The UAE has introduced a groundbreaking personal status law that seeks to address modern societal and economic changes. The updated legislation aims to enhance family stability by offering more flexible judicial procedures. Key aspects include revised marriage, divorce, custody, and inheritance rulings. Emphasis is placed on protecting individual rights within families, with stringent penalties for violations.
The United Arab Emirates has enacted a new federal personal status law, reflecting its commitment to evolving with societal and economic shifts in the country. This law seeks to bolster family stability and social cohesion through enhanced judicial flexibility, while also modernizing rules related to marriage, divorce, custody, and inheritance.
The law empowers personal status judges with broader authority to rule according to Islamic Sharia, without being bound by specific doctrines, unless dictated by explicit legal texts. In situations where no precise legal text exists, judges can now exercise greater discretion, allowing them to better cater to the unique circumstances of each case. Judges supervising cases can also decide whether to refer them to family reconciliation centers before pursuing court proceedings, expediting certain family disputes.
Some cases, particularly those concerning wills and inheritance, are exempt from family reconciliation center referrals, speeding up judicial processes. Additionally, there have been updates around retrieving gifts and dowries upon the cancellation of engagements, setting the legal marriage age at 18 while allowing for exceptions upon cabinet approval, and facilitating court interventions in marriage guardianship transfers in specific contexts.
Crucially, the law ensures a wife’s right to the marital home under various conditions and mandates the documentation of divorce or reconciliation within 15 days in court. Custody laws have also been adjusted, raising the custody age to 18 and standardizing it across genders, while new regulations pertaining to wills have been established.
In a bid to simplify proceedings, numerous judicial procedures have been streamlined, such as standardizing legal concepts and timelines. Appeals and objections in personal status rulings now have a defined period of 30 days. The arbitration process in divorce lawsuits due to harm is also expedited to a 60-day conclusion.
The law reinforces the protection of family rights with strict penalties, including imprisonment or fines ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 AED, for offenses such as misappropriating minors’ funds, unauthorized travel with a custodian, wasting inheritance assets, or elder abuse. Legal action for these crimes requires a complaint by the concerned party, but there is potential for withdrawal before a ruling is issued.
This new law marks a significant transformation in the UAE’s personal status legislative framework, balancing individual rights and family stability.
Source: Alsafarpartners
