International family disputes often involve more than one country: spouses may have different nationalities, the marriage may have taken place abroad, the children may be living in the UAE, and assets may be spread across several jurisdictions. In such cases, the first strategic question is not simply “who is right?” but which court should decide the dispute. Under UAE law, the answer depends on statutory jurisdiction, the parties’ residence and work connections, the location of children and assets, the applicable personal status regime, and the enforceability of any judgment.
This article is based on UAE law as current on 11 June 2026. In particular, the UAE’s new Civil Transactions Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, entered into force on 1 June 2026 and repealed the former Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 on Civil Transactions.
1. UAE courts look first at jurisdiction, not convenience
Unlike common-law systems where a court may decline jurisdiction on broad “forum non conveniens” grounds, UAE courts primarily examine whether the statutory gateways for jurisdiction are satisfied. In personal status matters, Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024 gives UAE courts jurisdiction over personal status cases filed against UAE citizens and against foreigners who have a domicile, place of residence, or place of work in the UAE. Local venue is generally the court where the respondent’s domicile, residence, or workplace is located; where there are several respondents, the court linked to any one respondent may be competent.
The law gives additional flexibility for certain family claims. Cases filed by children, a wife, parents, or a custodian concerning alimony, custody, visitation, dowry, gifts, divorce, khula, revocation, or separation may be heard by the court linked to the plaintiff’s or respondent’s domicile, residence, workplace, or the marital home. This is significant in cross-border disputes because the financially weaker spouse, the custodian, or the child may not be forced to sue only where the other spouse is located.
2. The UAE can still have jurisdiction even if the respondent is abroad
A frequent issue in international family disputes is that one spouse leaves the UAE before proceedings begin. UAE law addresses this. The Personal Status Law gives UAE courts jurisdiction over personal status claims against a foreigner with no UAE domicile, residence, or workplace in several situations, including where a resident wife sues a husband who previously had a UAE domicile, residence, or workplace but has abandoned her, been deported, moved abroad, or has an unknown foreign domicile. UAE jurisdiction may also arise for claims involving alimony for a parent, wife, or minor connected to the UAE; lineage or guardianship of a minor domiciled or resident in the UAE; multiple respondents where one is connected to the UAE; or where the respondent has a chosen domicile in the UAE.
The UAE Civil Procedure Code contains similar general jurisdiction gateways. UAE courts have jurisdiction over cases against UAE nationals and foreigners domiciled or resident in the UAE, except for in-rem claims over real property located abroad. They may also hear claims against a foreigner with no UAE domicile or residence where, for example, the claim relates to property in the UAE, an estate opened in the UAE, an obligation performed or to be performed in the UAE, an incident in the UAE, maintenance for a wife or child resident in the UAE, or a personal status matter where the plaintiff is a UAE national or a foreigner resident in the UAE and the defendant has no known foreign address or the relevant national law applies.
3. Choosing the correct emirate matters
Once UAE jurisdiction exists, the next question is which UAE court should hear the case. The UAE has both federal courts and local judicial systems. The official UAE Government portal describes the UAE legal structure as operating through the Federal Judiciary and local judicial departments.
For most divorce, custody, maintenance, and marital claims, proceedings should be filed before the competent onshore personal status or civil family court in the emirate linked to the respondent, claimant, marital home, child, or asset. For example, a spouse living and working in Dubai will often face proceedings in Dubai; a family living in Abu Dhabi may fall within Abu Dhabi courts; and cases in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Fujairah generally proceed through the federal judicial system.
The DIFC Courts and similar common-law free-zone courts are not ordinary divorce or custody courts. The DIFC Courts state that they deal with civil and commercial disputes, including DIFC-related matters and cases where parties agree in writing to DIFC jurisdiction; they also state that the courts have jurisdiction over civil and commercial matters only. That said, DIFC may be relevant for non-Muslim wills and probate, as the DIFC Wills Service gives non-Muslims living or investing in the UAE a route to pass assets and appoint guardians under a registered will.
4. Jurisdiction is different from applicable law
A court may have jurisdiction, but that does not always mean UAE substantive law will govern every issue. The 2024 Personal Status Law applies to UAE citizens where at least one party is Muslim. It also applies to non-Muslim UAE citizens unless they have sect- or religion-specific rules or agree to another law permitted in the UAE, and to non-UAE citizens unless one insists on applying their own law or another agreed law permitted by UAE legislation.
The new Civil Transactions Law also contains conflict-of-laws rules. It provides that the law of the country where the marriage was concluded governs the substantive conditions of marriage, and that the law of the country where the marriage was concluded applies to the personal and property effects of marriage as well as divorce, judicial divorce, and separation. It further provides that maintenance among relatives is governed by the law of the person liable for maintenance, while guardianship and similar protective systems are governed by the law of the person to be protected. Procedural matters, however, are governed by the law of the forum where the case is filed.
This distinction can be decisive. A party may file in the UAE because the respondent, child, or assets are here, while arguing that foreign law should govern aspects of the marriage or divorce. However, foreign law will not be applied if it conflicts with UAE public order or morals, and UAE law applies if the foreign law cannot be proved or its meaning cannot be determined.
