UAE inaugurates non-Muslim personal status court

A new court has been established in Abu Dhabi to settle family disputes for non-Muslim residents.

The bilingual court will hear cases in Arabic and English related to "non-Muslim personal status matters", including civil marriage, divorce, joint custody of children and inheritance.

The Personal Status Law for Non-Muslims is the first of its kind in the world to apply civil principles in the regulation of family matters.

It introduces the concept of joint custody of children following divorce custody, in order to safeguard the cohesion of the family after divorce and to preserve the psychological health of the children. 

In addition, the new law deals with issues such as inheritance, will registration, as well as regulating the child paternity either by marriage or declaration.