The President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, has announced new rules for residents’ welfare. In addition to the new reform, a new and updated Federal Crime and Punishment Law was also introduced.
Women are better protected under the new law, the public is safer, and extramarital relationships are less restricted. The law will be effective from January 2, 2022.
The new law stipulates that consensual extramarital affair with a person over 18 can be investigated as a criminal case only if the husband or guardian files a complaint
Every husband or guardian has the right to waive the complaint, and that waiver entails either the end of the criminal case or the suspension of the punishment, depending on the situation.
Any child born as a result of the relationship is recognized and will be cared for. Any couple who conceives a child out of wedlock will be required to marry or acknowledge the child singly or jointly, as well as provide identification papers and travel documents in accordance with the laws of the country of which either is a national, taking into account the applicable laws of that nation.
Failure to do so will result in a criminal case with a two-year prison sentence for both correspondents.
