Personal Status Law
State of Kuwait · 333 stored articles
Article index
Search statutory textsArticles 1 – 10091
- Article 7In all cases, gifts that do not endure shall not be returned. Title Two Essential Elements of Marriage
- Article 8Marriage is concluded by an offer from the wife's guardian and acceptance by the husband, or by those acting in their respective stead.
- Article 9a- Offer and acceptance in marriage shall be made orally using words that customarily convey its meaning, or in any language. b- An offer between absent persons may be…
- Article 10The following are required for offer and acceptance: a- They must be immediately effective and not indicate a time limitation. b- Acceptance must correspond to the…
- Article 11a- The validity of marriage requires the presence of two Muslim witnesses who are adult, sane males, both hearing the words of the contracting parties and understanding…
- Article 12For a marriage to be valid, the woman must not be prohibited to the man in marriage, whether permanently or temporarily. Home Page 1135 Law Index Personal Status Law Law…
- Article 13A person is prohibited, by reason of consanguinity, from marrying: a- His ascendant, however high. b- His descendant, however low. c- The descendants of his parents,…
- Article 14By reason of affinity, a man is prohibited from marrying: a- A woman who has married any of his ascendants, however high. b- A woman who has married any of his…
- Article 15A person is prohibited from marrying his descendant resulting from illicit sexual intercourse, however remote in descent, and no one else is prohibited on account of…
- Article 16a- What is prohibited by consanguinity is prohibited by breastfeeding. b- Prohibitions arising from affinity shall be established through breastfeeding.
- Article 17For prohibition by reason of breastfeeding, it is required that it occur within the first two years and amount to five certain, satiating breastfeedings. Section One…
- Article 18The following marriages are not concluded: 1 - The marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim man. 2 - The marriage of a Muslim man to a woman who is not of the People…
- Article 19A man’s marriage to another man’s wife or to a woman observing her waiting period from another man shall not be concluded.
- Article 20It is not permissible to be married simultaneously, even during the waiting period, to 2 women where, if either were assumed to be male, the other would be forbidden to…
- Article 21A man may not marry a fifth wife before his marriage to one of his four wives has been dissolved and her waiting period has expired.
- Article 22A man may not marry a woman who has been divorced from him three times except after the expiry of her waiting period following another husband who actually consummated a…
- Article 23A man may not marry a woman whom he has alienated from her husband unless she returns to her first husband and he then divorces her or dies leaving her a widow.…
- Article 24a - Soundness of mind and attainment of puberty are required for capacity to marry. b - The judge may authorise the marriage of an insane or mentally deficient person,…
- Article 25The marriage of a person under duress or an intoxicated person is not valid. Article 26 (1) The notarization of a marriage contract, or its attestation, is prohibited…
- Article 26Notarization or authentication of a marriage contract is prohibited for anyone who has not attained eighteen years of age at the time of notarization.
- Article 27a- Agency is permissible in concluding a marriage contract. b- An agent may not marry his principal to himself unless this is expressly stipulated in the power of…
- Article 28a- A marriage concluded by an unauthorized person, if validly concluded, shall be contingent upon ratification by the person concerned. b- If the agent in marriage…
- Article 31If the guardian obstructs the girl’s marriage, she may refer the matter to the judge to order or not order the marriage; likewise if there are several guardians of the…
- Article 32A guardian who is not within a prohibited degree of marriage may marry himself to his female ward with her consent.
- Article 33a- A person who reaches majority while prodigal, or subsequently becomes prodigal, may contract his own marriage. b- If his marriage takes place after interdiction, the…
- Article 34For marriage to be binding, the man must be a suitable match for the woman at the time of the contract. Both the woman and her guardian shall have the right to annulment…
- Article 35The criterion for marital compatibility is righteousness in religion.
- Article 36Compatibility in age between the spouses shall be considered a right of the wife alone.
- Article 37The guardian in matters of marital suitability from among the agnates is the father, then the son, then the agnatic grandfather, then the full brother followed by the…
- Article 38If the man claims marital suitability and it subsequently becomes apparent that he is not a suitable match, both the wife and her guardian shall have the right to…
- Article 39The right to annulment shall lapse upon the wife's pregnancy, prior consent, or the lapse of one year from knowledge of the marriage. Section Four Attaching Conditions…
- Article 40a- If the marriage contract is coupled with a condition incompatible with its essence, the contract shall be void. b- If it is coupled with a condition that is not…
- Article 41The condition must be recorded in the contract document.
- Article 42The right to annulment shall lapse if its holder waives it expressly or implicitly. Part Four Types of Marriage and Their Provisions Chapter One Types
- Article 43a- Marriage is of two types: valid or invalid. A valid marriage is one whose constituent elements and all conditions of validity are satisfied in accordance with the…
- Article 44A valid marriage is effective and binding, or effective and non-binding, or not effective at all.
