00:00Registration of births for children conceived outside the institution of marriage.
00:07In the recent years, the UAE has brought about significant changes to its legal provisions
00:13regarding relationships between unmarried couples and children born outside the boundaries
00:19of a marriage.
00:21The law provides a definitive procedure to register and document births of such children
00:27and establish their legal identity.
00:31Article 410 of Federal Decree Law No. 31 2021 on the issuance of the Crimes and Penalties
00:38Law or the UAE Penal Code has decriminalized consensual sex and pregnancy outside of marriage
00:48provided that the identification documents and passports of the born child are extracted
00:54according to the laws of the state, thus protecting the rights of the child.
01:00Birth registration is a straightforward process in the UAE requiring the submission of certain
01:06information including the identity documents and the marriage certificate of the parents.
01:13Article 6 of Federal Decree Law No. 10 2022 on the regulation of the registration of births
01:21births and deaths states that a birth certificate is to be considered as proof of birth and
01:27will not be considered to be a document to prove paternity of a child.
01:33When a couple is unmarried, as per Article 7 of the Law No. 10 2022, to obtain a birth certificate,
01:43identity documents of the parents and the marriage certificate, however, if the couple is unmarried,
01:54thus lacking a marriage certificate, the parties can submit an acknowledgement from regarding
01:59the lineage of the child to them.
02:02This document must be certified by the embassy of the state to which they belong or by a notary
02:08public.
02:09If a birth is to be registered but the identity of the father is unknown, Article 11 of Law
02:16No. 10 2022 states that a hospital or a health facility can issue a birth certificate based
02:23on a judicial order obtained from the competent court.
02:28Such birth certificates will contain the name and nationality of the newborn, the details of
02:34the mother and other information as prescribed by law from time to time.
02:40Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2024 on personal status and Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2022
02:49on civil personal status have issued provisions regarding children with unknown parentage.
02:56Article 89 of the Federal Decree Law No. 41 states that in case of children with unknown parentage,
03:05lineage may be proven by acknowledgement if the person to whom the acknowledgement is made
03:11confirms it, provided that he is of legal age and sound mind, and the age difference between
03:17the person making the acknowledgement and the child allows for the possibility of the acknowledgement
03:23to be true.
03:24Additionally, if the court finds it necessary, the court may request a DNA test.
03:31Article 14 of the Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2022 states that parentage can be proven
03:38by marriage or by acknowledgement of parents.
03:42A court can order a DNA test to prove parentage only if the child in such cases is of unknown parentage,
03:49and the difference in age allows the child's parentage to be true.
03:54The legal advancement in the rights granted to children born out of wedlock shows UAE's commitment
04:00towards the protection of children in vulnerable positions.
04:04It is also a significant step taken by the country to adapt to the changing needs of a contemporary
04:11society.
04:12Note, in light of this video, and in case the birth certificate was not issued by the
04:19health department, then the parents may submit a petition to the court of urgent matters with
04:24specific documents.
04:27These documents could be the IDs for both parents, birth notification, parentage acknowledgement
04:33by both parties, and any other additional requirement by the court of the emirate where the request
04:39would be submitted.
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