Federal Decree-Law No. (41) of 2024 on the Issuance of the Personal Status Law, which was issued last October, officially comes into effect today, according to “UAE Legislation,” the official platform for the UAE Government’s legislation.

The decree includes key provisions and fundamental amendments, notably:

1. Financial Independence in Marriage: The law affirms that each spouse has an independent financial estate. A wife has full autonomy over her finances, and her husband may not dispose of her property without her consent. If either spouse contributes to the development of the other’s wealth or the construction of a home or similar, they are entitled to claim their share from the other spouse or their heirs.

2. Marriage Contract Conditions: The decree sets out seven rules for stipulations in marriage contracts:

   • First: The couple must adhere to their agreed-upon conditions, unless they contradict Islamic law by permitting what is forbidden or forbidding what is permitted.

   • Second: If a condition contradicts the essence of the marriage contract, the contract is void.

   • Third: If a condition does not contradict the essence but goes against its implications or is religiously impermissible, the condition is void but the contract remains valid.

   • Fourth: If a condition does not contradict the essence or its implications and is not religiously impermissible, it is valid and must be fulfilled. If a spouse breaches such a condition, the other party may request annulment—unless they waive the right explicitly or implicitly (such as not objecting within a year of discovering the breach).

   • Fifth: If the breach is by the husband, annulment may be granted without compensation. If by the wife, compensation not exceeding the dowry may be required.

   • Sixth: Conditions are only grounds for annulment if they are written in the marriage contract or acknowledged by both parties.

   • Seventh: No condition will be recognized if denied unless it is written in the marriage contract.

3. Marriage Formation: Marriage is concluded through mutual offer and acceptance using the explicit term “marriage,” verbally, in writing (if verbal communication is not possible), or through an understood gesture (if both speech and writing are not possible).

4. Invalid Marriages: A marriage contract is invalid in two cases:

   • When one or more of the essential pillars of marriage are absent.

   • When one or more validity conditions of the contract are unmet.

5. Effects of Invalid and Defective Marriages:

   • An invalid marriage has no legal effect before consummation. After consummation, effects include the waiting period (‘iddah) and lineage confirmation.

   • In the case of a defective marriage, the court annuls the contract. Before consummation, it has no effect except in cases where the husband pronounces divorce—it is then considered a minor irrevocable divorce.

   • After consummation, the wife is entitled to the agreed dowry or a comparable dowry, lineage is confirmed, the waiting period is required, in-law prohibitions apply, and the woman is entitled to alimony—unless she was aware the contract was defective.

   A couple in an invalid or defective marriage may enter into a new, valid marriage contract without requiring a judicial ruling annulling the previous contract, provided the marriage is properly documented.

6. Return of Engagement Gifts: If either or both parties break off the engagement, only conditional gifts linked to the marriage or valuable gifts exceeding AED 25,000 are returnable—if they still exist, or otherwise their equivalent or value at the time of receipt, unless they are consumables. If the engagement ends due to death or circumstances beyond either party’s control, no gifts are returnable.

7. Types of Marital Dissolution: The decree identifies five forms of separation: divorce, judicial divorce, khul‘ (mutual separation), annulment, and the death of a spouse. Divorce may be initiated by the husband through speech, writing, or any method, and if unable, through an understood gesture. It does not apply unless the marriage is valid.

   Repeated or numbered statements of divorce—spoken, written, or gestured—are counted as a single divorce.

   Both spouses have the right to request judicial divorce in case of harm that makes continued cohabitation unreasonable. The court may grant the divorce if harm is proven and reconciliation fails.

   Either spouse may request divorce on grounds of addiction to drugs, mind-altering substances, or alcohol, preserving their right not to be forced to live with an addict deemed unfit to care for themselves or their family.

8. Custody Revisions: The decree amends custody provisions by emphasizing the best interest of the child in all judgments and prohibiting bargaining over the child’s rights post-divorce.

   The custody period is extended to age 18 for both boys and girls—unifying the age regardless of gender. Previously, custody ended at age 11 for boys and 13 for girls.

   A new provision allows the child, upon reaching age 15, to choose which parent to live with. In cases where the custodian (typically the mother) is not of the child’s religion, custody decisions are left to the court’s discretion based on the child’s best interest—unlike the former law, which ended non-Muslim mother’s custody at age five.

9. Deferred Dowry: The law allows the couple to agree in the marriage contract to defer all or part of the dowry. If the contract does not specify a deferment or timeline, the dowry is due upon demand. If a clear deadline is stated, the dowry becomes due at that time. If the time is undefined, the dowry is considered immediate. If conditional, it becomes due upon the condition’s fulfillment, a definitive separation, or the death of either spouse.

10. Mutual Respect and Marital Duties: The decree requires both spouses to treat each other kindly, promote affection and mercy, and avoid causing material or emotional harm. Neither may withhold marital relations or childbearing without the other’s consent.

The husband must provide for his wife in accordance with customary standards, treat all wives justly in polygamous marriages, and provide obligatory support. The wife must obey her husband reasonably and breastfeed their children unless there is a valid religious reason not to.