UAE: Abu Dhabi to reduce divorce cases by 6% by 2022

The number of couples divorcing in Abu Dhabi has decreased over the past year, new statistics show.

The Abu Dhabi Justice Department (ADJD) said on Monday it has succeeded in reducing the divorce rate by about 6 percent by 2022.

Family dispute cases ending in divorce have dropped to just 3% compared to 9% in 2021, another qualitative achievement in ADJD’s record of solidifying a culture of tolerance and encouraging the amicable resolution of disputes to ensure that family cohesion and stability are maintained.

Family counselors and psychologists in the UAE have earlier cited infidelity or extramarital affairs, lack of preparation and commitment, poor or lack of communication, physical and verbal abuse, social media, failure of one spouse to take responsibility and unrealistic expectations As some of the leading reasons for early divorce in the UAE.

The Justice Department emphasizes its commitment to promoting a culture of alternative dispute resolution as part of its efforts to implement best practice and innovative approaches at the highest standards of quality – to achieve reconciliation and amicable resolution of family conflicts as well as civil, commercial and real estate disputes.

Officials attributed the drop in divorce rates to ADJD’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Unit’s efforts to improve performance and develop working methods consistent with the social, economic and technological development of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The Justice Department said the ADR sector had had a positive effect, offering better options for resolving disputes outside of traditional courts. This, combined with family counselors’ efforts to persuade both parties to opt for an amicable settlement of disputes, has resulted in fewer cases ending in divorce.

The ADJD also revealed that it had managed to resolve over 99.2% of the domestic disputes submitted for its consideration during 2022 – a proportion representing 15,606 domestic disputes – and successfully resolved 63% of disputes in the emirate Abu Dhabi .

The decline in divorce rates is also a result of the success of various outreach programs and initiatives implemented by the Ministry of Justice, including the Better Reconciliation (Al Solh Khair) initiative. This has largely helped bring the divorce rate down to around 6% in 2022. This percentage was 12% in 2018 and 13% in 2019 and 2020.

It then drops to 9% in 2021 and continues the downward trend to 3% in 2022: this demonstrates the successful development of processes and interaction plans that have proven to be beneficial to all parties to a conflict.

The Reconciliation as New initiative is an innovative campaign aimed at keeping abreast of developments, raising awareness, and consolidating and strengthening relationships between family members. It aims to help absorb conflict coping skills through intensive instructional sessions conducted by certified family counselors, as well as organizing training workshops supported by multimedia products and interactive exercises.

All of this will be combined with a follow-up plan to ensure the settlement agreement is followed and to address any obstacles that may arise in its implementation.

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