5. Non-Muslim civil family options can affect forum strategy
For non-Muslim families, UAE law now offers civil personal status routes that may materially affect where proceedings should be filed. Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 applies to non-Muslim UAE citizens and non-Muslim foreign residents unless one of them insists on applying their home-country law for matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, wills, and parentage. The same law allows covered persons to agree to apply other UAE family or personal status legislation instead.
This federal civil regime is important because it recognises equality between men and women in several areas, including testimony, inheritance, the right to request divorce, and joint custody. It also excludes civil divorce proceedings under that law from referral to Family Guidance Committees and allows them to proceed directly to court.
Abu Dhabi has a further specialised route through the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court. The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department states that Abu Dhabi introduced civil marriage under secular rules regardless of faith or nationality, except for Muslims from the UAE. For no-fault divorce, Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court guidance states that eligible applicants include Abu Dhabi residents and persons who obtained a civil marriage through that court, subject to the parties being from a country not governed by Sharia law.
6. Children: file where orders can actually protect the child
In children cases, the best forum is often the court that can act quickly where the child is physically located, schooled, documented, or at risk of removal. Under the 2024 Personal Status Law, custody is treated as a right of the child; the court may depart from the statutory order of custody where the child’s best interest requires it. The law also regulates travel with a child in custody outside the UAE, requiring written consent of the other parent or guardian or court authorisation, and the court may require guarantees for the child’s return.
For non-Muslim civil family cases in Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court states that joint legal and physical custody is automatically applied on divorce or separation unless waived or otherwise ordered, and that the court may issue a prohibited steps order, including a travel ban, where there is a real concern that the other parent may take the child abroad and not return.
Cross-border child disputes require particular caution because the UAE is not a signatory to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, according to the U.S. Embassy in the UAE. This means there is no automatic Hague return mechanism in UAE proceedings, making early protective orders and enforceable local custody arrangements especially important.
7. Foreign proceedings do not guarantee UAE enforcement
Parties sometimes rush to file abroad, expecting the foreign judgment to control the UAE position later. That is risky. Under Article 222 of the UAE Civil Procedure Code, a foreign judgment may be enforced in the UAE only after the execution judge verifies several conditions. These include that UAE courts had no jurisdiction over the dispute, the foreign court had jurisdiction under its own rules, the parties were properly summoned and represented, the judgment is final, the judgment does not conflict with an existing UAE judgment or order, and it does not breach UAE morals or public order.
This is one of the most important practical points in international family litigation. If the UAE courts had jurisdiction—for example because the respondent, child, marital home, income, or assets were in the UAE—a foreign judgment may face enforcement obstacles. If a UAE judgment is already issued on the same subject between the same parties, a later foreign judgment may also face refusal if it conflicts with that UAE judgment.
For parallel proceedings inside the UAE, the Civil Procedure Code provides mechanisms for pleas relating to territorial jurisdiction, referral where the same dispute is before another court, and referral for related cases. A plea for referral where the same dispute is before two courts is submitted to the later court.
8. Estates and UAE assets may require UAE proceedings
International family disputes often include inheritance, wills, property, and asset-freezing issues. Under the 2024 Personal Status Law, the court linked to the deceased’s most recent UAE domicile, residence, or workplace is competent to verify inheritance, wills, and estate liquidation. If the deceased had no such UAE connection, the court where an estate asset is located becomes competent.
For real estate, UAE law is strongly territorial. The Civil Procedure Code gives jurisdiction over in-rem real property claims and possession claims to the court where the property is located, and the new Civil Transactions Law provides that possession, ownership, and related real rights over immovable property are governed by the law of the property’s location.
Practical filing test
A party deciding where to file should ask the following:
- Where does the respondent live, reside, or work? If in the UAE, UAE jurisdiction is likely.
- Where are the wife, children, custodian, or marital home? UAE law gives these connections special weight in divorce, maintenance, custody, and visitation claims.
- Where are the children physically located, schooled, and documented? The court that can control travel, passports, custody, and handover may be the most effective forum.
- Where are the assets and income? A judgment is only useful if it can be enforced against salary, bank accounts, property, or business interests.
- Which personal status regime applies? Muslim personal status, federal non-Muslim civil personal status, Abu Dhabi civil family law, and foreign law may lead to different outcomes.
- Will the judgment need enforcement abroad or in the UAE? A foreign order that cannot be recognised in the UAE may have limited practical value.
- Is urgent relief needed? If there is a risk of child removal, asset dissipation, or non-payment of maintenance, filing where immediate measures can be enforced may be critical.
Conclusion
Under UAE law, proceedings should be filed where the court has both legal jurisdiction and practical enforcement power. The UAE is often the correct forum where a spouse, child, marital home, workplace, income source, bank account, real estate asset, or estate asset is located in the UAE. A foreign forum may be more appropriate where both parties, the children, and the assets are genuinely outside the UAE and no UAE enforcement is required.
The strongest strategy in international family disputes is rarely based on speed alone. It requires mapping the parties’ UAE connections, the applicable personal status regime, the location of children and assets, and the enforceability of any judgment. In cross-border family cases, the best forum is not simply the court that can issue the first order; it is the court whose order will matter in practice.
For more information and legal consultation reach out to Al Safar and Partners Law Firm at +971 52 758 3267 - reception@alsafarpartners.com or visit https://www.alsafarpartners.com.
Written By: Mrs. Andrea Krage – Partner & Senior Legal Consultant at Al Safar and Partners Law Firm .