Many people wonder about the details of the marriage law in the UAE. Whether they are Emiratis or residing in the UAE; To complete the marriage procedures in the Emirates. And if you are one of these; We will dedicate this article to talk about all the details related to the law and procedures for marriage in the Emirates according to the latest legal updates and the latest decree of the Federal Law on Status.
What is a sermon?
According to the UAE Marriage Law; An engagement is a request and a promise to marry and is not considered marriage. It is forbidden to engage the forbidden woman even if the prohibition was temporary with the end of Ihram. At the same time, exposure may be a sermon in the meantime of death.
The engagement may be abandoned; In this regard, the law in the UAE has clarified some rules and mechanisms that facilitate and regulate the procedures for breaking the meeting, whether concerning recovering the dowry or gifts exchanged between the two parties. Among the most important of these controls are:
1- Both parties have the right to withdraw from the engagement. In the event of harm resulting from one of the parties’ unjustifiable abandonment of the meeting, the other party has the right to claim compensation for the damage incurred. The one who caused the reversal takes the equitable judgment.
If one of the parties abandons the engagement or dies, he shall recover the dowry he paid in kind or its value on the day of arrest if it is not possible to return it in kind. If the fiancée buys a device for the amount or part of her dowry, then the suitor adjusts; she can choose between replacing the dowry or handing over the device’s equivalent at the time of purchase.
The dowry includes gifts that are customarily considered to be from him, and therefore must be returned in case of abandoning the engagement. But if one of the parties leaves the meeting and there is no condition or custom regarding gifts, then if it is unjustified, he has no right to take back anything he gave to the other, and the other has the right to take back what he gave.
But if the relinquishment is by reason, he may recover what he gave if it was present, or its value on the day of capture if it was perishable or consumed, and the other has no right to recover anything.
If the sermon ends with a return from the two parties, each of them takes back what he gave to the other, if any.
And if the wedding ends with death, or because one of the parties has no control over, or an object that prevented the marriage, nothing of the gifts shall be recovered.
Proceeding from the preceding, we find that the marriage law in the UAE has covered all the details related to the terms of the engagement and the cases of its annulment, leaving no room for discord or quarrels. Below we move on to discuss the details of the law on marriage in the Emirates.
What is the dowry?
The marriage law in the Emirates defines the dowry as what the husband provides from the money provided for marriage, and there is no limit to the minimum. Most of it is subject to the law determining dowries. The dowry is the woman’s property, who can dispose of it as she wants, and any contrary condition is not considered. The dowry may be accelerated or postponed in whole or in part at the time of the contract.
The dowry must be in the valid contract, and it is all confirmed by entering the correct seclusion or death, and the deferred one is resolved by death or Baynunah. Whereas, before consummation, the divorced woman is entitled to half the dowry if it is named. Otherwise, the judge shall award her a pleasure that does not exceed half the dowry of the same.
The wife has the right to refrain from entering until her dowry is paid to her. If the wife consents to consummation before she receives her dowry from the husband, then it is a debt that he owes.
What is marriage?
In this regard, the law in the UAE stipulates that marriage is a contract that resolves the enjoyment of one spouse by the other legally. Its goal is immunity and the establishment of a stable family under the husband’s care, based on ensuring that they bear the burdens of this marriage with affection and mercy. This meaning applies, and the marriage is considered valid unless the spouses breach the terms of the marriage contract, which we can summarize below.
What are the conditions for marriage in the Emirates?
The UAE Marriage Law has not neglected to specify the primary conditions for valid marriage procedures. Among the most important of these conditions we find:
- For the marriage to occur, the woman must not be permanently or temporarily forbidden to the man.
- In the necessity of marriage, it is stipulated that the man be competent to the woman at the time of the contract only. Both the woman and her guardian have the right to request annulment for the loss of competence. The loss of competence does not affect the warranty after it.
- Suppose the fiancés are of disproportionate age, meaning that the age of the fiancé is twice the age of the fiancée or more. In that case, the marriage shall not be concluded except with the suitors’ consent and knowledge and after the judge’s permission. The judge may not authorize the completion of this marriage unless there is an interest in this marriage.
- The lesson is in the efficiency of the husband’s righteousness in religion and reliance on custom in determining competence in a non-religion.
