The law on Personal Status for Non-Muslim Foreigners in Emirate of Abu Dhabi has been introduced by the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan recently. The law has specifically been designed for the foreign nationals staying in Abu Dhabi to enjoy upgraded judicial mechanisms for the purpose of their personal status disputes.
With the availability of flexible laws, foreign nationals should find the country convenient to live in. It is the first civil law introduced in the Emirate for the resolution of family matters of foreign nationals with respect to their personal laws, which widens the scope for international practices. The law guarantees the rights of the foreign national as specified by his personal laws, that is recognized globally. The law intends to protect the interests of the child of the foreign national in case of divorce or separation of parents and helps to ease the divorce procedures. It also helps to maintain the relationship between parents and the child after divorce.
The law will govern all the matters relating to marriage, divorce, estate, and affiliation in the case of a foreign national unless the foreign national wishes to be governed as per the provisions specified in the laws in his home country.
Under article 4 of the act, the following conditions must be fulfilled to become a party to a Civil Marriage contract:
- 18 years of age must be completed by both parties. Any identity document must be provided as proof of age (issued by the home country) like PAN card or Election card etc.
- A free consent to the marriage must be given in front of a judge by both the parties
- A disclosure form must be signed by both parties
- Siblings, or from children or grandchildren and uncles, cannot become parties to such civil marriage contracts
- Any other condition issued by the decision of the Chairman in the near future
Under article 5 of the act, the procedure for Civil Marriage Contract has been described. The marriage must be solemnized before the judge by filling the concerned form and agreeing to all the conditions and procedures set for the contract. The foreigner shall get an exemption from submitting the premarital medical examination. Marriage shall take place after the submission of the form before a judge. Both the parties must agree to the conditions of the contract, which must include the terms of rights of both the parties, during the marriage and after divorce.
The form must include the disclosure from both the parties of any previous marriages, mentioning all the details along with the declaration of non-effectiveness of previous marriages. The Chairman should issue a decision of approval of the said form of the contracted Civil Marriage. After the verification, the judge shall ratify the marriage contract and enter the marriage contract into the concerned register.
Article 6 of the act defines Unilateral Divorce, which says that, if either spouse expresses the intention of terminating the marriage in court, the divorce shall be granted, without seeking any justification or putting the other party at risk.
Under article 8 of the law, financial claims after divorce are defined. After divorce wife may claim alimony from her ex-husband by applying to a court by filing the post-divorce application form.
In case the marriage contract does not include the terms for alimony after divorce, in such case the court’s decision will be final, after the consideration of all the relative factors such as:
- Length of marriage ( alimony amount increases with the increasing numbers of years of marriage)
- age of wife (alimony amount decreases with the decrease of wife’s age and vice versa)
- The economic situation of each spouse (as demonstrated by the expert appointed by the court)
- husband’s role in divorce like negligence or any error
- compensation for any material or moral harm
- financial damages in case of unilateral divorce
- payment by father for the joint custody of the child subjected to an interim period of 2 years
- financial support by the husband to wife and children and
- termination of wife’s alimony in case she marries another man