- Article 45a- An effective, binding marriage is one that is neither contingent upon anyone's approval nor susceptible to annulment, pursuant to the provisions of this Law. b- An…
- Article 46A valid, effective and binding marriage shall produce all its effects under Sharia from the time it is contracted.
- Article 47a- A valid but ineffective marriage shall produce none of its effects before ratification or consummation. b- If ratified, it shall be deemed effective from the time of…
- Article 48A void marriage shall give rise to none of the effects of marriage. Marriage shall be void:
- Article 49a- If a defect occurs in the formula or in the contracting party's capacity that prevents formation of the contract. b- If the wife is among those prohibited by kinship,…
- Article 50Every invalid marriage other than that mentioned in the preceding article is considered defective, and consummation thereof entails: a - The obligation to pay the lesser…
- Article 51An irregular marriage shall produce no effect before consummation. Part Five Effects of Marriage Chapter One Dower
- Article 52The dower becomes due to the wife upon the mere conclusion of a valid marriage contract.
- Article 53There is no minimum or maximum limit for the dower.
- Article 54Anything that may lawfully be undertaken as an obligation under Sharia may constitute a dower, whether property, work, or a benefit, provided that it does not conflict…
- Article 55A- The dower validly specified in the contract shall be due. B- If the dower is not specified, or its specification is invalid, or it is excluded altogether, the…
- Article 56a- Part of the dower may be deferred; in the absence of an express provision, custom shall be followed. b- The term specified in the contract for the dower to become due…
- Article 57An unqualified deferment of the dower shall refer to the earlier of the two terms: irrevocable separation or death.
- Article 58The husband may increase the dower after the contract, and the wife may reduce it, if both have full capacity to dispose Law Index 1140 Home Page Personal Status Law Law…
- Article 59The father, then the agnatic grandfather, may receive the virgin’s dower until her twenty-fifth year of age, unless she forbids this.
- Article 60If the spouses disagree as to receipt of the immediately payable dower, the wife's statement shall prevail before consummation, and the husband's thereafter, unless…
- Article 61The entire dower becomes definitively due upon actual consummation, valid seclusion, or the death of either spouse.
- Article 62If the wife kills her husband, in a killing that bars inheritance, before consummation, the dower she has received shall be recovered from her, and the remainder shall…
- Article 63a - The wife is entitled to half the specified dower upon divorce before consummation or valid seclusion. b - If she has received more than half, the excess shall be…
- Article 64The woman shall be entitled to a consolatory payment assessed by the judge at no more than half the customary dower for a woman of comparable standing, if separation…
- Article 65The entire dower or the consolatory payment shall be forfeited if separation occurs for a cause attributable to the wife before consummation or valid seclusion.
- Article 66If a man marries during his terminal illness for a dower exceeding the customary dower of a comparable woman, the excess shall be governed by the rule applicable to a…
- Article 67a- In the event of denial, no action contradicting what is stated in the marriage document regarding the principal dower or its amount shall be heard. b- If the document…
- Article 68A- If the spouses disagree as to whether a dower was specified, after it has become confirmed, and the claimant is unable to furnish proof, the specified dower shall be…
- Article 69If the spouses disagree over the amount of the specified dower, the burden of proof shall lie with the wife. If she is unable to prove it, the husband's statement on…
- Article 70a- A guarantee of the dower is valid when given by a person competent to make a gratuitous disposition, provided it is accepted during the session, even implicitly. b-…
- Article 71A guarantee may validly be made contingent upon an appropriate condition, and shall not terminate upon the death of the guarantor, the beneficiary of the guarantee, or…
- Article 72a- The wife is not obliged to provide any furnishings for the matrimonial home. If she brings any, they shall be her property. b- The husband may use the furnishings…
- Article 73If the spouses dispute household effects and neither has evidence, the wife’s statement under oath shall prevail regarding what is customarily associated with women, and…
- Article 74Maintenance for the wife is incumbent upon her husband by virtue of a valid contract, even if she is wealthy or differs from him in religion, if she makes herself…
- Article 75Maintenance shall include food, clothing, accommodation, and the associated medical treatment, service, and other things according to custom.
- Article 76Maintenance shall be assessed according to the husband's circumstances, whether affluent or straitened, regardless of the wife's circumstances, provided that it is not…
- Article 77a - Maintenance may be increased or reduced as the husband's circumstances or prices in the country change. b - An action for an increase or reduction shall not be heard…
- Article 78a- The wife’s maintenance, from the date of failure to provide it while it is obligatory, shall constitute a debt owed by the husband, independent of a judicial ruling…
- Article 79a- During the hearing of a maintenance action, the judge may order the husband to pay temporary maintenance to the wife if she requests it, renewable monthly until the…
- Article 80If the wife requests that the debt for her maintenance be set off against what she owes her husband, her request shall be granted, even without his consent.
