Personal Status Law — articles 1–100

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, h…

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.

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. Regu…

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…

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.

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 …

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

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…

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 o…

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 matt…

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 jurisdictio…

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.

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 …

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

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 rend…

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.

Both the fiancé and the fiancée have the right to withdraw from the 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…

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…

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 hi…

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 establish…

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 …

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 national…

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) e…

1. A male who has reached the age of majority and is prodigal or has become prodigal may get himself married. The guardian over property, before intercourse, may object to what exceeds twice the usual dowry. The exceptio…

The order of guardians in marriage is as follows: 1. The father, then the one he specifies in a will, then the paternal grandfather, even if he ascends, then the son, then the full brother, then whoever the woman chooses…

The Judge is the guardian of anyone who has no guardian, and he is permitted to marry himself to the woman over whom he has guardianship.

The guardian in marriage shall be a sane man who has reached the age of majority. If one of the conditions of guardianship is missing, the next guardian shall conduct the marriage.

If the guardian, even if he is the father, prevents a woman over whom he has guardianship, from marrying a man of her equivalence, and whom she has accepted and with a usual dowry, the Court shall undertake the marriage …

The offer and acceptance shall meet the following conditions: 1. They align explicitly in terms of words that convey the meaning of marriage in language and custom. 2. They must be coupled together at the same gathering …

The following conditions shall be met for the marriage contract to be valid: 1. Specifying the spouses. 2. The wife should not be, permanently or temporarily, part of the category of women to whom marriage is prohibited …

The witness shall be a sane man, has reached the age of majority, has heard the offer and acceptance and understood what is meant by them, and be a Muslim as long as the husband is a Muslim.

1. It is permanently forbidden, due to kinship, to marry: a. Ascendants, even if they ascend. b. Descendants, even if they descend. c. The descendants of the parents, even if they descend. d. The first layer of the desce…

1. It is permanently forbidden for a man, due to affinity, to marry: a. His wife’s ascendants, even if they ascend. b. The descendants of his wife with whom he had intercourse, even if they descend. c. Whoever is the wif…

1. It is permanently forbidden for a man to marry a woman whom he accused of adultery before the Judiciary, even if he retrieved his accusation. 2. A person is prohibited from marrying his daughter that he denied due to …

Breastfeeding relationship prohibits what is prohibited by lineage if the following conditions are met: 1. Breastfeeding should have occured during the first two years of the newborn’s life. 2. The number of times of bre…

Marriage is temporarily forbidden in the following cases: 1. A man’s marriage to someone else’s wife. 2. A man’s marriage to a woman in her Waiting Period from another man. 3. A man’s marriage to a woman who has been irr…

1. The spouses are bound by their conditions, except for a condition that makes permissible what is forbidden or forbids what is permissible. 2. If a condition that is stipulated in the marriage contract contradicts its …

Marriage is concluded by the offer and acceptance between the parties to the contract, using the explicit wording of marriage, in writing in case of inability to speak, and by a comprehensible signal in case of inability…

Marriage contracts are of two types: 1. Valid marriage contract. 2. Invalid marriage contract, including the following: a. Invalid marriage contract in which one or more of the elements of the marriage contract are missi…

A marriage contract is valid if its elements and conditions are met, and its effects are established from the moment it was concluded.

A marriage contract is invalid if one of its elements, or one of its validity conditions, is missing, or if a condition stipulated therein contradicts its essence.

1. A void marriage shall have no effect before intercourse. 2. A void marriage, after intercourse, results in a waiting period and proof of lineage.

1. The court shall revoke Al-Fased marriage contract, and it has no effect before intercourse, except for divorce if the husband issues it, in which case it becomes a minor irrevocable divorce. 2. The consequences of Al-…

It is permissible for spouses in the case of Al-Fased marriage contract to conclude a new marriage contract that meets the elements and conditions without the need for a judicial ruling to revoke the previous Al-Fased co…

1. The marriage contract shall be documented in the court in accordance with the legislation in force. 2. Any interested party may request proof of an undocumented marriage contract. 3. The marriage contract should fulfi…

1. The husband shall be equivalent to the woman at the time of concluding the marriage contract, and the loss of equivalency thereafter does not affect the contract. Equivalency is a right for both the woman and her guar…

If a man claims equivalency or fabricates what deceives to its existence, or equivalency is stipulated in the contract, thereafter it appears that he is non-equivalent, then both the wife and her guardian have the right …

