Under a new Dubai law, children will soon be able to choose their guardian following their parents’ divorce, according to a report in the Arabic daily Al Bayan.
The report, which sourced its information from Ahmed Abdul Kareem, the Head of the Family Reform and Guidance Department in Dubai Courts, and Chairman of the Incubation Committee in the emirate, said that the child will be able to “embrace the mother or father after reaching a certain legal age.”
The report stated that male children will be able to choose their guardian at the age of 15 years, whereas female children can choose their guardian once they turn 18 years old.
The move is part of a resolution issued by Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Judicial Council of the Emirate of Dubai.
Although the resolution was passed in April 2022, the law will come into force “on the day on which it is issued, and will be published in the Official Gazette.”
Resolution No. (7) of 2022 is aimed at the formation of the Fostering Committee in the Emirate of Dubai, which is concerned with fostering children under the age of eighteen.
As per the law, the process begins with the issuance of a custody eligibility report. The court prepares the report based on the suitability of the custodian for custody.
Following this, a specialised committee member in the Child Protection Unit of the Community Development Authority will then make a field visit to the applicant for custody or the one for whom the court will rule, the report said, citing Dubai Courts’ Abdul Kareem.
The field visit will include the inspection and evaluation of family, social and economic conditions, and the ability to provide the necessary living, educational and health needs for the child. It also ensures that those seeking custody are free from any disease that poses a danger to the child.
“It is also ensured that the nursery applicant or the one for whom the competent court will rule for custody is free from any disease that poses a danger to the child whose custody is sought, and that is by virtue of a medical certificate Issued by an approved medical authority,” the report said.
Abdul Kareem also indicated that the incubation committee issues its decisions and recommendations based on the majority of votes of its attending members. In case the the votes are equal, the chairman of the committee’s opinion is the decisive factor.
As of now, the law does not allow children to choose their guardian, as it is not permitted by the court or the custody committee.
According to the report, Abdul Kareem advised fathers and mothers to respect the individual wishes and interests of their children, and exclude them from disputes arising from divorce.
He added: “We have also monitored cases in which one of the parents deliberately alienates the children from the other, so that they hate him and refuse to move to live with him, and this is one of the most dangerous weapons that each of them use against the other in their judicial battle to obtain custody, and they will pay for it after they find their children in isolation and social and psychological problems.”
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