- Article 81If the husband requests a set-off between his wife's maintenance and a debt owed to him by her, his request shall not be granted unless she is solvent and able to…
- Article 82The wife's maintenance shall have priority in enforcement against the husband's property, even if it is insufficient for anything else.
- Article 83a- A guarantee of spousal maintenance is valid, whether past, present or future, and whether assessed judicially, by agreement, or not assessed. b- The provisions of…
- Article 84a - The husband shall accommodate his wife in a dwelling such as that of his peers. b - She shall, after receiving the prompt portion of the dower, reside with him.
- Article 85A husband may not house a co-wife with his wife in one dwelling without her consent.
- Article 86The husband may not house anyone with his wife other than his children who have not attained discernment, and those of his other children and his parents whom necessity…
- Article 87a- If the wife refuses to move to the matrimonial home without justification, or prevents the husband from living with her in her home, and he has not refused to move…
- Article 88A judgment of obedience may not be forcibly enforced against the wife.
- Article 89The wife's going out for a lawful purpose or for permissible work shall not constitute marital disobedience, unless her work is contrary to the interests of the family.
- Article 90The wife must relocate with her husband unless the court considers that the interest lies in her not relocating.
- Article 91The wife may travel with a mahram to perform the obligatory Hajj, even if the husband has not given permission, and her maintenance as a resident shall continue for the…
- Article 92In events occurring from the date this Law comes into force: a- Upon denial, a claim of marriage shall not be heard unless it is established by an official marriage…
- Article 93Every person of sound mind who has attained the age specified in the preceding Article shall have capacity for an action concerning marital status and for all…
- Article 94The action shall be brought against the wife alone, but if both spouses acknowledge a marriage for which the guardian's consent is required, he must also be joined as a…
- Article 95If marriage is claimed to a woman who has an apparent husband, he must also be joined as a defendant.
- Article 96a- An action asserting marriage shall not be valid if the claimant has previously done something irreconcilably contradicting it. b- A person who acknowledges that a…
- Article 97Divorce is the dissolution of the valid marriage bond by the will of the husband, or someone acting in his place, by a specific expression, in accordance with Article…
- Article 98a - Divorce is of two types: revocable and irrevocable. b - Revocable divorce does not dissolve the marital relationship before expiry of the waiting period. c -…
- Article 100a- Annulment shall in all cases depend on a judicial ruling and shall have no effect before that ruling. b- However, if the ground for annulment makes the woman…
Articles 101 – 200100
- Article 101A- Annulment of the marriage after consummation or valid seclusion entitles the woman to an appropriate amount of the specified dower, or of the customary dower where…
- Article 102Divorce pronounced by any husband who is sane, has attained puberty, acts voluntarily, and is aware of what he says shall take effect. Divorce pronounced by an insane…
- Article 103Divorce takes effect against a wife only if she is in a valid marriage and is not observing a waiting period.
- Article 104a- Divorce takes effect through an expression conventionally explicit in that regard, and does not take effect through the expression of writing except with intention.…
- Article 105Divorce must be immediate and unconditional.
- Article 106A husband may appoint another person as his agent for divorce. The agent may not appoint another agent except with the husband's permission. The agency terminates upon…
- Article 107The husband has the right to three pronouncements of divorce over his wife.
- Article 108If a divorced woman marries another man, consummation extinguishes the former husband's pronouncements of divorce, even if they were fewer than three. If she returns to…
- Article 109A divorce coupled with a number, orally, by sign, or in writing, shall take effect only as a single divorce. Law Index 1146 Home Page Personal Status Law Law No. 51 of…
- Article 110Every divorce is revocable except divorce before consummation, divorce for consideration, divorce completing the three, and any divorce stipulated to be irrevocable in…
- Article 111a - Khulʿ is a husband's divorce of his wife in return for consideration mutually agreed upon by them, using the term khulʿ, divorce, mutual release, or words of…
- Article 112The validity of divorce by mutual agreement for compensation requires that both spouses have capacity to effect divorce in accordance with this Law.
- Article 113Either party may retract his or her offer of divorce by mutual agreement in return for compensation before the other accepts.
- Article 114Anything that may validly be undertaken as an obligation under Sharia may serve as consideration for khulʿ.
- Article 115The consideration agreed upon for khulʿ is payable, and nothing for which it was not made consideration shall be extinguished thereby.
- Article 116For the husband to be entitled to the consideration for khulʿ, the wife's khulʿ must be of her own choice, without coercion or harm.
