one of them insists on applying his/her law or any other law that has been agreed to be applied, as permitted by the legislation in force in the State. 4. The provisions of this Law shall apply to all events that occurred after its provisions are into force. In addition, it applies retrospectively to deeds of divorce, divorce proceedings, and proof or denial of lineage proceedings, for which a final judgement has not been issued.

Article (2) Calculating the Durations

Chapter One: General Provisions

The Gregorian calendar shall be adopted for the durations mentioned in this Law unless otherwise stated.

Article (3) Courts’ Competence

Chapter One: General Provisions

1. The courts of the State shall be competent to consider cases related to Personal Status issues filed against citizens and foreigners who have a domicile, place of residence, or place of work in the State. 2. The court, within whose jurisdiction falls the respondent’s domicile, place of residence or place of work, shall be competent. In case of multiple respondents, competence shall be granted to the court within whose jurisdiction falls the domicile, place of residence or place of work of one of them. 3. The court, within whose jurisdiction the plaintiff’s or respondent’s domicile, residence, or place of work or marital home falls, shall be competent to hear cases filed by the children, the wife, the parents, or the custodian, as the case may be, in the following matters: a. Alimonies, wages, and the like. b. Custody, visitation, and related issues. c. Dowry, trousseau, gifts, and the like. d. Divorce, Khula’, acquittal, revocation, and separation between spouses in all their forms. 4. The court within whose jurisdiction in the State falls the most recent domicile, residence, or place of work of the deceased, shall be competent to verify the proof of inheritance, wills, and liquidation of estates. If the deceased did not have a domicile, residence or place of work in the State, competence shall be attributed to the court within whose jurisdiction falls one of the assets of the estate. 5. Local jurisdiction in matters of guardianship is determined as follows: a. In matters of guardianship (Wilayah) , at the domicile or place of residence of the guardian or minor, and in matters of tutorship (Wisaya) , at the most recent domicile or place of residence of the deceased or minor. b. In matters of interdiction, at the domicile or place of residence of the person to be interdicted. c. In matters of absence, at the most recent domicile, place of residence, or location of the absent person. d. If none of those mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) has a domicile or place of residence in the State, competence shall be vested in the court within whose jurisdiction the domicile or place of residence of the applicant is located, or the court within whose jurisdiction the property of the person whose protection is sought is located. e. The court, that issued a ruling of interdiction or ordered the withdrawal or suspension of guardianship, shall refer the case to the court within whose jurisdiction the domicile or place of residence of the Minor is located to appoint someone to supervise him/her, whether a guardian (Wali) or tutor (Wasi) . 6. If the respondent has no domicile, place of residence or place of work in the State, and it is not possible to designate the competent court by the provisions of the previous paragraphs, competence shall be to the court within whose jurisdiction the domicile, place of residence or place of work of the plaintiff is located, otherwise competence shall be vested to the court of the capital.

Article (4) Competence of Courts in Cases Filed Against a Foreigner Who Has No Domicile in the State

Chapter One: General Provisions

The courts of the State have the competence to hear cases related to Personal Status filed against a foreigner who has no domicile, residence, or place of work in the State, in the following cases: 1. If the case is an objection to a marriage contract to be concluded in the State. 2. If the case is related to a request to revoke or annul a marriage contract, or to divorce or repudiation, and the case is filed by a State citizen wife or a wife who has lost the citizenship of the State, provided that she has a domicile or place of residence in the State, or if it is filed by a wife who has a domicile or place of residence in the State against her husband who had a domicile, place of residence or place of work in the State, provided that the husband has abandoned his wife and made his domicile or place of residence or place of work abroad, has been deported from the State or if his domicile abroad is unknown. 3. If the case is related to a request for alimony for parents, wife, or a minor, who have a domicile, place of residence, or place of work in the State. 4. If the case concerns the lineage of a minor who has a domicile or place of residence in the State, or concerns a matter of guardianship over a person or property, provided that the minor or the person to be interdicted has a domicile or place of residence in the State, or that the absent person’s most recent domicile, place of residence or place of work was there. 5. If the case is related to a personal status issue, and the plaintiff is a citizen or a foreigner with a domicile, place of residence, or place of work in the State, where the respondent does not have a known domicile or place of residence abroad or if the national law is the applicable law in the State. 6. If there are multiple respondents and one of them has a domicile, place of residence, or place of work in the State. 7. If he has a chosen domicile in the State.

