The first step is to register the case by either party at the Family Guidance Section at the respective judicial department, in one of the emirates. A court appointed conciliator will try to reconcile the divorcing parties.

The conciliatory procedure is a mandatory process of the divorce proceedings in the UAE. Parties are allowed to raise their concerns pertaining to the marriage in the absence of their respective legal representatives.

Amicable divorces can be concluded at this stage. Parties will need to draft a settlement based on the parties’ mutual understanding and sign it before the conciliator.

If one of the parties or both of them are determined about the divorce, then the conciliator will provide the claimant with a referral letter, permitting them to proceed before the court to conclude their divorce case.

The letter can be submitted to court at any time within three months from the date of issue. Once in court, the particulars of the divorce case fall at the court's discretion and each party has to provide evidence to support own claims against one another as well as in their own defence.