- Article 117a- If it is stipulated in a khulʿ agreement that the mother breastfeed the child, have custody of the child without remuneration, or provide for the child for a…
- Article 118If the father stipulates in a khulʿ agreement that he keep the child with him during the custody period, the khulʿ shall be valid and the condition void. The female…
- Article 119Khulʿ by a woman suffering from death illness is valid, and the consideration shall be counted against one-third of her property in the absence of the heirs' approval.…
- Article 120a - If a husband who is present refuses to provide maintenance for his wife, has no apparent assets, and his insolvency has not been established, his wife may request…
- Article 121A divorce pronounced by the judge for failure to provide maintenance shall be revocable. The husband may take his wife back during the waiting period if he proves to the…
- Article 122If the filing of proceedings for failure to provide maintenance is repeated more than twice and the wife requests divorce on grounds of harm, the judge shall divorce her…
- Article 123If a husband swears an oath indicating abstention from sexual intercourse with his wife for four months or more, or without specifying a period, and persists in his oath…
- Article 124If the husband expresses readiness to resume marital intercourse before judicial divorce, the judge shall grant him an appropriate period; if he does not resume it, the…
- Article 125For the validity of taking the wife back following judicial divorce for an oath of abstinence, actual resumption of sexual relations during the waiting period is…
- Article 126Either spouse, before or after consummation, may request judicial separation on account of harm inflicted by the other, by word or deed, such that continued marital life…
- Article 127The court must make every effort to reconcile the spouses. If reconciliation is impossible and harm is established, separation between them shall be decreed by one…
- Article 128The two arbitrators must be upright persons from the spouses' families if possible; otherwise, they shall be other persons possessing sound understanding and the ability…
- Article 129The two arbitrators shall ascertain the causes of discord and exert their efforts to reconcile the spouses by any possible means.
- Article 130If the two arbitrators are unable to effect reconciliation: A- If it becomes apparent that the wrongdoing is entirely on the husband's part, and the wife is seeking…
- Article 131A - The two arbitrators must submit their detailed report to the court, and the judge may rule in accordance therewith if it conforms to the provisions of the preceding…
- Article 132a- The three arbitrators shall submit their report, unanimously or by majority, to the court, for it to decide the action in accordance with Article 130. b- If their…
- Article 133Harm is established by the testimony of two men, or one man and two women.
- Article 134To establish harm, hearsay testimony based on common repute within the sphere of the spouses’ life shall suffice (1) Amended pursuant to Law No. 29 of 2004 Home Page…
- Article 135The testimony of a relative and of a person connected with the person in whose favour testimony is given shall be admissible whenever they are competent to testify.…
- Article 136If the husband is absent for a year or more without an acceptable excuse, his wife may request a judicial divorce if she suffers harm from his absence, even if he has…
- Article 137a- If the absent husband can be served with notice, the judge shall set him a deadline and warn him that he will divorce her from him if he does not come to reside with…
- Article 138If the husband is imprisoned in execution of a final judgment imposing a custodial penalty for a period of three years or more, his wife may seek an irrevocable judicial…
- Article 139Either spouse may request annulment of the marriage if that spouse finds in the other an entrenched defect that is repugnant, harmful, or prevents marital enjoyment,…
- Article 140As an exception to the preceding Article, the wife's right to seek annulment on account of defects in the man that prevent sexual enjoyment, such as impotence, whether…
- Article 141If the aforementioned defects cannot be removed, the court shall annul the marriage immediately. If their removal is possible, it shall adjourn the case for a suitable…
- Article 142The assistance of experts from among Muslim physicians shall be sought in determining the appropriate period and identifying the defects on account of which annulment is…
- Article 143a- If both spouses are non-Muslims and embrace Islam together, their marriage shall continue. b- If the husband alone embraces Islam and his wife is a woman of the…
- Article 144A- For the marriage to continue in the preceding cases, there must be no ground for prohibition between the spouses among the grounds set out in this Law. B- In all…
- Article 145a- If the husband apostatizes, the marriage shall be annulled. However, if the apostasy occurs after consummation and he returns to Islam during the waiting period, the…
- Article 146A missing person whose death is probable shall be adjudged dead after four years from the date of his disappearance. In all other cases, determination of the period…
- Article 147After a judgment declaring a missing person dead, his wife shall observe the waiting period for death from the time the judgment is issued.
- Article 148If the missing person returns, or it becomes apparent that he is alive, his wife shall remain his unless the second husband has consummated the marriage with her without…
- Article 149The husband may take back his revocably divorced wife, by word or deed, so long as she is within the waiting period, and this right shall not be extinguished by waiver.