Article (5) The Competence of the Personal Status Judge and the Estate Judge

Chapter One: General Provisions

1. The Personal Status judge shall be competent to consider all disputes arising from the application of this Law and everything related to marriage, divorce, dowry, withdrawal of engagement, and all Personal Status matters. 2. By way of exemption to what is stated in Clause (1) of this Article, the estate judge shall have jurisdiction over the following: a. Issuing a ruling to prove death, list of heirs, list and liquidate and distribute the estate, appoint a guardian (Wasi) for minors and a tutor (Wasi) on the estate, and take all that is required to preserve the estate. b. Considering all disputes related to the inventory list, the liquidation of the estate, or the division and distribution of its assets among the heirs, and any civil, real estate, or commercial case arising, or deriving from, the estate related to its ownership, liquidation, or any of its affairs between the heirs and others, and disputes that occur between the heirs, guardians, and those in their position. c. Any incidental requests relating to the removal or introduction of an heir, wills, endowments (Waqf), or settlement between heirs in grants arising from the estate or inseparably connected thereto. d. Certain competences mentioned in this Article may be assigned to a competent department or specialized court by a decision of the Federal Judicial Council or the head of the Local Judicial Authority.

Article (6) Court Permit or Approval

Chapter One: General Provisions

1. In cases where the law requires obtaining the permit or approval of the court, or where the law requires that the matter be referred to a judge, the application shall be submitted to the court within whose jurisdiction the applicant’s domicile or place of residence is located, by an order on petition unless the law provides otherwise. 2. The court may conduct the required investigation and request whatever it deems necessary; It shall hear the proof and request the required documents. 3. Any interested party may appeal this order within one week as of the day following its issuance if it was in person, and from the day following its announcement if it was deemed in person, the court shall issue its ruling on the appeal by upholding, amending, or cancelling it, such ruling shall be subject to appeal.

Article (7) Directing the Dispute In Case of a Claim for a Missing Person Judgment

Chapter One: General Provisions

In the event of a claim for a missing person judgment, the dispute shall be directed to the potential heirs of the missing person, his/her agent or the person appointed as his/her agent, and to the Public Prosecution.

Article (8) Family Guidance Department

Chapter One: General Provisions

1. Before referring the case to the competent court, the supervising judge may issue a decision to refer the parties of the case to the Family Guidance Department/ Section to resolve the dispute between them amicably if he/she deems it feasible. Matters of wills, inheritance, and the like, urgent and temporary cases, urgent and temporary orders concerning alimony, custody, tutorship (Wisayah), and cases in which reconciliation is not foreseeable such as cases to prove marriage and prove divorce, shall be exempted from referral to the Family Guidance Department/ Section 2. If a reconciliation is reached between the parties before the Family Guidance Department/ Section, it shall be recorded in a report signed by the parties and the family counselor. The report shall be approved by the supervising judge and have the force of execution writs. It shall not be subject to appeal in any way unless it contradicts the provisions of this Law.

Article (9) Duration for Judgments Appeal and Cassation

Chapter One: General Provisions

The duration to file for appeal and cassation in rulings issued in personal status matters stipulated in this law is (30) thirty days.

Article (10) Commencement of the Duration of Appeal

Chapter One: General Provisions

The commencement of the duration of appeal of the judgment shall begin on the day following the date of its issuance if it was in person, and on the day following the notice of the party against whom the judgment is rendered if it was deemed in person.