The right of the wife to request revocation due to the lack of equivalency is extinguished by her pregnancy, the passing of one year since the date of intercourse or receiving prior consent from the person requesting the…

1. Dowry is the property paid by the man to the woman by virtue of the marriage contract, and its determination is subject to the dowry determination law. 2. Dowry is the woman’s ownership, and she shall not be obliged t…

1. It is permissible to agree in the marriage contract to postpone the payment of all or part of the dowry. 2. If the contract does not stipulate that the dowry payment be postponed and does not specify a particular time…

1. Except in the case of void marriage contract, the dowry is obligatory in accordance with the marriage contract. 2. The full dowry or the usual dowry is confirmed by intercourse, proper seclusion, or the death of one o…

A woman is entitled to the usual dowry in the following cases: 1. Silence about naming the dowry. 2. Denying the dowry in the marriage contract, 3. Not specifying the dowry correctly in the contract.

Both spouses shall consider the following: 1. Good companionship to each other in accordance with custom and exchanging respect in a manner leading to affection and mercy between them. 2. Neither party shall harm the oth…

1. The wife may refrain from entering and moving into the marital home until she receives her due dowry and until the husband provides her with an appropriate house in accordance with the husband’s financial capability. …

1. Each one of the spouses shall have an independent financial entity, and the wife is free to dispose of her property, and the husband shall not dispose of her property without her consent. 2. If one of the spouses part…

Separation occurs between spouses in any of the following cases: 1. Divorce. 2. Forced divorce. 3. Khula’. 4. Revocation of the marriage contract. 5. Death of one of the spouses.

Divorce is the dissolution of the marriage contract by the will of the husband through the word indicating it. There are two types of this word: 1. Explicitly, which is the word of divorce or a derivative thereof. 2. Met…

1. Divorce is pronounced by the husband by speech or writing by any means, and if he is unable to do either, then by a comprehensible signal. 2. Divorce does not occur on the wife unless she is in a valid marriage.

1. The husband or the wife, if she has the right to divorce herself, may authorize another person, male or female, to issue the divorce using a special notarized Power of Attorney. 2. The authorizing person’s statement, …

Divorce does not occur in the following cases: 1. If the wife is in the waiting period of divorce or invalid marriage. 2. Divorce of an insane person or someone who has lost his sanity, even if such loss is by choice due…

Repeated divorce or divorce coupled with a number, verbally, in writing, or by signal, is deemed only one divorce.

1. The husband shall document the divorce before the competent court within a maximum period of (15) fifteen days from the date of its occurrence, and this does not prejudice the wife’s right to file a case to prove the …

Divorce is of two types: 1. A revocable divorce, which does not end the marriage contract until the waiting period has expired. 2. An irrevocable divorce, which ends the marriage contract upon its occurrence, and is divi…

Every divorce in a valid marriage is deemed a revocable divorce except: 1. The third divorce, by which the woman becomes separated by a major irrevocable divorce. 2. Divorce before intercourse or seclusion, by which the …

If the husband divorces his wife by way of a revocable divorce, he has the right to take her back as long as she is in the waiting period, and this right shall not be extinguished by waiving it.

1. Take back is valid by action or explicit verbal or written expression, and if both are not possible, then by a comprehensible signal. 2. The take back is only valid if it is absolutely final, and should not be suspend…

1. The wife’s statement in divorce and take back cases is not accepted, except with proof. 2. The wife’s statement concerning the expiry of the waiting period for divorce before the take back is accepted if the period is…

1. In a revocable divorce, the husband shall document the take back before the competent court within a maximum period of (15) fifteen days from the date of the take back if he has documented the divorce, and he shall in…

Khula’ is a separation between spouses at the request of the wife and the husband's acceptance of the consideration offered by the wife or someone else, Khula’ takes place as a minor irrevocable divorce.