- Article 150Verbal revocation of divorce is subject to the following conditions: a- That it be immediate and unconditional. b- That it take place in the presence of two witnesses:…
- Article 151If the divorcing husband claims that his right to revoke the divorce remains because the waiting period calculated by menstruation is continuing, and the divorced wife…
- Article 152A revocably divorced woman becomes irrevocably divorced upon the expiry of the waiting period without her being taken back in marriage.
- Article 153A man who has divorced his wife by a minor irrevocable divorce may marry her during or after the waiting period, under a new contract and with a new dower.
- Article 154A divorce that is irrevocable with major finality precludes marriage unless the conditions mentioned in Article 22 are fulfilled. Chapter Two The Waiting Period Section…
- Article 155A woman is required to observe the waiting period: a - Upon separation after consummation or seclusion, whether valid or invalid due to an impediment under Sharia, in a…
- Article 156The waiting period begins: a- In a valid marriage, from the date of divorce or the husband’s death. Home Page Law Index 1152 Personal Status Law Law No. 51 of 1984…
- Article 157A- A woman whose husband dies during a valid marriage shall observe a waiting period of four months and ten days from his death, if she is not pregnant. B- The waiting…
- Article 158a- If the husband of a revocably divorced woman dies during her waiting period, she shall begin anew the waiting period for death by waiting four months and ten days…
- Article 159A woman irrevocably separated from her husband after consummation shall, if he marries her during the waiting period and then divorces her before a new consummation,…
- Article 160In all cases, the waiting period shall not exceed one year. Second Subdivision Effects of the Waiting Period
- Article 161a- A woman observing the waiting period following a revocable divorce shall spend her waiting period in the matrimonial home, except in case of necessity, in which case…
- Article 162Maintenance shall be due to a woman observing a waiting period following divorce, annulment, consummation of an irregular marriage, or intercourse under a mistaken…
- Article 163Maintenance during the waiting period shall be deemed a debt owed by the man from the date it becomes due, and shall be extinguished only by payment or release. In…
- Article 164No maintenance is due to a woman observing a waiting period following death, even if she is pregnant. Chapter Three Compensation Due to Separation
- Article 165a- If a valid marriage is dissolved after consummation, the wife shall be entitled—in addition to maintenance for her waiting period—to a consolatory payment assessed at…
- Article 166The minimum gestation period is six lunar months, and its maximum is three hundred and sixty-five days.
- Article 167Parentage shall not be established by adoption, even if the adopted child is of unknown parentage.
- Article 168Parentage from a man is not established if it is established that he is infertile, or that he cannot father a child owing to a congenital or pathological impediment. In…
- Article 169a- The child of every wife in a valid marriage shall be attributed to her husband subject to two conditions: 1- The minimum gestation period has elapsed since the…
- Article 170a - If a woman observing the waiting period following a revocable divorce gives birth during her waiting period, filiation to the divorcing husband shall be established.…
- Article 171a- If a woman observing a waiting period following irrevocable divorce or death has not acknowledged the expiry of her waiting period, the lineage of her child shall be…
- Article 172a- A child’s parentage from the man in an irregular marriage or intercourse under a mistaken belief of lawfulness shall be established if the child is born six lunar…
- Article 173A- A man's acknowledgment that a person of unknown parentage is his child, even during his death illness, establishes parentage, provided that it is not contradicted by…
- Article 174a- A child's parentage through the mother shall be established by her acknowledgment, provided that the conditions for a man's acknowledgment of a child are met and she…
- Article 175An acknowledgment involving the attribution of lineage to another person does not establish lineage. Index of the Law 0011 Home Page Personal Status Law Law No. 51 of…
- Article 176In cases where a child's parentage is established by the marital-bed presumption in a subsisting or dissolved valid marriage, or by consummation in a defective marriage…
- Article 177Proceedings in an action for mutual imprecation must be instituted within fifteen days from the time of birth or knowledge thereof.
- Article 178If mutual imprecation takes place between the man and the woman, the judge shall disavow the child's parentage in relation to the man; the man shall not be obliged to…
- Article 179If the man makes an admission indicating that he lied in the accusation and denial of lineage, the child's lineage shall be binding upon him, even after a judgment…
- Article 180Separation by li'an is an annulment. Part Three Lineage Action
- Article 181From the date this Law enters into force: In the event of denial, an action for acknowledgment of parentage shall not be heard unless the acknowledgment is established…
- Article 182For an action to establish parentage to be valid, it must include the ground for that parentage.
- Article 183The party to a parentage action shall be the holder of the right therein, or a person whose right depends upon its establishment.
