Manama: The United Arab Emirates announced on Saturday a major overhaul of its personal status, civil transaction and penal and criminal procedure laws.
The new laws, which were endorsed by President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, are criminalising honour killings and death penalty for sex with minors.
The major changes were including expats’ wills and inheritance, marriage and divorce, the indecency laws, sexual and harassment crimes. The amendments also restricted the punishment in the sexual offenses under duress, threat, or force. Amendments include scrapping penalties for alcohol consumption, sales and possession for those 21 and over.
The amendments come as part of the UAE’s ongoing endeavours to develop its legislative foundations and investment environment and to foster tolerance, official news agency WAM reported. The new changes aim to boost its status and capability as one of the world’s most attractive destinations socially and economically for foreign expertise and investment.
The new amendments are allowing foreigners to choose the laws that would apply to them regarding inheritance in the Personal Status Code. As thus, the inheritance will be enforced according to the will of the deceased person at the time of his death or the law of the country he belongs. The revision also clarifies that with regard to expat’s marriage, law is enforced in accordance with the law of the country in which it took place instead of the previous provisions which applied the laws of each spouse’ country of nationality.
New changes stipulate that the law of the country in which the marriage took place would also be applied with regards to the personal and financial terms of the marriage contract, the divorce or the separation agreement.
Amendments in the Civil Law will allow one partner in a venture to sell the entire venture, following a request to a judge. In this case, the price would be divided among the partners as per the value of each.
The amendments are designed to protect the interests of foreign investors in the country.
One of the major amendments to the Penal Code is to treat the so called honour crimes as murder. The amendment abolished a previous article in the law that reduced the punishment for the ‘honour crime’.
This is considered as an important legal transformation that underlines the UAE’s commitment to protect the rights of women and ensuring the supremacy of the law.
Those who consume or deal with liquor in the authorised places will not be a crime. Instead, the punishment will be restricted to consuming liquor or serving it or selling it to a person less than 21 years of age. Previously, individuals needed a liquor license to purchase, transport or have alcohol in their homes. However, appropriate restrictions may be imposed on each emirate in this regard.
Amendment in the decency laws clarifies that the punishment for those who committed indecent acts in public will be a financial fine instead of jail for the first offense.
According to the new amendment, consensual sex will not be punished by the law. It will be punished by the law if the victim, male or female, is under 14 years of age, mentally challenged or if the culprit is a first degree relative of the victim or responsible for their upbringing.
A person convicted of committing sexual intercourse with a minor or mentally challenged person by force would be punished by the death penalty.
The laws are effective immediately and reflect the progressive measures to improve living standards for people from around the world living in the UAE.