- Measuring the competency criterion is a right for both the woman and her fully qualified guardian. However, those who are far from the guardians have no right to object to the incompetence, except in the absence or lack of capacity of the next of kin.
- If the man claims competence, or pretends to be an illusion, or stipulates competence in the contract, and then it appears that he is incompetent, both the wife and her guardian have the right to request an annulment.
- However, the right to request annulment is forfeited due to incompetence if the wife becomes pregnant, or a year has passed after knowledge of the marriage, or with the consent of those who requested the annulment.
- 8- The eligibility for marriage is complete with reason and puberty. Puberty is the whole eighteen years of age for those who have not reached legal puberty before that.
- A person who has reached the legal age and has not yet completed eighteen years of age shall not marry, except by the regulations issued by a decision of the Council of Ministers based on a proposal from the Minister of Justice.
- If a person over the age of eighteen asks to marry and his guardian refuses to marry him off, he may refer the matter to the judge. The judge is responsible for setting a period for the guardian’s attendance – after his announcement – during which he makes his statements. If he did not attend at all or his objection was not justified, the judge married him.
What are the conditions for the annulment of the marriage contract in the UAE?
- Spouses are bound by their conditions, except for a condition that makes what is forbidden or forbids what is permitted.
- Suppose the marriage contract stipulates a condition that contradicts its origin; Contract Champion. But if a condition is specified in it that does not negate its head but refuses its requirements, or if Sharia forbids it, the situation is null, and the contract is valid.
- If a condition is stipulated in it that does not contradict its origin or requisite, and Sharia does not prohibit it, the situation is valid and must be fulfilled.
- If he breaches a condition, the one who stipulated it may request the annulment of the marriage, whether on the part of the wife or the part of the husband, and the husband is exempted from the maintenance of the waiting period if the breach was on the part of the wife.
- If one of the spouses stipulates in the other a specific description and it is found otherwise, the stipulator may request the annulment of the marriage. Noting that, upon denial, no condition is considered unless stipulated in writing in the notarized marriage contract.
- The right to annulment is extinguished by explicitly or implicitly dropping the owner or his consent to the violation. It is considered in the rule of implicit consent that one year has passed since the occurrence of the breach with knowledge of it, as well as an irrevocable divorce.
What are the rights and duties of spouses according to the Marriage Law in the UAE?
The UAE Marriage Law has not neglected to specify the standard and reciprocal rights between spouses or owed to each party within regulating the responsibilities between them. You can learn about these rights as follows:
- Mutual rights between spouses: These are rights that each party provides to the other, and therefore they are common rights between them, which are:
- It is permissible for each spouse to enjoy the other spouse as permitted by Sharia.
- Legal cohabitation.
- Good cohabitation, mutual respect and kindness, and the preservation of the good of the family.
- They are taking care of children and raising them to ensure their proper upbringing.
- 2- The rights of the wife over her husband:
- Alimony.
- Not to prevent her from completing her education.
- Not to prevent her from visiting her origins, branches, and siblings and asking them kindly.
- They are not being exposed to their own money.
- Not to harm her financially or morally.
- Fairness between her and the rest of the wives of the husband has more than one wife.
- 3- The rights of the husband over his wife:
- She is supervising the house and maintaining its assets.
- He was breastfeeding his children from it unless there was an objection.
What are the procedures for officially documenting the marriage contract in the UAE?
After we get acquainted with marriage and its conditions, we must learn about the procedures for marriage in the Emirates, which must be adhered to and observed until the marriage is officially documented. The following is a list of guidelines for writing a marriage contract in the UAE.
- The marriage is officially documented, and it is permissible to prove the marriage with legal evidence because of a specific fact.
- For a marriage contract in the Emirates, it is required to submit a report from a specialized medical committee formed by the Minister of Health, stating that the spouses are free from the diseases for which this law stipulates the request for separation.
- The authorized persons document the marriage contract, and the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs, and Endowments issue their regulations.
What are the pillars of the marriage contract in the Emirates?
The UAE Marriage Law states that the latter contains three main pillars:
1- The two parties (the husband and the guardian).
2- shop
3- Offer and acceptance.
How is the guardian determined in the marriage?
An adult woman does not undertake marriage procedures on her own, according to the UAE Marriage Law. Instead, the guardian of the adult woman undertakes the contract of her marriage with her consent, and the authorized signer signs the contract.
The marriage contract without a guardian is invalidated, and if the husband enters into it, a difference is made between them, and the child’s lineage is established.
