UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Awatif Al Khouri and Hassan Elhais, Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy
2.7 Enforcement of Financial Orders In the UAE, after a judgment is obtained, the judgment creditor – ie, the party benefiting from the judgment – has to file an execution case before the execution court. Upon registration and acceptance of the execu ‑ tion case, the execution court notifies the respondent, who is the judgment debtor, to pay the sums men ‑ tioned in the execution case within a specific time, usually seven days from the date of receiving the exe ‑ cution case notification. If the respondent does not comply with the execution case notice, the execution applicant can submit petitions to the execution judge to enforce the judgment. The petitions can take the form of, among other things, requests to attach and transfer funds based on investigations via the central bank; investigations and attachment of the respond ‑ ent’s file to block any transactions with departments such as the road transport authority, the Land Depart ‑ ment, and the Department of Economics and Devel ‑ opment; and requests for a travel ban against the respondent. In most cases, an arrest warrant could be issued against the respondent. Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022 on the Promul ‑ gation of Civil Procedure Law lays down rules and regulations for enforcing foreign court orders or judg ‑ ments in the UAE. Article 222 states that a petition must be submitted to the court by the party seeking an execution order for it to be enforced in the UAE. When evaluating the application, the court will con ‑ sider whether the foreign court that issued the order had the right to deliver it, and whether the UAE courts are the only courts with the power to hear the dispute. It will be confirmed whether the foreign court’s order was made in compliance with the laws of the nation in which it was issued and legally ratified. The UAE courts will consider whether or not all parties involved in the claim for which the foreign order was made were duly summoned to appear. Additionally, it must be confirmed that the foreign order has obtained res judicata status, does not contradict a prior ruling or order of the UAE court, and does not violate UAE mor ‑ als or public order. The judge has five days from the date the petition was submitted to render a decision. According to the judge’s ruling, an appeal may also be made against the ruling. However, as long as the appellate courts do not decide to suspend enforce ‑
ment, the filing of such an appeal by itself will not prevent enforcement. 2.8 Media Access and Transparency in Financial Proceedings The media can report on family cases for education purposes as long as confidential information regard ‑ ing the parties is not disclosed and the court has not specifically ruled against the publication of the details of the judgment. 2.9 ADR in Financial Matters In accordance with Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024, before presenting the case to the competent court, the supervising judge may issue a decision to refer the parties to the case to the Family Guidance and Reconciliation Centre to resolve their dispute through amicable means if deemed beneficial. Dubai Law No. 18 of 2021 on the Regulation of the Conciliation Work in the Emirate of Dubai, as amended by Dubai Law No. 9 of 2025, provides under Article 5/a that reconciliation shall be proposed in personal status disputes and further provides under Article 28/a that no claim or dispute that is required to undergo reconciliation may be registered before the courts unless it has first been submitted to the Family Rec ‑ onciliation and Guidance Committee. Dubai Law No. 18 of 2021 and its amendments are only applicable in the Emirate of Dubai. Both parties may enter into a settlement agreement to outline the terms and conditions resulting from their marriage or divorce. In the UAE, such an agreement may be ratified with the help of the UAE court. This agreement is equivalent to a judgment rendered by a local court. This agreement must outline the terms of the financial arrangement, as well as any other terms and condi ‑ tions that the parties have agreed upon as a result of the marriage and divorce, such as guardianship rights, custody rights, travel, relocation, expenses for the children, spousal alimony and property division. In order to execute a mutual divorce settlement agree ‑ ment with the family court, one of the parties must open a file with the Family Guidance department. The
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