With over 240,000 British nationals currently living in Dubai, the interaction between UK family law and Dubai is becoming increasingly relevant. It was only therefore a matter of time before the divorce process in Dubai came under scrutiny in the English courts.
This is a question that lawyers are asked frequently:
“should I pursue a divorce in England or in the UAE”.
There is good reason for a party seeking a divorce to want to be the first to start proceedings and to try to secure their choice of jurisdiction.
The UAE remains one of the most pro-woman jurisdictions in the world where the wife is the richer party. An order will not be made for the wife to pay an amount to the husband, irrespective of the care given to the children. However, conversely, a more impoverished wife will do worse in the UAE than in the UK, largely because the UAE courts’ approach is needs driven and does not extend to an application of the sharing principle.
In answering whether a client should pursue a divorce in the UAE, consideration must be given to both the likely financial award following that divorce but also whether the divorce procedure in the UAE is likely to be given recognition in England.
Divorce laws in the UAE
The divorce law in the UAE is split between those applicable to Muslims and non-Muslims. The creation of the Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 on Personal Status, Article 1(2) created a regime applicable to non-Muslim citizens of the UAE rendering the common misunderstanding that only Sharia Law which is applied.
A leading case in this area is Lachaux and Lachaux [2017] EWHC 385. Having married in London, the parties moved to Dubai, where their son was born in April 2010. In April 2011, the husband issued divorce proceedings in the Non-Muslim Status Court of Dubai. The husband obtained a divorce from the Dubai courts in August 2012. The wife subsequently petitioned for divorce in England and obtained decree absolute in April 2016.
The husband sought a declaration from the English court recognising the Dubai divorce, and it was accepted by both parties that the divorce was effective in Dubai and that at the relevant date (the date of commencement of proceedings) both parties were habitually resident in Dubai. The Dubai divorce was therefore entitled to be recognised, unless the wife could prove that one of the exceptions set out in s.51(3) of the Family Law Act 1986 applied. Mostyn J held the wife failed to satisfy any of the three criteria set down in s.51, finding that:
- The wife had knowledge of the Dubai divorce proceedings
- The wife had been provided with an opportunity to participate in the proceedings
- Recognition of the Dubai Divorce was not manifestly contrary to public policy
The Dubai divorce was therefore recognised as valid and Mostyn J declined to refuse recognition of it and he set aside the English decrees nisi and absolute as void.
How Can Nelsons Help?
If you require specialist advice on this topic then, please contact a member of our Family Law team on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.