The court applied German law to determine child maintenance for the couple’s two daughters, including Germany’s age-based payment brackets.
An Abu Dhabi court has ordered a divorced German couple to share equally the financial costs of supporting their children, including monthly maintenance, school fees, health insurance, medical expenses and transportation.
The ruling, issued on June 23, is notable because the court applied German law to determine the children’s maintenance after the father specifically requested its application and submitted a certified copy of the relevant German legislation.
The Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court ordered both parents to pay an equal share of the monthly maintenance awarded for their two daughters — Dh4,000 for one and Dh5,000 for the other. They were also directed to split education, healthcare, transport and other related expenses equally. In determining the amounts, the court applied age-based maintenance provisions under the German Civil Code.
The couple divorced in Germany and have two daughters, aged five and 12. The father filed the maintenance case before the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court, seeking the application of German law and asking that both parents contribute to the children’s financial support according to their respective means.
The mother challenged the Abu Dhabi court’s territorial jurisdiction, arguing that both parents lived in Dubai and that the case should instead be heard by the Dubai Courts.
The Abu Dhabi court rejected the objection, finding that the father held a valid residence in Abu Dhabi and that both parties came within the scope of the legislation governing the Civil Family Court.
German law applied
In considering whether German law could be applied, the court referred to Article 1(3) of Federal Law No. 41 of 2022 on Personal Status. The provision states that the relevant personal-status rules apply to non-nationals unless either party insists on applying their own law, or another law agreed by the parties is applicable where permitted under UAE legislation.
The judgment noted that foreigners may invoke their national law in matters including marriage, divorce, inheritance, wills and proof of parentage.
As the father was German, had expressly requested the application of German law, submitted a certified copy of the relevant legislation and paid the prescribed fee, the court ruled that German law should govern the case.
The court then examined provisions of the German Civil Code relating to child maintenance.
It referred to Article 1602, which provides that a minor child is entitled to claim maintenance from their parents when the child’s own income or assets are insufficient. It also cited Article 1603, under which parents responsible for supporting minor children must use their available resources equally for their maintenance, subject to their other obligations.
The court further referred to Article 1610, which provides that maintenance is determined according to the circumstances of the person entitled to it, and Article 1612, which sets monthly maintenance amounts based on the child’s age.
Under the German system, the five-year-old daughter fell within the first age bracket and was entitled to 87 per cent of the minimum child maintenance amount, while the 12-year-old fell within a bracket corresponding to 100 per cent of the minimum amount.
Both parents ordered to pay
The court found that the children were under joint custody arrangements, with the father caring for them from Friday to Sunday during the school year and sharing custody during school holidays.
It determined that the daughters required financial support and that there was no evidence they had sufficient income or assets of their own.
The court therefore ordered both parents to contribute equally to their daughters’ maintenance. It also directed them to share equally the children’s school fees, health insurance, medical expenses, transport costs and other related expenses.
The final order requires each parent to pay half of the Dh4,000 monthly maintenance awarded for one daughter and half of the Dh5,000 awarded for the other, in addition to sharing the children’s education, healthcare and other expenses equally.
‘Foreign law is never applied automatically’
Byron James, a partner at Expatriate Law who represented the case, said the judgment demonstrated how Abu Dhabi’s civil family court system can allow foreign nationals to have their national law applied by a UAE court.
“Foreign law is never applied automatically,” James said, explaining that a party must elect the law, provide a certified copy and pay the applicable fee.
He said the ruling was particularly significant because of the extent to which the court applied the foreign legislation.
“The court worked through the German Civil Code article by article and applied the German age brackets for child maintenance,” James said.
According to James, the decision also highlights the significance of the equal financial responsibility imposed on both parents.
He said the court’s approach treats both parents as equal economic partners in raising their children, rather than assuming that the father alone should bear the financial burden.
The UAE’s legal framework allows eligible foreign nationals to request the application of their home-country law in certain personal-status matters. Federal legislation permits non-Muslim foreign residents to follow the law of their home country in specified cases, while Abu Dhabi has established a separate civil family law framework for non-Muslim foreigners.
James said the approach could have implications beyond child maintenance, particularly in areas such as inheritance and wills, where legal provisions can differ significantly between countries.
He also said the availability of foreign-law options could influence where expatriates choose to resolve family disputes.
“Abu Dhabi now offers something unusual: your own national law, applied by a local court.”
However, he stressed that jurisdiction remains a key consideration and that the system does not mean expatriates can simply choose Abu Dhabi regardless of their connection to the emirate.
In this case, the court specifically determined that the father’s valid residence in Abu Dhabi was sufficient to establish territorial jurisdiction, despite the mother’s argument that both parents lived in Dubai.
