Sharia Law in UAE has been updated. Exciting to share the latest fast changes into the underlying notions of Sharia’ law. These are to change the life of many expats in the UAE.
Federal Law no. 15 of 2020 amending certain provisions of the Criminal Code (Federal Law No. 3 of 1987) including the decriminalization of unmarried cohabitation, criminalizing honor killings, and relaxing of alcohol consumption.
Federal Law no. 15 of 2020 amending certain provisions of the Criminal Code (Federal Law No. 3 of 1987) including the decriminalization of unmarried cohabitation, criminalizing honor killings, and relaxing of alcohol consumption. This is very important in Sharia Law UAE.
Link to full text of the text of Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 here.
Federal Decree No 30 of 2020 Amending certain provisions of Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 concerning the Civil Code.
The biggest impact of this law on Sharia Law in UAE is the following:
- The fact that the law of the place of marriage shall be the law to be applied to divorces in the UAE; and
- The law of the country of belonging at the time of death shall determine the law applicable to the will partition.
Since this publication Abu Dhabi has implemented changes to its legislative texts. An update of the important developments should be uploaded very soon.
Link to the text of the Decree here.
Beyond the texts the next steps will be to witness the Courts’ applications of the new legislation. As we know in the UAE from the issuance of legislation to the actual implementation there may be a reasonable gap. We will continue to keep an eye on the developments to continue to keep you reasonably updated.
For additional publications on UAE Law changes please click here.
**DISCLAIMER: This is a general publication with informative intent and does not constitute legal advice.