UAE law: Can couples who got married in India get divorced in Dubai?

Question: A friend of mine, who got married in India, is finalising his divorce. Can the couple get divorced here in the UAE? What are the requirements?

Response: Pursuant to your queries, it is assumed that your friend and his spouse are Indians and reside in Dubai. Your friend intends to file for divorce in the Personal Status Court of Dubai (the ‘Personal Status Court’) which has jurisdiction to hear divorce matters in the UAE. Therefore, the provisions of Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 on Personal Status (the ‘Personal Status Law of the UAE’) and the provisions of Indian Civil Procedure Code of 1908 (the ‘Civil Procedure Code of India’) are applicable.

It should be noted that divorce proceedings in the UAE may be filed by married couples who are residents of UAE or if either one of them is a resident. Your friend and his spouse may obtain divorce in the UAE in accordance with the provisions of Personal Status Law. If the couple are non-Muslims, they may obtain a divorce by applying the personal laws of India under which their marriage was solemnised and registered.

This is in accordance with Article 1(2) of the Personal Status Law of the UAE, which states: “The provisions of this Law shall apply to citizens of the United Arab Emirates State unless non-Muslims among them have special provisions applicable to their community or confession. They shall equally apply to non-citizens unless one of them asks for the application of his law.”

Your friend or his spouse may initially create a personal account in the Dubai Court’s web portal or approach the Dubai Court’s recognised typing centre and submit an application for divorce.

The Family Guidance Centre (the ‘Centre’) of the Personal Status Court, upon receipt of the application, will contact the couple over telephone or by email to set up a meeting in person or virtually. The counsellor of the Centre in the meeting/s will understand their grievances and make efforts to reconcile the differences to save the marriage.

In the event the couple disagree to reconcile, the counsellor of the Centre may eventually ask both parties to provide details of the terms of divorce/settlement in case it is being done by mutual consent. Thereafter, the counsellor shall refer the matter to a judge and the mutual divorce judgment will be issued if he is satisfied that the grounds to grant divorce are met.

Further, if your friend and his spouse do not agree for mutual consent divorce, then the counsellor of the Personal Status Court will issue a letter to the applicants, allowing them to approach the Personal Status Court directly and apply for contested divorce. The said letter issued by the Centre of the Personal Status Court will be valid for 60 days.

If your friend is a non-Muslim, he may request the Personal Status Court to apply the provisions of the Indian personal law under which he is married. Further, both parties to the marriage should be present in person or may be represented by a legal counsel. If one of the parties is absent, the divorce granted by Personal Status Court will be ex-parte judgment (judgment in absentia).

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Such divorce is valid in the UAE, however, ex-parte divorce judgments granted by foreign courts may be challenged in India. To be valid in India, a judgment issued by a foreign court should be in compliance with Section 13 of the Civil Procedures Code of India.

Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.

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