No-Fault Divorce for non-Muslims.
The introduction of no-fault divorce in the United Arab Emirates, as part of the Federal Decree-Law No. (41) of 2022 concerning Civil Personal Status for non-Muslims “Federal
Decree” marks a significant shift towards simplifying the divorce process.
This legal provision allows couples todissolve their marriage without the necessity to establish fault or blame. It is designed to reduce the emotional and financial strain often associated with divorce proceedings, making the process more straightforward and less adversarial.
This change reflects the UAE's commitment to modernizing its legal system and providing residents with legal procedures that align more closely with international standards.
Article 1 of Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 states that the laws governs the following:
Non-Muslim citizens of the UAE.
Non-Muslim expatriates and residents of the UAE, unless one of them insists that the law of their own country be applied in matters related to marriage, divorce, inheritance, wills, and proof of parentage.
Chapter (III) from Federal Decree-Law No. (41) of 2022 on Divorce and its Procedures states the following:
“Article 7: Divorce by Unilateral: Will In order for the court to pronounce a judgment of divorce, it shall be sufficient for either of the married couples to express his / her wish to get separated and not to continue the conjugal relationship, without having to justify that desire, to specify the aspects of harm, or to lay the blame on the other party.
Article 8: Divorce Procedures: Either of the married couple may request divorce with no need
to prove the harm, in accordance with the form prepared for this purpose, and the divorce shall take place by virtue of a court decision after the other party is duly served.”
This allows married couples to avoid the complexity of proving the fault to get a divorce from the United Arab Emirates courts as per Federal law no. 28 of 2005 concerning
Personal Status.
As our client, all that is needed is to give us the following documents:
1- Your Emirates ID.
2- Your spouse's Emirates ID and/or passport.
3- The attested marriage certificate “MC” – If the marriage certificate is not attested, we can do the attestation-.
4- The MC needs to be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “MOFA” in the UAE, then it shall be translated into Arabic, after translation it needs to be attested by Ministry of Justice “MOJ”.
The no-fault divorce cases are exempt from the family reconciliation department, and no objection certificate is not needed to file for divorce, which makes the divorce process faster.
This can be seen in article no. 3 of the Federal Decree, which states:
“Divorce proceedings filed in accordance with the provisions of this Decree Law shall be excluded from being referred to Family Guidance Committees, and instead, shall be presented directly to the court to render a judgment thereon at the first hearing.”
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have inquiries abour no-fault divorce application.
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