All categories Benefits Births, deaths, marriages and care Business and self-employed Childcare and parenting Citizenship and living in the UK Crime, justice and the law Disabled people Driving and transport Education and learning Employing people Environment and countryside Housing and local services Money and tax Passports, travel and living abroad Visas and immigration Working, jobs and pensions.
Is this page useful? Maybe Yes this page is useful No this page is not useful. Thank you for your feedback. Report a problem with this page. What were you doing? What went wrong? Revocable divorce. Revocable Divorce A revocable divorce occurs when a husband pronounces divorce to his wife and takes her back within the waiting period Iddah. A husband can take his wife back at any time during the waiting period which lasts three full menstrual cycles or three months. Resumption of sexual relations automatically retracts the divorce and the marriage remains valid and in effect.
A revocable divorce does not terminate the marriage and only becomes final when the waiting period expires. It is called a minor divorce. A couple can re-unite after a minor divorce. This constitutes a new marriage contract and requires a new dowry mahr. If a husband announces divorce to his wife for the second time, he can still revoke the divorce and take her back before the expiry of the waiting period.
Irrevocable Divorce If a husband pronounces divorce to his wife for a third time, the couple cannot remarry without an intervening consummated marriage of the woman to another man. A wife can divorce her husband without his consent by applying to court citing the harm caused to her by her husband or by forfeiting her dowry Al Khulaa.
Religious divorce of non-Muslims in the UAE is only recognised if it is processed through the court as above. Foreign religious divorces must be proven by a certificate issued by a recognised authority, a court judgment or an amicable settlement. If the divorce is issued in the UAE and is to be valid abroad the court judgment and amicable settlement must be attested by the relevant country's embassy and meet national requirements.
What powers do the courts have to allocate financial resources and property on the breakdown of marriage? Usually, each party retains the assets and property held in their name. The court divides jointly held assets, for example bank accounts and shares, equally or according to the percentage due to each party.
If there is evidence to refute this division, that is also valid under general civil laws, the dispute is filed at the court's settlement of disputes section.
The court will apply the Civil Procedure Code. What factors are relevant to the exercise of the court's powers? If the parties entered into an agreement outlining the division of property, this agreement is considered only for the assets located within the UAE. Assets held in other jurisdictions are not subject to any UAE family law proceedings unless the parties agree that the UAE court applies the relevant foreign law.
What is the court's current position on the division of assets? There is no statutory provision for the allocation of assets following marital breakdown. Therefore, judges uphold the principle that each party retains the assets held in their name. Where assets are held in a foreign country, the court where the assets are located applies international private law to determine the law applicable to the distribution of these assets.
How does ongoing spousal maintenance operate following marital breakdown? There is no spousal support on separation under Sharia and UAE law. There is no provision for the sharing of assets, wealth or income on divorce. A father cannot claim spousal maintenance from his ex-wife even if he is granted custody of the children. A father is liable for his children's education and living expenses, including rent and domestic employees' salaries.
However, a father can choose to pay more. A wife must be supported by her husband for three months Idda following a revocable divorce Personal Status Law see Question 13, Revocable divorce. During this time, she cannot remarry because of the paternity of any child would need to be verified Article 69, Personal Status Law. The period of time during the marriage that her husband failed to provide her with maintenance Article 67, Personal Status Law. A personal status guidance chart has been issued by the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department and it is applicable in other emirates.
It assesses the maintenance payments based on the father's income and number of children. The Courts of First Instance are not capable of complex asset separation and support orders.
However, higher courts can consider a more structured and complex maintenance order. The lower courts will not rule on the matter, leaving the parties to appeal to a higher court. Is it common for maintenance to be awarded on marital breakdown? A judge orders maintenance Nafaqa on a temporary basis before the divorce is finalised and the case is pending before the courts.
Usually, temporary maintenance for a wife and her children is quite minimal Article 68, Personal Status Law. On a wife's request, the judge can use their discretion to order a greater amount of temporary maintenance. What is the court's current position on maintenance on marital breakdown? The courts comply with the Personal Status Law, under which the amounts of money awarded by the court for maintenance can vary.
Child support. What financial claims are available to parents on behalf of children within or outside of the marriage? Child support covers all expenses required to care for the child. Therefore, child maintenance comprises several components including:. A father is responsible for providing this maintenance to his child following divorce. A father is not required to transfer capital to his child, provided that he pays for the child's maintenance.
A father can transfer capital to his child, but the courts will still make an order for structured child maintenance payments. On what basis is child maintenance calculated? A father must support his children and provide a standard of living similar to the living conditions they experienced during the marriage. Child support covers all expenses required to care for the child see Question A father can choose to pay more.
What is the duration of a child maintenance order up to the age of 18 years or otherwise? A father is responsible for a boy's maintenance until they complete their education, and for a girl's until they marry. Can a child whether of legal maturity or otherwise make a claim directly against their parents?
