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UAE court grants father equal custody of child after months-long legal battle
For the father, this means much more than a legal victory. It means bedtime stories, shared weekends, school drop-offs, and memories that would have otherwise been lost to his roster
- PUBLISHED: Fri 25 Apr 2025, 5:51 PM
After a long legal battle that involved several courts, a Belgian father has won the right to spend equal time with his three-and-a-half-year-old son. This victory came despite a demanding job that once stood in the way of nurturing his son.
The story begins in November 2024, when a Belgian man and his Italian wife, both longtime residents of the UAE, finalised their divorce. Their son, born in 2021, became the subject of an emotional and complex custody battle.
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In the first appeal, the mother sought full custody, arguing that the father’s profession as a co-pilot with a major UAE airline meant he was frequently away, making consistent parenting difficult.
The court initially agreed and on December 31, 2024, it granted the mother full custody. The court allowed the father one hour of supervised visitation twice a month.
“The court believed that his demanding work schedule and frequent travel made him unavailable for active parenting,” said Dr Hasan Elhais, legal consultant at Awatif Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy.
Unwilling to accept limited access to his son, the father challenged the ruling in the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal. However, on February 12, 2025, the appeal was dismissed. “The court maintained that there was no legal justification to revoke the mother’s full custody and again noted the father's inconsistent availability due to his work,” added Dr Elhais.
That could have been the end of the road. However, Dr Elhais and his legal team believed in a different path, one that recognised modern parenthood and the importance of both parents in a child’s life.
“We weren’t asking to take custody away from the mother. We asked the court to consider a fairer solution, shared custody that respected both parents' rights and the child’s psychological needs,” said Dr Elhais.
The case was taken to the Court of Cassation, the UAE’s highest judicial authority. On April 23, 2025, in a decisive ruling, the court overturned the previous judgments and ordered a flexible visitation schedule that would give the father equal time with his son.
In its verdict, the Court of Cassation stated that joint custody should not be denied simply because one parent has an unconventional or irregular job. “The mere fact that the father works as a pilot and has an irregular schedule cannot be used to marginalise his role. This is a profession, not a disqualification,” the court said in the judgment.
The judgement marked a significant shift in how parental roles are viewed in custody cases in the UAE. It ruled that both parents must coordinate in good faith, taking into account the child’s school calendar and the father’s flying schedule, to ensure the child benefits from meaningful interaction with both parents.
The father's legal team hailed the ruling as a landmark moment in the evolution of family law in the UAE. “It not only reaffirms the principle of joint parental responsibility but also sends a message that being a devoted parent is not defined by a nine-to-five schedule,” said Elhais.
For the father, it means something much more than a legal victory, it means bedtime stories, shared weekends, school drop-offs, and memories that would have otherwise been lost to his roster.
SM Ayaz Zakir is a Senior Correspondent with a flair for extraordinary stories. His playground? Every corner of the UAE. He often ventures into remote corners of the country to capture compelling news and human interest stories.