Family
Sharia personal status, plus a parallel civil family law for non-Muslims
Personal status for Muslims follows sharia. Since 2022 non-Muslims can use a separate civil family law, first in Abu Dhabi and then federally, covering civil marriage, no-fault divorce and equal custody.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Personal status courts. Abu Dhabi operates a dedicated Civil Family Court for non-Muslims with English-language proceedings.
- Deadline — 30 days to appeal a personal status judgment
Governing law
- Personal Status Law, Federal Decree-Law 41 of 2022
- Civil Personal Status Law, Federal Decree-Law 41 of 2022 for non-Muslims
- Abu Dhabi Law 14 of 2021 on Civil Marriage and its Effects
In practice
The UAE now runs two genuinely different family law regimes in parallel, and which one applies turns on the religion of the parties rather than on their choice. The non-Muslim civil regime introduced no-fault divorce, equal joint custody as the default, and civil marriage without a religious ceremony or guardian consent, none of which exist in the sharia track. Abu Dhabi's Civil Family Court hears these matters in English. For Muslims the 2022 Personal Status Law remains sharia-based on guardianship, inheritance and custody. Advice given without first establishing which regime applies is likely to be wrong on every material point.