Law of Civil Personal Status of UAE

On 3 October 2022, a Decree No. 41 of 2022 regarding Federal Law of Civil Personal Status was issued to regulate personal matters of Non-Muslims in UAE whether citizens or foreigners as long as they did not uphold on applying their laws, and it is in matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, bequests, and paternity. It entered into effect on 01/02/2023.

Moreover, the new Law kept on some of the previous legislations (from articles 12 to 17 of Civil Transactions Law no. 5 of 1985). Moreover, it contains 18 articles regulating different matters including equality between women and men in rights and obligations such as testimony, inheritance, and filing for divorce.

It also states that the civil age of marriage is 21 years old and above. Furthermore, it regulates procedures and registration of civil marriage contracts in addition to rules of divorce, its procedures, unilateral divorce, and alimony of the divorced woman.

Matters like joint custody of children, distribution of inheritance, procedures of opening a file for the deceased’s estate and its distribution, in addition to procedures of regulating bequests are regulated in the articles of the new Law.

The new Law tackles matter of paternity as well, and states that to prove the lineage it shall be by marriage or declaration of the parents (father and mother). It also grants the Court the right of ordering to run DNA tests according to the rules regulating such matter.

Not to mention that this law revoked all rules contradicting with its rules.

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