Global Repository of Muslim Family Laws

The UAE Personal Status Law (PSL)

The UAE Personal Status Law (PSL) ^{Federal Law No. 24, issued 19 November 2005, on Personal Status, as amended (hereinafter “UAE Personal Status Law”) https://elaws.moj.gov.ae/UAE-MOJ_LC-En/00_PERSONAL%20STATUS/UAE-LC-En_2005-11-19_00028_Kait.html.} governs marriage, divorce, child custody and guardianship, inheritance, and other personal status matters for UAE nationals, apart from non-Muslims who may opt for the applications of provisions specific to their respective religions. ^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Article 1(2).} The Personal Status Law also applies to non-nationals, unless they ask for the laws of their own countries to be applied. ^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Article 1(3).} The Emirate of Abu Dhabi enacted its own Personal Status Law for non-Muslims. ^{Personal Status for Non-Muslims, UAE Government Portal, Updated 23 November 2021, https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law/personal-status-for-non-muslims.}

A framework of complementarity of rights

The PSL provides for a framework of complementarity of rights, whereby a woman is entitled to financial maintenance by the husband in exchange for certain obligations, including cohabitation. ^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Articles 54-56, 71.} A woman may lose her financial rights if she refuses sexual relations with her husbands without a valid excuse, abandons the marital home without a valid excuse, or otherwise violates any of her legal obligations in marriage. ^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Article 71.}

In 2019 and 2020, the UAE took several positive steps to eliminate certain discriminatory provisions in the PSL, including the requirement of “obedience” by the wife. The amended law emphasizes an expanded set of mutual rights, including respect, compassion, good treatment, and mutual duty to care for their children, in addition to guaranteeing a wife’s right to complete her education, leave the home to visit her immediate family relations, and pursue work outside the home. ^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Articles 54-56, 72.}

Minimum Age of Marriage

The PSL establishes a minimum age of marriage of 18 lunar years for both girls and boys, but continues to allow for judicially granted exceptions to the minimum age. 

The PSL does not specify an absolute minimum age under which marriage cannot be contracted.

Right to Divorce

A man may unilaterally divorce his wife and affect talaq either verbally or in writing, with or without a reason.^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Articles 99-109.} In order for talaq to take effect, it must be officiated in court and authenticated by a judge.^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Article 100.} A husband may delegate his unilateral right to divorce to his wife (isma) through a stipulation in the marriage contract, thus permitting her to pronounce divorce upon herself.^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Article 100.}

A woman may obtain a divorce through petitioning a court, for a certain set of stipulated grounds, including a husband’s failure to provide financial maintenance, incurable or severe physical or mental illness, infertility, prolonged absence of more than a year, prolonged imprisonment of more than three years, failure to copulate with his wife for more than four months, and adultery.^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Articles 112-135.} In addition, a wife may seek divorce on the basis of harm or discord that makes the continuation of marital life impossible.^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Article 117.} A woman may also seek divorce through khul’, whereby she is granted a divorce by a judge in exchange for returning the dowry, all marriage gifts, any amount the husband has paid to enter into marriage.^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Articles 110, 123.} Judicial divorce and khul’ may only be granted following a process of court-mandated conciliation.^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Article 98.}

Positive Feature(s) Under Muslim Family Law

In 2019 and 2020, the UAE took several positive steps to eliminate discriminatory provisions in the Personal Status Law. For example, it eliminated the requirement of “obedience” by a wife of her husband, replacing it with a framework of mutual respect, compassion, and good treatment, and introduced provisions to guarantee a wife’s right to complete her education and work outside the home.^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Articles 54-56.} It also introduced a positive change with respect to mandating that all divorces by authenticated and officiated in court.^{UAE Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Article 98.}

Administration Of And Access To Justice On Marriage And Family Matters

Personal Status cases for Muslims are adjudicated by Sharia courts, which are part of the UAE civil court system.^{Federal Judiciary, UAE Government Portal, Updated 29 March 2022, https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/the-uae-government/the-federal-judiciary.} There are Sharia court chambers in each of the seven Emirates that form the UAE, and Shariah court chambers are divided into courts of first instance and courts of appeal.^{Federal Judiciary, UAE Government Portal, Updated 29 March 2022, https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/the-uae-government/the-federal-judiciary.} Judgment of Sharia appeals chambers may, in turn, be appealed to the Court of Cassation of each Emirate, which can vacate Sharia appeals court rulings and decide on the merits of a case.^{Federal Judiciary, UAE Government Portal, Updated 29 March 2022, https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/the-uae-government/the-federal-judiciary; Personal Status Law (2005), as amended, Article 13.}  