- Article 184a- Contradiction shall be excused in claims of filiation and paternity, and shall not be excused in other claims. b- Contradiction shall be removed by actual…
- Article 185A judgment rendered concerning parentage shall have binding effect only against a person who was a party to the litigation concerning it. Law Index 1156 Home Page…
- Article 186The mother must breastfeed her child if the child cannot be nourished with anything other than her milk.
- Article 187Remuneration for breastfeeding is due from the time of breastfeeding and shall not be extinguished except by payment or release.
- Article 188a- The mother is not entitled to breastfeeding remuneration during the subsistence of the marriage, or during a waiting period in respect of the father in which she is…
- Article 189a- The right of custody belongs to the mother, then her mother however high, then the maternal aunt, then the mother’s maternal aunt, then the mother’s paternal aunt,…
- Article 190A- A person entitled to custody must satisfy the following requirements: puberty, sanity, trustworthiness, and the ability to raise the child in custody and safeguard…
- Article 191a - If the female custodian marries a person who is not within a prohibited degree of marriage to the child in custody, and the husband consummates the marriage with…
- Article 192A non-Muslim female custodian is entitled to custody of a Muslim child until he understands religions, or there is fear that he will become accustomed to a religion…
- Article 193The right of custody is not extinguished by relinquishment; rather, it is precluded by its impediments and returns upon their cessation. Law Index 1157 Home Page…
- Article 194Women’s custody of a boy ends upon puberty, and of a female upon her marriage and the husband’s consummation of the marriage with her.
- Article 195a- The female custodian may not travel with the child in custody to another country for residence except with the permission of the child's guardian or testamentary…
- Article 196a- The right of visitation belongs only to the parents and grandparents. b- The custodian may not prevent any of these persons from seeing the child in custody. c- In…
- Article 197The female custodian is entitled to receive the maintenance of the person in custody, including the rent for his accommodation.
- Article 198The person obliged to provide maintenance for the child in custody shall be liable for the rent of the accommodation for the child's custody, unless the female custodian…
- Article 199a - A female custodian shall not be entitled to custody remuneration if she is the father's wife, or is observing a waiting period during which she is entitled to…
- Article 200No maintenance is due to relatives other than ascendants, however high, and descendants, however low.
Articles 201 – 30097
- Article 201A well-to-do child, whether male or female, owes maintenance to his or her poor parents, grandfathers, and grandmothers, even if they differ from him or her in religion…
- Article 202A father of sufficient means, however far ascending, must maintain his poor child who is incapable of earning, however far descending, until the latter becomes…
- Article 203a- If the father is indigent and the mother is of means, she shall be obliged to maintain her child, and it shall constitute a debt owed by the father, which she may…
- Article 204If there are multiple persons entitled to maintenance and the means of the person obliged to provide maintenance are insufficient for all of them, priority shall be…
- Article 205Maintenance is due from the date the action is filed or agreement is reached upon it, and is considered a debt owed by the person obligated to pay it, which is…
- Article 206No set-off shall be made between the child's maintenance payable by his father and the debt owed to the father by the female custodian.
- Article 207The provision of Article 79 of this Law shall apply to maintenance of relatives. Part Seven Guardianship over the Person
- Article 208Subject to the provisions of Articles: 29-33. A male or female minor shall be subject to guardianship over the person until they attain puberty under Sharia or complete…
- Article 209a. Guardianship over the person belongs to the father, then the agnatic grandfather, then the agnate in his own right according to the order of inheritance, provided…
- Article 210Subject to the provisions on custody: The guardian of the person shall supervise the affairs of the child in custody, protect, raise and educate the child, and prepare…
- Article 211a- It is a condition for the guardian that he be trustworthy in respect of the minor, capable of managing his affairs, and of the same religion as him. b- If the…
- Article 212If no guardian has been appointed for a minor, or guardianship has been removed, the court shall entrust the minor to a trustworthy person or a charitable body until the…
- Article 213A bequest is a disposition of the estate taking effect after death.
- Article 214A will is concluded orally or in writing; if the testator is incapable of either, it is concluded by his intelligible gesture. In the event of denial, in occurrences…
- Article 215For a bequest to be valid, it must not involve a sin, and its motive must not be contrary to the purposes of the Divine Lawgiver. If the testator is not Muslim, the…
- Article 216a. A bequest may validly be made effective in the future, made contingent on a condition, or restricted by it if the condition is valid. b. A valid condition is one…
- Article 217a- The testator must have legal capacity to make a gratuitous disposition. b - If the testator is under interdiction for prodigality or heedlessness, or has attained…
- Article 218Law Index 1160 Home Page Personal Status Law Law No. 51 of 1984 concerning Personal Status 1 - That it be known. 2 - That it exist at the time of the bequest if it is…
- Article 219a - A bequest to God Almighty and for charitable works is valid without designation of a beneficiary entity, and shall be expended on charitable purposes. b - A bequest…
- Article 220A bequest to a specified charitable entity that will exist in the future is valid. If its existence proves impossible, the bequest shall be applied to the closest…
- Article 221A bequest is valid despite a difference in religion and creed, and despite a difference in the two territories, unless the testator is a national of an Islamic country…
- Article 222The subject matter of a bequest must: a- Be something capable of being inherited, or capable of being the subject of a contract during the testator's lifetime. b- Have…
- Article 223A bequest of key money and of rights transferable by inheritance, including the right to benefit from leased property after the tenant's death, shall be valid.
