Service
of family proceedings in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates
Rule 6.43 of the
Family Procedure Rules 2010 requires that service of court papers abroad must
take place:
- In accordance with the Service Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1393/2007); or
- Through foreign governments, judicial authorities and British Consular authorities; or
- In accordance with the laws of Dubai in relation to service.
Service in
accordance with the Service Regulation is not possible on another party in
Dubai or elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates as they are not member states of
the European Union.
Service through
the UK Foreign Office is complicated and involves many delays. As at April 2012
the relevant section of the High Court in London was quoting upwards of 8
months to effect service.
The third option
is to serve in accordance with the laws in Dubai. All issued Court proceedings
in Dubai are served directly by the Court staff or Court notaries. Guidance is
given at Articles 1 to 10 of the Federal Law No 11 for the year 1992. These
articles set out how service (announcement) takes place through the Dubai Courts.
Although the laws do not specify how foreign proceedings should be served, they
helpfully elaborate on permitted methods of service in Dubai.
It is clear from
these laws that documents are deemed effectively served as long as they have
been delivered to the Respondent after 7am and before 6pm (Article 6) and not
on official vacation days (Fridays or public holidays). Article 8 sets out how
service can take place if the Respondent cannot be found. Although service of
court documents in Dubai is carried out by the Courts, it appears from these
statutory provisions that service is effective as long as the Respondent has
notice of the proceedings. It therefore appears that personal service of English
divorce proceedings, would be service in accordance with the laws in Dubai
subject to due compliance with articles 6 to 8 of the Federal Law 11 of 1992.
Personal service of court documents can, and often does, take place in Dubai by
courier delivery.
Another option
is to request the Dubai Court Notaries to serve English Court documents on a
Respondent in Dubai. The Court Notaries have their own section on the Dubai
Court website (www.dubaiCourts.gove.ae).
The Dubai Court Notaries are however likely to insist that all documents are
translated into Arabic and this can add considerably to the legal costs.
We have had
success in obtaining an English court order permitting due service of English
divorce papers on a party in Dubai by methods compliant with local Dubai law.