A child can make a claim for their education costs against their father, as maintenance should be paid until the child has completed their education. Enforcement of financial orders. An ex-husband cannot make a financial claim against his ex-wife either for himself or any children of the marriage following divorce or dissolution.
If an ex-husband fails to make the payments either as agreed between the parties or ordered by the court, his ex-wife can file for enforcement before the courts. Additionally, the judge can issue a travel ban see Question 29 and arrest warrants. What is the legal position on the reciprocal enforcement of financial orders? There are treaty arrangements within the Gulf Cooperation Council and other states, under which the judgments of these countries are recognised and enforced in family and personal status matters.
However, foreign financial orders can be enforced within the UAE subject to certain conditions see below. Cabinet Decision No. Previously, courts could refuse to enforce a foreign judgment if they considered they had jurisdiction over the matter resulting in the foreign judgment.
Now courts can only refuse to enforce a foreign judgment if they have "exclusive jurisdiction" as defined in Article 85 of Cabinet Decision No. Foreign judgments can therefore be enforced if all of the following conditions are met:. UAE courts do not have exclusive jurisdiction over the matter in dispute. The dispute was one over which the foreign court had jurisdiction, according to the laws of that state. All parties involved in the case were summoned by the foreign court and appeared before it.
The judgment or order has acquired the force of res judicata , under the law of the court that issued it. The foreign judgment does not conflict with any judgment or order previously issued by a UAE court and does not breach UAE public order. The enforcing party can file an application before the Execution Court to enforce the judgment. Prior to Cabinet Decision No. However, the claim can now be brought to the enforcement judge who will determine the claim without notice to the other party Article 85 2 , Cabinet Decision No.
An order must be issued by the enforcement judge no later than three days after submission. Enforcement of foreign judgments in the UAE has been quite difficult, especially in the area of family law. Many attempts to enforce foreign judgments fail because the judgments are found to be in conflict with Sharia law, which governs public order. A foreign court order can be enforced with the consent of the parties. This process relies heavily on their cooperation and compliance.
Mirror orders and undertakings can be attested before the courts and can take effect if they are not contrary to Sharia law. There is nothing equivalent to a "mirror procedure" where a mirror order can be automatically obtained in a local UAE court. However, it is possible for foreign parties to submit an agreement to the UAE court that can be attested by the court.
The agreement will be locally enforceable as a judgment of the UAE court. The agreement can comprise the provisions of a foreign court order. Financial relief after foreign divorce proceedings. What powers are available to the court to make orders following a foreign divorce? If such a power exists, what is the legal basis for making such an application? Following a foreign divorce, the court has the power to apply the foreign judgment provided it complies with public order and UAE law.
The legal basis is the same as that of a domestic divorce. Under Sharia law, parents do not share equal parental responsibility for their children and the concept of parental responsibility is different to that in other jurisdictions. UAE law assigns different roles to the mother and the father. There are two main principles that affect the care of young children under Islamic law:.
Custody hadana. Custodians are considered the caretakers of the child, responsible for their day-to-day needs, for example feeding, clothing and sanitation, as well as having physical custody of the child Article , Personal Status Law. Guardianship wilaya. Guardians are considered the providers of financial and substantial means, for example maintenance, expenses, school fees and providing a house for the child Article , Personal Status Law.
Usually as soon as the marriage is terminated, the mother becomes the custodian and the father becomes the guardian. However, a mother can be considered an unfit custodian if she remarries, develops mental health problems or is indicted for a criminal felony. If a mother loses custody, the father becomes the custodian of the children, provided that he has a female to take care of them, for example his mother, sister or wife. In practice, when deciding on custody, the judge's first concern is the best interests of the child Articles , and , Personal Status Law and the law provides that the judge should choose the most suitable custodian for the child Article , Personal Status Law.
Custody awarded to women ends when a male child reaches 11 years of age and a female child reaches 13 years of age, unless the courts decide it is in the child's interest to extend this period until a male reaches the age of majority 21 years old , and a female marries Article , Personal Status Law.
A father waives his rights to custody if he does not request custody within six months after the child has reached the legal age that is, either 11 or 13 Article Only parents have visitation rights. If a parent is deceased or absent, the judge may award visitation rights to first line relatives in this case that would be a mother or father or the grandparents.
Access to the children for the non-custodian parent is guaranteed under the Personal Status Law and left to the discretion of the court. The non-custodian parent has the right to visit or ask to be visited by the child as decided by the judge. The time, place and the person responsible for the child must be specified Article , Personal Status Law. The father's visitation rights are protected Articles She would also risk losing custody. International abduction.
What is the legal position on international abduction? However, if the applicant can satisfy a civil court summary judge there is a real fear of abduction by the respondent, the judge will order a child travel ban. They are usually issued to the applicant on the same day, due to their urgency. Travel ban proceedings are ex-parte proceedings.