Article (11) Definition of Engagement

Chapter Two: Engagement

Engagement is a man’s request to marry a woman who is permissible for him and a promise to marry her. Engagement is not deemed to be a marriage.

Article (12) Cancellation of Engagement

Chapter Two: Engagement

Both the fiancé and the fiancée have the right to withdraw from the engagement.

Article (13) Gifts During the Engagement Period

Chapter Two: Engagement

Everything that the fiancé or fiancée presents to the other party during the engagement period is deemed a gift unless the fiancé proves that what he presented is deemed a dowry or is customarily deemed part of the dowry.

Article (14) Redeeming Gifts

Chapter Two: Engagement

1. If one or both parties withdraw from the engagement, only gifts conditional on the completion of the marriage shall be returned, as well as valuable gifts each of which exceeds (25,000) twenty-five thousand dirhams in value, if they still exist, otherwise by their equivalent or their value on the day of receipt, unless the gift is consumable by nature. 2. If the engagement ends by death, or for a reason beyond the control of either party, none of the gifts may be redeemed.

Article (15) Redeeming the Dowry Presented During the Engagement Period

Chapter Two: Engagement

1. If either the fiancé or the fiancée refrains from concluding the marriage contract or dies before the contract, and the fiancé had given his fiancée property before the contract as part of the dowry, the fiancé, or his heirs, is entitled to reclaim what was given in kind if it still exists, otherwise by its equivalent or its value on the day of receipt. 2. If the fiancée buys with the dowry, or part of it, trousseau to the purpose of the marriage, according to custom, and the fiancé’s withdrawal is with no reason on her part, or her withdrawal is because of the fiancé, then she is entitled to choose between returning the dowry or handing over what she purchased in its condition unless an agreement stipulating otherwise exists. 3. If the fiancée buys with the dowry, or part of it, to the purpose of marriage, according to custom, and the withdrawal is from her part without a reason from the fiancé, then she is obliged to return the dowry, or else its equivalent or its value on the day of receipt.

Article (16) Definition and Purpose of Marriage

Chapter Three: Marriage

Marriage is a contract concluded in accordance with the provisions of this Law with elements and conditions between a man and a woman with the intention of perpetuating the marital relationship between them. It establishes rights and duties among spouses, aiming at chastity and purity, and the establishment of a stable family that spouses care for with affection and mercy.

Article (17) Definition of Seclusion

Chapter Three: Marriage

Seclusion is the meeting of spouses before intercourse in a place where each of them feels safe with the other without being overseen. Seclusion is proven by their agreement if they acknowledge it or by the testimony of witnesses.

Article (18) Elements of Marriage Contract

Chapter Three: Marriage

The elements necessary for the conclusion of a marriage contract are: 1. Offer and acceptance of spouses. 2. The guardian if the wife is Muslim, with the exception of a non-citizen Muslim wife, if the law of her nationality does not require her to have a guardian in marriage.

Article (19) Eligibility for Marriage

Chapter Three: Marriage

1. The legal capacity for marriage is completed by sanity and the person reaching (18) eighteen Gregorian years of age. 2. It is prohibited to document a marriage contract for anyone who has not reached the age of (18) eighteen Gregorian years, whether male or female, except with the permit of the court and after verifying the existence of an interest in this marriage, and that it meets the controls and procedures for marrying those under the age of (18) eighteen Gregorian years, which are determined by a resolution issued by the Cabinet based on a proposal from the Minister of Justice. 3. If a person who has not reached the age of (18) eighteen Gregorian years requests marriage and his guardian refuses to get him married, the person may bring the matter to Court. The court shall specify a period for the guardian to attend after informing him, to clarify his statements. If he does not attend, or if he attends and his objection is unjustified, the court shall get the person married. 4. Anyone who has been legally married has the capacity to litigate and appoint an agent in all matters related to marriage and its effects if he/she is sane, even if he/she has not reached the age of majority. 5. If the fiancée is a virgin and the age difference between her and the fiancé is more than (30) thirty years, the marriage shall not be concluded except with the permit of the Court.