The marriage law in the Emirates defines the guardian in the marriage procedures as being the father and then the abusive himself to arrange the inheritance, a son, then a brother, then an uncle. If two guardians are equal in proximity, which takes over the marriage on its terms, it is permissible, and the fiancée must authorize him.
Of course, the law specified some conditions that the guardian must meet. It is required that he be a male, sane, adult, not in a state of Ihram for Hajj or Umrah, and a Muslim if the guardianship is over a Muslim.
In the event of the absence of the nearest guardian in a discontinuous absence, or his whereabouts are unknown, or he is unable to contact him, the guardianship is transferred to the next guardian with the judge’s permission.
The UAE Marriage Law permits power of attorney in the marriage contract. The agent may not marry his client to himself unless it is stipulated in the agency. If the agent in the marriage exceeded the limits of his agency, the contract was suspended.
What is the form of the marriage contract in the UAE?
As we have already mentioned, offer and acceptance are among the primary conditions of a marriage contract in the Emirates. In the offer and acceptance in the marriage contract, specific characteristics must be met for the contract to be valid, and the most important of these conditions are:
- To be the word marriage or marriage.
- To be accomplished is not indicative of the timing. A suspended marriage does not take place on an unfulfilled condition, nor a marriage added to the future, nor a temporary marriage, nor a temporary marriage.
- Consent to accept the offer, expressly or implicitly, with the two parties remaining in their capacity until the completion of the contract.
- The union of the contract council between the attendees Balmshavhh and the receipt of acceptance immediately after the offer. And between the absence of approval in the panel of reciting the book in front of witnesses, hearing its content, or informing the Messenger. Acceptance is not considered lazy from the offer if there is no separating between them, which indicates rejection.
- The offer remains valid until the issuance of the acceptance, and the offeror has the right to withdraw before its distribution.
- Each of the contracting parties present heard the words of the other and knew that what was meant was marriage, even if he did not understand the meanings of the words. In the event of the inability to pronounce, writing takes its place, and if it is not possible, the comprehensible sign is relied upon.
As for the witnesses to the marriage contract in the Emirates, the following are required:
- For the marriage to be valid, the presence of two witnesses is required, adults, sane adults who listen to the words of the contracting parties, understanding that what is meant is marriage.
- The Islam of the two witnesses is required, and it is sufficient to provide two books of testimony in the marriage of a Muslim with a Christian woman.
What is alimony? And how defined by the marriage law in the Emirates?
According to the marriage law in the Emirates, the alimony includes food, clothing, housing, medicine, and service for the wife, if she is one of those who serve her family, and what is required by the marital relationship in a reasonable manner.
In estimating the alimony, the capacity of the spender, the condition of the spender, and the economic situation in time and place shall be taken into account, provided that it is not less than the sufficiency limit. Of course, alimony may be increased or decreased according to changing circumstances.
The UAE Marriage Law stipulates that alimony is required for the wife. So that the wife’s maintenance is obligatory for her husband according to the valid contract if she surrenders herself to him, even if legally. The alimony does not fall on the wife except by performance or acquittal.
In the event of a revocable or irrevocable divorce; The alimony and housing are obligatory for the iddat through a revocable divorce, and the iddat is due from an irrevocable divorce while she is pregnant, just as the iddat is required from an irrevocable divorce when she is not pregnant only. While there is no alimony for the waiting period, she is entitled to live in the marital home for the period of the waiting period.
As for the abolition of the wife’s alimony, it does not happen except in some cases, which are:
- If she prevents herself from the husband without a legitimate excuse.
- If you left the marital home without a legitimate reason.
- If the husband is prevented from entering the marital home without a legitimate reason.
- If a court issued a judgment or decision restricting her freedom beyond the husband’s right and is being implemented.
- If she breaches her marital obligations stipulated by law.
Proceeding from the preceding; We have become acquainted with the marriage law in the UAE; Starting from the definition of the engagement, dowry, and marriage, passing through the conditions of marriage and the requirements for its dissolution, down to the marriage procedures, contract form and details of alimony. This gives you accurate knowledge of all stages and processes of marriage in the UAE.
If you want to see more information or articles of the marriage law based on the personal status law in the UAE. You can also view the latest decree of the Personal Status Law and the articles related to marriage law in the UAE from here.