UAE family matters Q&A: will my ex-husband's appeal case affect my alimony appeal?

A reader asks if her appeal against an alimony case will be affected by her ex-husband filing one first

I am an Arab woman who has filed for divorce, custody and an alimony case against my husband. I won the case but want to file an appeal to increase the amount of alimony I am entitled. I have since found out that my ex-husband has already filed an appeal. Will the fact that he filed for an appeal before me affect the outcome? Will each appeal be held in different hearings? Will we have two judgments? Do I have to attend the appeal hearing personally? If I win my appeal, will I be able to claim the court charges? What will happen if my husband does not respect the court orders? 

It does not make a difference who filed first. Both appeals must be heard at the same hearing before the same tribunal. The judge decides on both of them on the same day.

You have the right to attend the hearing personally or your lawyer could attend on your behalf. Your physical presence is not required unless the judge asks you to attend in person.

You have the right to submit additional evidence or any new documents in the appeal – taking into account that such documents need to be legally translated into Arabic if they were issued in any other language. If such documents were issued by foreign courts they must be attested by the UAE Embassy in the country in which they were issued. 

The appeal court has the right to amend the judgment or to cancel it or to return the case to the first instance court.

The governing rule that is always applied in appeal is that no petitioner shall be harmed by his petition. So your appeal will not harm you and the same rule applies to your husband.

In your appeal, the amount of alimony granted could be increased if your appeal is accepted by the judge and the amount can be decreased only if your husband’s appeal is accepted instead.

The appeal judgment can be objected in the high court within one month. Should you win your appeal or petition, the other party has to cover your court charges.

Should your ex-husband not respect court orders, you have the right to file for execution and request from the court to seize your husband’s assets. If he doesn’t have any assets and has not paid you your due amount, you have the right to request from the execution court to blacklist him.

If you have a question for our legal consultant, email [e-mail] with the subject line "Family Matters".