UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Hassan Elhais, Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy
similar to those acquired by spouses in a marital relationship. In the case of children resulting from cohabita - tion, and if paternity is established, child support can be claimed from the father. 2.7 Enforcement In the UAE, after a judgement is obtained, the judgement creditor – ie, the party benefiting from the judgement, has to file an execution case before the execution court. Upon registration and acceptance of the execution case, the exe - cution court notifies the respondent, who is the judgement debtor, to pay the sums mentioned in the execution case within a specific time, usually seven days from the date of receiving the execu - tion case notification. If the respondent does not comply with the execution case notice, the exe - cution applicant can submit petitions to the exe - cution judge to enforce the judgement. The peti - tions can take the form of, among other things, requests to attach and transfer funds based on investigations via the central bank; investiga - tions and attachment of the respondent’s file to block any transactions with departments such as the road transport authority, the Land Department, and the Department of Economics and Development; 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 42/2022 on the Prom - ulgation of Civil Procedure Law lays down rules and regulations for enforcing foreign court orders or judgments 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 United Arab Emirates. 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 morals 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 enforcement, the fil - ing of such an appeal by itself will not prevent enforcement. 2.8 Media Access and Transparency The media can report on family cases for educa - tion purposes as long as confidential information regarding the parties is not disclosed and the court has not specifically ruled against the pub - lication of the details of the judgement. 2.9 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) The conditions of a settlement agreement may be agreed upon by the parties. This agreement must outline the terms of the financial arrange - ment, as well as any other terms and conditions that the parties have agreed upon as a result of the marriage and divorce, such as guardian - ship rights, custody rights, travel, relocation, expenses for the children, spousal alimony and property division. In order to execute a mutual divorce settlement agreement with the family court, one of the par - ties must open a file with the Family Guidance department. The department schedules a hear -
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