The proceedings are taken before the summary court by the applicant and no service of summons is required. The courts notify the other parent when the travel ban is imposed. In practice, the child's name is listed at all entry points to the UAE, for example airports, ports and borders with neighbouring countries, where the officers on duty will not allow the child to leave. A judge will not take the risk of lifting a travel ban, allowing one of the parents to leave the country while the other parent is still a resident of the country, as the other parent may not be able to carry out their rights and duties towards the child due to the distance between the child and that parent.
However, a parent can ask a judge to lift a travel ban temporarily. The applicant must submit a form of guarantee for example, another family member's passport , that the child in custody will be brought back to the country, and therefore, the other parent will not to be harmed by the court's decision. Under what circumstances can a parent apply to remove their child from the jurisdiction against the wishes of the other parent?
Travel A custodian or guardian should seek one another's written consent before taking a child travelling outside of the UAE within the custody period Articles and , Personal Status Law. If either party refuses to give written consent, the custodian or guardian can refer the matter to the courts.
The father must provide evidence of a home for the children and their mother, that the relocation is not an attempt to harm the mother and is a genuine and real relocation and is intended to be permanent and not temporary Article 3 , Personal Status Law.
He continues to be responsible for the financial maintenance of the children. Surrogacy and adoption Surrogacy agreements. What is the legal position on surrogacy agreements in your jurisdiction?
Is surrogacy available to individuals and cohabiting couples both heterosexual and same-sex? Surrogacy agreements do not exist. These agreements are likely to be considered an indecent assault with mutual consent, punishable by detention for at least one year Article , Penal Code. What is the legal position in relation to adoption? Is adoption available to individuals and cohabiting couples both heterosexual and same-sex?
Religious marriage ceremonies are not recognised in English law unless the civil content and requirements are complied with as well. If you want to have a religious marriage or other type of marriage ceremony and, for example, the place you want to get married is not a registered building, or the person you want to conduct or be present during the ceremony is not an authorised person, then you will need to have a civil ceremony beforehand to ensure your marriage is legally recognised.
What if I have only had a religious marriage? If a religious marriage ceremony only complies with the religious requirements of a particular faith but not with the necessary civil preliminaries and ceremony requirements set out above then the marriage will not be recognised in English law.
A woman whose marriage is not recognised in law will be treated as someone who lives unmarried with her partner. This has very important consequences. Marriages which have taken place overseas i. The domicile of a person is the country whose laws that person must comply with in certain matters, such as marriage and divorce law. It usually relates to where you were born and brought up, although it can also relate to other factors.
For example, if you and your husband got married in Nigeria in a legally recognised ceremony according to the laws of Nigeria and were both born, raised and settled in Nigeria, it is likely that your marriage would be recognised in English law.
This is a complex subject and if you are not sure about your domicile it is important to seek legal advice. Under the law of England and Wales a person commits the criminal offence of bigamy if they marry one person whilst they are married to someone else. If a person marries more than one person and lives with all of their wives or husbands this is called a polygamous marriage, and a person who does this in England and Wales is likely to be committing the offence of bigamy.
This means that if you are married in a legally recognised ceremony in England and Wales, and if your husband or wife is already legally married, then your marriage will not be legally recognised and your husband or wife may be committing a criminal offence. Alternatively, if you have a religious marriage which is not legally recognised and your spouse is already married to someone else, for example your marriage is a second Islamic marriage recognised in Islamic law, your spouse will not be committing a criminal offence, but your marriage will not be legally recognised and you may be vulnerable to the difficulties mentioned above with regards to finances and property.
If you are not sure about your domicile it is important to seek legal advice. A forced marriage is where one or both people do not, or cannot, consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used. If you think you have been forced into a marriage, or you want to know more about forced marriage, see Forced marriage and the law. A marriage which is voidable is still a marriage in law until it is annulled declared to not exist.
The process of getting an annulment is similar to that of divorce but, unlike divorce, once a marriage is annulled it puts the parties back into their original position as if the marriage had never taken place.
Unlike divorce, it is not necessary to wait one year from the date of the marriage before applying for annulment. It is important to note, however, that you must start the annulment process within three years of the date of the marriage. If three years have passed since the marriage and you have not started the annulment process then you will need to get permission from the court to start your application.
Alternatively, you can end your marriage through the divorce process. See A guide to divorce for further details. The law is complex and may have changed since this guide was produced.
This guide is designed to provide general information only for the law in England and Wales. You should seek up-to-date, independent legal advice. Rights of Women does not accept responsibility for any reliance placed on the legal information contained in this guide. General Register Office — www.
Government Services and Information website — www. Court forms and locations — www. National Domestic Violence Helpline — — www.
0コメント