- Article 224A bequest to lend the legatee a specified amount of money is valid, and shall not take effect insofar as this amount exceeds one-third of the estate except with the…
- Article 225a- A will dividing the specific assets of the estate among the testator's heirs is valid, so that each heir, or some heirs, is allocated a portion of the estate…
- Article 226The bequest shall be void: a- Upon the legatee's death before the testator's death. b - Upon the destruction of the specifically identified bequeathed property before…
- Article 227Intentional killing of the testator or the deceased bars entitlement to a voluntary bequest or an obligatory bequest, whether the killer was a principal offender, an…
- Article 228The testator may revoke all or part of the bequest expressly or by implication. Any act or disposition indicating, by an attendant circumstance or custom, revocation of…
- Article 229Neither denial of a bequest, nor removal of a building on the bequeathed property, nor an act that removes the designation of the bequeathed thing or changes most of its…
- Article 230A bequest becomes binding upon its acceptance by the legatee, expressly or by implication, after the testator's death. If the legatee is a fetus, a minor or a person…
- Article 231If the legatee dies before accepting the bequest and rejecting it, his heirs shall take his place in that respect.
- Article 232Neither acceptance nor rejection is required to occur immediately upon death. Nevertheless, the bequest shall become void if the heir, or the person entitled to execute…
- Article 233a- If the legatee accepts part of the bequest and rejects the other part, the bequest shall be binding as to what is accepted and void as to what is rejected. b - If…
- Article 234a. A bequest shall not be invalidated by its rejection before the testator's death. b. If the legatee rejects all or part of the bequest after death and before…
- Article 235a- If the legatee exists at the testator's death, he shall be entitled to the bequeathed property from the time of death, unless the wording of the will indicates that…
- Article 236A bequest of corporeal property to a person not yet in existence, and to a group comprising persons in existence and persons not yet in existence who are countable,…
- Article 237If the bequest to those mentioned in the preceding article is of usufruct alone, and none of them exists at the testator's death, it shall belong to the testator's…
- Article 238If only one of the legatees exists, he shall exclusively receive the yield or the bequeathed corpus, unless the testator's wording indicates, or there is an indication,…
- Article 239If the bequest of usufructs is multiple and arranged in classes, the entitlement of the lower class shall arise when there is no hope of the existence of anyone…
- Article 240A bequest to persons who cannot be enumerated shall be valid and shall be reserved for the needy among them. Its distribution among them shall be left to the discretion…
- Article 241If a bequest is made to a limited group by wording encompassing them, without identifying them by name, and some of them are ineligible to receive the bequest at the…
- Article 242If the bequest is shared between specified persons and a group or an entity, or is shared between a group and an entity, or is shared among them all, each specified…
- Article 243If the bequest is to specified persons, the share of anyone who was ineligible for the bequest at the time of death shall revert to the testator's estate.