The Family Guidance Section in the judiciary of each Emirate is the first point of contact for personal status cases, and it attempts to resolve cases free of charge before they are referred to trial at the Shariah court of first instance.^{Federal Judiciary, UAE Government Portal, Updated 29 March 2022, https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/the-uae-government/the-federal-judiciary.} If the parties fail to reach an amicable agreement, the dispute will be referred to the Sharia court of first instance after the payment of applicable court fees.^{Federal Judiciary, UAE Government Portal, Updated 29 March 2022, https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/the-uae-government/the-federal-judiciary. See, e.g., the Family Guidance Section of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, https://www.adjd.gov.ae/ar/pages/family-guidance.aspx.}

The Constitution of the UAE provides that equality, social justice, the provision of safety and security and equality of opportunity for all citizens form the bases of the community. ^{Constitution of the United Arab Emirates (1971), as amended, Article 14, https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/United_Arab_Emirates_2004.pdf.}Article 25 of the constitution states that “all persons shall be equal before the law,” and that there shall be no discrimination between citizens on the basis of “race, nationality, religious belief or social position.” There is no specific prohibition of gender-based discrimination in the constitution. Article 7 of the Constitution provides that Shariah is a principal source of legislation.

Other National Laws Related To Marriage & Family Matters

In 2019, the UAE enacted its first Domestic Violence Law, which enshrines certain protections for women from acts of violence within the family. Domestic violence is defined in the law as any act or threat that one member of the family commits against another, in excess of his guardianship, maintenance, authority, or responsibility, and results in physical, psychological, sexual, or economic harm.^{UAE Domestic Violence Law (2019), Article 3, https://www.gbc.gov.ae/assets/uploads/gbc_family_violence_2019.pdf.} Marital rape is not specifically criminalized in the law. The UAE has not adopted legislation to criminalize female genital mutilation (FGM).

In 2016, the UAE amended article 53 of the Penal Code, removing spousal “discipline” as a permitted act of violence, and in 2020, it repealed article 334 of the same law, which enabled lenient sentences for honour killings.^{UAE Penal Code (1987), as amended, Articles 53, 334. In 2021, the UAE enacted a new Penal Code enshrining these amendments, see Law No. 31 of 2021, https://laws.uaecabinet.ae/ar/materials/law/1529.}

CEDAW

The UAE acceded to CEDAW on 6 October 2004, and took reservations to articles 2 (f), 15 (2), and 16 of the Convention on the basis of Islamic Sharia, in addition to articles 9 and 29 (1). The last CEDAW review of the UAE took place during the 82nd Session of the CEDAW Committee in June 2022, which was the Committee’s third periodic engagement with the UAE.

Links to CEDAW reports that refer to Muslim family laws and practices 

1. Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: United Arab Emirates, Global Campaign for Nationality Rights, Equality Now, and the Institute of Statelessness and Inclusion, 82nd Session,13 June – 1 July 2022.
2. Human Rights Watch Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Review of United Arab Emirates’ periodic report for the 80th Pre-Session, February 2021.
3. Human Rights Watch Submission to the CEDAW Committee of the United Arab Emirates’ Periodic Report
   62nd Session, October 2015. 

Links to concluding observations that refer to reform of Muslim family laws and practices 

1. Concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of the United Arab Emirates, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 4 July 2022.
2. Concluding observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of the United Arab Emirates, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 24 November 2015.
3. Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: United Arab Emirates, 45th Session, 18 January-5 February 2010.

Link to Musawah’s CEDAW reports on the UAE

1. Musawah Thematic Report on Muslim Family Law and Muslim Women’s Rights in the United Arab Emirates, 82nd CEDAW Session, June 2022.
2. Musawah Submission for 80th Pre-Sessional Working Group on the United Arab Emirates, March 1-5, 2021, Submitted February 2021.

Any other relevant regional or international treaty or convention signed by the UAE

• Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified on 3 January 1997.
• United Arab Emirates has signed on to the Sustainable Development Goals. For information on UAE’s efforts to achieve the SGD and status monitoring, see https://uaesdgs.ae/en.

1. Hala Aldosari, “The Personal is Political: Gender Identity in the Personal Status Laws of the Gulf Arab States,” The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, 29 August 2016. 
2. Lena-Maria Möller, “Family Law in the Arab Gulf: Recent Developments and Reform Patterns,” JISPIL Vol. 9 Issue 2, 2013.
3. Lena-Maria Möller, “Custody Regulations in the United Arab Emirates: Legal Reforms and Social Realities”, Max Planck Private Law Research Paper No. 13/10, 2010.
4. Law for Personal Affairs, Information and Service, Social Affairs, UAE Government Portal, Updated 5 May 2021.
5. Marriage, Information and Services, Social Affairs, UAE Government Portal, Updated 30 June 2022.
6. Information and Services, Social Affairs, UAE Government Portal.