UAE top court rejects paternity claim despite DNA evidence
Abu Dhabi: The UAE’s Federal Supreme Court has rejected a woman’s attempt to establish a man as the father of her child, overturning an appellate ruling that had attributed the child to him after DNA testing indicated that the pair could be the biological parents. The woman had filed the case seeking formal recognition of the child’s paternity and the legal consequences that would follow,…
The Federal Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates has dismissed a woman's claim to establish a man as the father of her child, despite DNA evidence indicating a potential biological connection. The woman had sought legal recognition of the child's paternity and the accompanying rights, such as maintenance, care, and official registration.
According to her testimony, she and the man were romantically involved, living together as husband and wife, and subsequently gave birth to the child. The child's registration was solely under the woman's name, following the man's refusal to acknowledge paternity. The man contested this claim, arguing that DNA findings alone were insufficient to establish a presumed marital relationship necessary for lineage attribution under the circumstances.
His legal team contended that the court proceedings lacked any evidence of a valid marriage, witness testimonies, or other documentation proving a marriage, including irregular or defective ones, between the couple. Both a lower court and the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the man, attributing the child to him. However, the Federal Supreme Court overturned this decision, citing that the appellate judgment relied primarily on a forensic laboratory report from a related criminal case, which identified the man and woman as potential biological parents.
The court emphasized that the woman's description of the relationship demonstrated that the birth did not result from a recognized marriage. Additionally, official documents revealed that the woman was previously married to another man. The Federal Supreme Court concluded that a genetic relationship alone was not sufficient to independently establish the child's lineage when the legal requirements for paternity were not met.
Article 90 of Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024 on Personal Status permits DNA testing in specific cases, including disputes regarding a child's lineage, but stipulates conditions for the acceptance of such results. The court found that the appellate ruling had improperly extended the scope of DNA evidence beyond the permitted limitations and had misapplied the governing rules.
Consequently, the Federal Supreme Court reversed the appealed judgment, nullified the prior ruling establishing paternity, and dismissed the woman's case. As the UAE's highest federal judicial authority, the Federal Supreme Court handles appeals in personal status matters.
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