Non-Muslims will be allowed to marry, divorce and obtain joint custody of their children under civil law in Abu Dhabi, according to a new government decree issued on Sunday, state news agency WAM said.
It is another step taken by the UAE – where personal status laws on marriage and divorce were based on Islamic sharia principles, as in other Gulf States – to maintain its competitive advantage as a commercial hub in the region.
The decree by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan of Abu Dhabi, who is also president of the seven-emirate federation of the UAE, said the law covered issues such as civil marriage, divorce, child support, joint custody of children and evidence of paternity and inheritance.
The state agency story described the civil law regulating non-Muslim family matters as the first of its kind, “in line with international best practice.”
The UAE last year introduced a number of legal changes at the federal level, including the decriminalization of premarital sex and alcohol consumption, and the repeal of leniency clauses in dealing with so-called “honour crimes.”
Reference: CNN Brasil
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