Abu Dhabi Judicial Department registers 2,200 civil marriages in 8 months

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) has registered more than 2,200 civil marriage applications before the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court for foreigners in less than eight months, at a rate of 25 applications per day, or four new marriages per hour, since the Abu Dhabi Emirate Civil Marriage Law came into force in January this year, with a 100 percent increase over the last three months.

According to statistics released by Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court, 95 applications for no-fault divorce and joint custody were registered in the first eight months of 2022, in addition to 820 applications for authentication of civil wills, 145 applications for proof of parentage and requests of birth certificates for foreign children, and 65 civil inheritance cases, with the launch of the “Express” civil marriage service, which allows for the conclusion of marriage in just 24 hours, in response to the large influx of tourists from all over the world who want to enter into civil marriage in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Youssef Saeed Al Abri, Under-Secretary of the Judicial Department, stated that the achievements of the Family Court for Foreigners in Abu Dhabi reflect the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidential Court and Head of the Judicial Department, to make the Abu Dhabi courts an unprecedented and elaborate model of family court in a modern perspective, in line with the achievement gained by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in respecting human rights and individual freedom of choice.

The enactment of the Personal Status Law for Foreigners and Non-Muslims embodies the wise vision of the leaders and their commitment to developing an integrated and pioneering service system that ensures excellence and leadership at the global level, especially since Abu Dhabi stands out in the Arab region as the only city that implements civil laws for foreigners and non-Muslims in the area of personal status, Al Abri added.

He pointed out that the Abu Dhabi courts are also distinguished by the mechanism of providing judicial services electronically, from registration to attending the hearing remotely through video conferencing. They are paperless electronic courts, in addition to being the only bilingual court in the Arab region, where litigation procedures are carried out in Arabic and English, including claim forms and judgments, to guarantee the right of the foreigner to understand the litigation procedures simply and easily, without any language barrier that could prevent him/her from understanding the court’s decisions.

In terms of details, statistics show that 95 cases of no-fault civil divorce applications have been filed by foreigners and non-Muslims residing in Abu Dhabi since the law was enacted in January this year. This is an increase of 40 percent over the past three months, which reflects the extent of the benefit and the difference made by this law. Indeed, the civil divorce judgment is rendered at the first hearing within 30 days after the divorce petition is filed, without the need to submit the case to the Family Guidance.

The law has deliberately favoured this solution to reduce quarrels between the applicants and allow their separation without turning them into litigants with the adverse effects thereof and favour the future joint role of the parents in the upbringing of the children. The court automatically decides to grant custody of the children jointly to both parents, based on the children’s best interests, to avoid any prejudice arising from the divorce and affecting their right to proper care.

According to statistics, 65 cases of civil inheritance for foreigners have been registered since January, with an increase of 125 percent during the last three months. This is due to the simple and easy mechanism introduced by the new law, which provides for the distribution of the foreigner’s estate residing in the emirate, by granting the wife 50 percent of her deceased husband’s assets and dividing the remaining 50 percent among the children in equal shares, regardless of gender.

The court issues its decision on the distribution of the estate in Arabic and English within 30 days from the date of registration of the case to facilitate procedures for the heirs and promote economic stability regarding assets and property.