UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Awatif Al Khouri and Hassan Elhais, Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy
Jurisdiction in Divorce Proceedings also apply for financial claims. Similar to divorce proceedings, if none of the criteria to establish jurisdiction in the relevant personal status laws or the civil procedure laws are satisfied, then a party may contest the maintainability of the case on jurisdictional grounds. Also similar to divorce proceedings, if there are ongo ‑ ing proceedings in another country, such proceedings cannot suspend UAE court proceedings as long as there is no final judgment from the foreign courts. If the UAE courts have jurisdiction over the dispute, then the courts will review the financial claims made on the basis of the facts and merits of the case, even if such There are no specific procedural rules particularly for service of financial proceedings in the UAE. The rules governing civil procedures in the UAE also apply for financial proceedings. These rules are codified under Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022 on the Promulga ‑ tion of Civil Procedure Law. At the time of registration of the lawsuit, the applicant has to provide the contact details of the opposing party. Once the lawsuit is reg ‑ istered, the court informs the respondent. Service is carried out by the court via email, SMS, phone, or delivery by a court clerk. If the respond ‑ ent is unavailable, and in exceptional scenarios, the court may authorise advertisement in the newspaper or posting on the respondent’s door. 2.3 Division of Assets There is no concept of a property regime or division of assets in the UAE. Under UAE law, title deter ‑ mines asset ownership. Accordingly, whether their own assets were acquired before or during the mar ‑ riage, each spouse would maintain those assets after divorce if acquired in their name. However, if a spouse shows that they helped purchase a property, they would be entitled to seek their share of that property from the other party. claims were made after a foreign divorce. 2.2 Service and Process in Financial Proceedings
• when both the expatriates are residents of Abu Dhabi or have an existing or previous working address there; • if the respondent’s civil marriage was concluded in Abu Dhabi, even if they did not work or have an address there; • if the respondent has chosen to live in Abu Dhabi or if the claimant has employment or a home in Abu Dhabi; • if the child of a marriage is based in Abu Dhabi; or • if the claimant is based in Abu Dhabi and the In general, the Court of First Instance (the lowest tier of court) has jurisdiction over family cases filed against citizens or foreigners who are domiciled or resident in the UAE (in accordance with Article 3 of Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024 on the Issuance of the Personal Status Law). Domicile is defined as a place where an individual resides and which the individual considers to be their long-term home. Residence can be more temporary than domicile. In practice, a party would be seen to be domiciled or resident in the UAE for jurisdiction purposes if they are living in the UAE and hold an appropriate resident visa. The jurisdiction of the UAE courts is public policy, and, therefore, the trial courts have the discretion to review the facts of cases to establish whether they have juris ‑ diction. If none of the criteria to establish jurisdiction in the relevant personal status laws or the civil procedure laws are satisfied, a party may contest the maintain ‑ ability of their case on jurisdictional grounds. respondent’s location is unknown. Domicile, Residence and Nationality If there are proceedings ongoing in another country, such proceedings may not suspend those of the UAE courts as long as there is no final judgment from the foreign courts.
2. Financial Proceedings 2.1 Choice of Jurisdiction in Financial Proceedings
There are no separate jurisdictional grounds to com ‑ mence financial proceedings in the UAE. The jurisdic ‑ tional grounds for divorce mentioned in 1.2 Choice of
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