Al Ain court orders father to pay AED 10,000 for keeping children from mother

The Al Ain Court for Civil, Commercial and Administrative Claims ordered a man to pay his former wife AED 10,000. This is compensation for the emotional harm she suffered when he refused to hand over their two children. Final court rulings had already given her custody, which is the right to have the children live with her and care for them.

The woman asked the court for AED 45,000 for financial and emotional harm. She also asked for legal interest of 12% and for him to pay court fees and lawyer costs. She said that even after the final custody rulings, he did not hand over the children. She started enforcement steps to make him obey the ruling, but he still refused. In a separate criminal case, he was convicted for this refusal. He received one month in prison, suspended for three years. This means he does not go to prison unless he commits another offence in that period.

The man asked the court to reject the claim. He said there was no proven harm. He said the children were handed over before the final criminal ruling, and that the delay happened because the children refused to go with their mother.

According to Emarat Al Youm, the court explained that the criminal ruling had already found the man guilty of refusing to hand over the children to the person entitled to them under a final court ruling. Because of this, his fault was proven. He could not argue again in the civil case that it did not happen or was not his responsibility.

The court said that keeping the children from their mother caused her "moral harm". This means non-financial harm, such as sadness, anxiety and emotional suffering, because she could not use her custody right. The court said it could see this harm from the nature of the act and the circumstances. It also found a direct link between his fault and her harm, so compensation was required.

The court rejected the claim for financial harm. The case file did not have enough proof of a specific money loss caused directly by his actions. The court ordered him to pay AED 10,000 and the court fees and expenses, and rejected her other requests.

A final custody ruling must be followed. If a parent refuses to hand over children, they can face a criminal case and also a separate civil claim for compensation.

Once a criminal court has found a person guilty, the civil court may treat that fault as already proven. The parent then cannot easily argue the same facts again.

This case also shows that emotional harm and financial harm are treated differently. The court accepted emotional harm from the facts of the case. But for financial loss, such as costs of legal steps and visits to authorities, the claimant needs clear proof of the amounts.