1. Anything that can be deemed property can be deemed as a consideration in Khula’ . 2. If the consideration in Khula’ is the dowry, then surrendering what was received from the dowry will suffice, and the remainder shal…

Khula’ is valid between fully competent spouses, and the exchange in Khula’ is valid if the person who provides it is competent.…

The spouses shall document Khula’ in accordance with the procedures in force before the competent court within a maximum period of (15) fifteen days, any interested party may apply to the court to prove it by any means o…

1. If one of the spouses finds in the other a disease or a serious defect that is among repulsive or harmful defects, such as lunacy, leprosy, or elephantiasis, or that prevents sexual pleasure, such as impotence, horns,…

If the marriage contract is revoked due to disease or harmful defect in one of the spouses, the court shall decide the following: 1. If the disease or defect in the wife preceded the contract, and the revocation occurred…

Each spouse is entitled to request divorce due to damage that precludes the continuance of their living together according to custom. The court may rule for divorce if the damage is proven, and reconciliation is impossib…

If the damage is not proven, the court shall dismiss the case. If the discord between the spouses continues, the harmed one may file a new case after the judgment becomes final or after (6) six months from the issuance o…

The arbitrators shall listen to the spouses, investigate the causes of the discord, and make efforts to reconcile them. The arbitrators’ work shall not be affected by either spouse's refusal to deal with the arbitrators.

If the Arbitrators are unable to make the spouses reconcile, they shall decide what they see as a way of their separation with or without consideration. The court shall estimate the consideration considering the factors …

1. The court shall rule to revoke the marriage contract if the wife requests its revocation before intercourse or seclusion and the husband refuses to divorce her or conduct Khula’ with her, and if she returns the receiv…

1. An order shall be issued to the wife, with whom the marriage has not been consummated, to revoke the marriage contract due to the husband’s failure to pay her due dowry if the period set by the court for paying her du…

1. If the husband refrains from providing for his wife, or it is impossible to collect the maintenance from him, the court shall give him a period not exceeding (30) thirty days. If he refuses to pay without presenting a…

The court shall revoke the marriage contract, upon the wife’s request, in the following two cases: 1. If the husband swears not to have sexual intercourse with her for a period exceeding (4) four months unless he retract…

1. The wife is entitled to request divorce due to the absence of her husband whose domicile or place of residence is known if he is absent from her for a period of not less than (6) six months, even if he has property fr…

Either spouse may request divorce due to harm if the other is addicted to drugs, psychotropic substances, or alcohol.

The waiting period is the specified period during which a woman may not remarry due to separation.

Subject to Articles (38) and (39) of this Law, the waiting period is obligatory in the event of death in a valid marriage contract, even before intercourse, and it is obligatory if the separation occurs in a case other t…

1. The waiting period is calculated as follows: a. The calculation of the waiting period for death begins from the date of death. b. The calculation of the waiting period for divorce begins from the date on which the jud…

The waiting period for a nonpregnant divorcée is as follows: 1. (3) Three periods of purity for menstruating women. 2. (3) Three lunar months for a post-menopausal woman, and (3) three lunar months for a woman who origin…

The waiting period of a pregnant elapses by giving birth or miscarriage.

The waiting period of a nonpregnant woman whose husband has died is as follows: 1. Before intercourse or after, it is (4) four months and (10) ten days in the lunar months. 2. If a woman is in the waiting period from a r…

1. A child’s lineage to his/her father is proven by birth in a marriage contract, by admission, by proof, or by scientific methods. 2. A child’s lineage to his/her mother is proven by proof of birth.

1. The minimum term of pregnancy is (180) one hundred and eighty days and the maximum is (365) three hundred and sixty-five days unless a medical committee formed for this purpose decides otherwise. 2. A child’s lineage …

1. In order to prove lineage by admitting filiation, even during a dying sickness, the following conditions shall be met: a. The admitting person is an adult, sane, and having free will. b. The child’s lineage is unknown…

In exceptional circumstances, or when newborns are mixed up in hospitals, or in the event of accidents or disasters, or when there is a dispute over proving a child’s lineage, or upon a request from a competent authority…

If the admitter is a married woman, or in her Waiting Period, the child’s lineage to her husband shall not be proven except by his admission in accordance with the conditions mentioned in Article (89) of this Law, or by …

If the lineage is proven in accordance with the provisions of Articles (87), (89), (90) and (91) of this Law, the claim to deny lineage shall not be heard.

The husband may not deny the child’s lineage except by an accusation of adultery if the following two conditions are met: 1. The case is filed within (15) fifteen days from the date of his knowledge of the birth. 2. The …

1. If a case of accusation of adultery is filed to deny the child’s paternity, the court shall consider it after conducting a DNA test based on a court order, if the woman agrees to conduct it. 2. If the woman does not a…

Alimony is a right for the person entitled to it, and includes necessities and basic needs of food, clothing, housing, medical treatment, and education in accordance with customs.