Family law in the UAE has undergone significant changes in the last decade. Until recently, family matters in the UAE were governed by the Federal Decree Law No. 28 of 2005, regardless of the religion of the parties involved. However, in the year 2020, certain amendments in the law allowed non-Muslims to apply the personal laws of their home countries while dealing with family cases.
Although this was a welcome change, the application of the personal status law was a matter of fact that needed to be proved to the court. Personal status laws were required to be translated into Arabic and attested in the correct format to be admissible in court. Furthermore, the application of the law would be more advantageous to one of the parties than to the other.
This was particularly evident during the implementation of specific personal status laws that prohibited no-fault divorces. If a spouse was not able to prove that the other party has caused harm, they were denied a divorce as per their personal status law, regardless of whether one or both parties were uninterested in continuing the marriage.
These problems were solved with the introduction of the civil personal status laws. Currently, Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status governs non-Muslims in the UAE except in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and Abu Dhabi Law No. 14 of 2021 on the Personal Status for Non-Muslim Foreigners in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi governs Muslims within the state of Abu Dhabi. The UAE government also updated the law governing Muslims in the country, with the enforcement of Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2024 on the Issuance of the Personal Status Law.
The UAE civil personal status law, under both the Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2022 and the Abu Dhabi Law No. 14 of 2021 allow divorce by unilateral will. In order for the court to pronounce a judgment of divorce, it is sufficient for either of the married couple to express his / her wish to get separated and not to continue the conjugal relationship, without having to justify that decision, to specify the aspects of harm, or to lay the blame on the other party.
No-fault divorces do not imply that an individual is able to divorce another individual without any repercussions. After a divorce is granted, the civil personal status law allows a divorced woman to submit a request to the court seeking a judgment of alimony from her ex-husband. In the event that there is no agreement on the conditions or controls of such alimony or the other financial claims in the marriage contract, the granting of the application and its duration is subject to the discretion of the judge after evaluating the following factors:
The civil personal status law and its provisions regarding unilateral divorces significantly streamlines the process of divorce. Instead, couples have the option to part ways amicably, and with dignity, enabling them to move forward and build healthier and happier relationships.
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