A Legal Guide to Divorce in the UAE for Muslim and non-Muslim Residents

Under Article 98 of the Personal Status Law, divorce means cancellation of the valid contract of marriage between the spouses.

How to initiate a divorce:

Divorce can be commenced by the husband, and for the wife to initiate divorce, she must either have such right in the marriage contract or have grounds of ‘harm’ as mentioned in the law.

Divorce can be pronounced verbally, or given in writing, and in case of inability to do either, communicated by understandable gestures.

Divorce as per Sharia law can be pronounced by saying "talaq" (Arabic for "I divorce you"), by either of the spouses, in the presence of a witness. For Muslims, the divorce will be valid if given in this manner, but to get it recognised in the UAE, the divorce should be registered with the courts.

The spouses can also directly approach the court for a divorce judgement.

Mediation:

Before referral to the courts, the spouses are made to go through the process of mediation, conducted by the Family Guidance Committee, as per Article 98/3 of the law. The counselors in the Committee help to achieve reconciliation between the parties, and if there is no agreement, the matter moves to the judge.

Grounds:

The judge will decide the grounds for divorce from any one or more of the following:

1. Defects such as insanity or leprosy, or those preventing physical interaction can become grounds for divorce, as per Article 112 of the law. Also, if serious deceit is perpetrated by one spouse, the other can file for divorce under Article 114 of the law.
2. Non-payment of dowry by the husband to the wife in a non-consummated marriage (Article 116).
3. Discordance between the spouses, making it impossible to continue their relationship (Article 117).
4. If the husband fails to financially support the wife, under Article 124 of the law.
5. If the husband remains absent despite warning, and resides in a known domicile, the wife is entitled to divorce him, under Article 129 of the law. Where the husband’s whereabouts are unknown even after investigation, and a year has passed, the wife can claim divorce under Article 130 of the law.
6. As per Article 131 of the law, the wife can file for divorce from her husband if he has been sentenced to imprisonment for more than 3 years, provided the divorce is filed where the husband is already in prison for more than a year.
7. If the husband does not engage with the wife for more than 4 months, the wife can divorce him (Articles 132 and 133).

Revocability of divorce:

Once divorce is initiated, the wife is required to go through a waiting period, called "idda", which lasts for almost 3 months. It is required to ascertain as to whether the wife is pregnant. If the wife is pregnant, the waiting period will last up till the birth of the child. The expenses of the wife will be borne by the husband during this period.

The period of idda also allows the parties to reflect upon their decision of divorce, and if they wish, they can cancel the divorce and continue their marital relationship.