- Article 244a - If the bequest the specified person, or the group, is invalid, the bequeathed property shall revert to the estate. b - If the remaining bequests and that in respect…
- Article 245A bequest to an unborn child shall be valid in the following cases: 1 - If the testator acknowledges the existence of the pregnancy at the time of the bequest and the…
- Article 246a- If the pregnant woman gives birth to two or more live children at the same time, or at two times separated by less than six months, the bequest shall be divided…
- Article 247A bequest to a non-heir shall take effect within one-third of what remains of the estate after payment of the debt, without the heirs' approval. It shall not take effect…
- Article 248a- The bequest of a debtor whose assets are exhausted by debt is valid, but shall not be given effect unless his liability for that debt is discharged. b- If his…
- Article 249If the debt does not exhaust the estate, and all or part of it is satisfied from the bequeathed property, the legatee may have recourse for the amount of the debt…
- Article 250If the bequest is of an amount equal to the share of a specified heir among the testator's heirs, the legatee shall be entitled to the amount of that heir's share in…
- Article 251If the bequest is of the equivalent of the share of an unspecified heir among the testator's heirs, the legatee shall be entitled to the share of one of them in addition…
- Article 252a. If a bequest is made to one person of an undivided share in the estate and to another of the equivalent of the share of a specified or unspecified heir, a portion…
- Article 253If the bequest is of a specified amount of money or a specific asset, and the estate includes a debt receivable or absent property, then, if the bequeathed property…
- Article 254If the bequest is of an undivided share of the estate, and the estate includes a debt receivable or absent property, the legatee shall be entitled to his share of what…
- Article 255If the bequest is of an undivided share in a category of the estate, and the estate includes a debt or absent property, the legatee shall be entitled to his share of the…
- Article 256a- In all the cases set out in the preceding Articles, if the estate includes a debt due for payment from one of the heirs, and that debt is of the same kind as all or…
- Article 257If the bequest is of a specific asset of the estate, or a type of its assets, and the bequeathed property perishes or is found to belong to another, the legatee shall…
- Article 258a. If a bequest is of an undivided share in a specified asset and it perishes or is claimed by its rightful owner, the legatee shall receive nothing. b. If part perishes…
- Article 259a- If the bequest is of an undivided share in a type of the testator's property, and that property perishes or is adjudged to belong to another, the legatee shall…
- Article 260a- If the bequest is of a usufruct to a specified person for a period with a specified beginning and end, the legatee shall be entitled to a usufruct during that period.…
- Article 261a- If the heirs or any one of them prevents the legatee from enjoying the property for all or part of the period, the obstructing person shall be liable to compensate…
- Article 262Subject to the provisions of the preceding two Articles: A - If the bequest of usufruct is to an indeterminate group of people not expected to cease to exist, or to a…
- Article 263If a bequest of usufruct is for a specified period and to a determinate group of persons, and thereafter to persons whose line is not expected to cease, or to a…
- Article 264If the property whose usufruct is bequeathed permits use or exploitation in a manner other than that specified in the bequest, the legatee may use it, or exploited it in…
- Article 265If the bequest is of yield or fruit, the legatee shall be entitled to the yield or fruit existing at the time of the testator’s death and whatever arises thereof in the…
- Article 266A- If the testamentary disposition is for the sale of a specific property to the beneficiary at a specified price, or its lease to the beneficiary for a specified period…
- Article 267In a bequest of a share of usufruct, the share shall be received by dividing the yield or fruit between the legatee and the testator's heirs in proportion to each…
- Article 268The legatee of the usufruct shall bear the obligations imposed on the property and what is necessary to obtain its usufruct, even if the bare ownership is bequeathed to…
- Article 269A bequest of usufruct lapses in the following cases: a - Upon the legatee's death before enjoying all or part of the bequeathed usufruct. b - Upon the legatee's purchase…
- Article 270The sale by the testator’s heirs of their share in the property whose usufruct has been bequeathed shall take effect without requiring the legatee’s approval.
- Article 271If a bequest of usufruct to a specified person is perpetual, for his lifetime, or unrestricted, the legatee shall be entitled to the usufruct for his lifetime, provided…
- Article 272The charging of a bequest of usufructs and rights against one-third of the estate shall be calculated as follows: a- If the bequest of usufructs is perpetual,…
- Article 273a - A bequest of periodic payments from capital for a specified period is valid, and such part of the testator's property as guarantees implementation of the bequest…
- Article 274If the bequest is of a periodic payment from the yield of the estate, or from the yield of a specific property therein, for a specified period, the estate or property…
- Article 276a- In a bequest of a periodic payment from capital, the legatee shall receive his periodic payment from the yield of the asset allocated to the bequest. If the yield is…
- Article 277A- If a periodic payment is bequeathed to an entity of a permanent character by an unrestricted or perpetual testamentary disposition, such of the testator's property as…
- Article 278a- In the circumstances set out in Articles 273 to 276, the testator's heirs may take possession of, or dispose of, what has been allocated to implement the bequest of…
- Article 279A bequest of periodic payments out of capital or yield shall be valid only for those legatees existing at the time of the testator's death. Their lifetimes shall be…
- Article 280a - If the testator alters the features of the bequeathed property, or adds to its structure something that cannot stand independently, such as restoration, the entire…
- Article 281a - If the testator demolishes the building on the bequeathed property and restores it to its original condition, the property in its new condition shall constitute a…
- Article 282If the testator demolishes the bequeathed property, joins the land to land owned by him, and builds upon both, the legatee shall share with the heirs in all the land and…
- Article 283As an exception to the provisions of Articles 280, second paragraph, 281, second paragraph, and 282, if what the testator spent or added to the property is of a kind…
- Article 284If the testator combines the structure of the bequeathed property with the structure of another property owned by him and makes them a unit such that the bequeathed…
- Article 285A- If the testamentary dispositions exceed one-third of the estate and the heirs do not authorize the excess, the third shall be divided proportionately among the…
- Article 286If the bequest is for multiple pious acts, and the property from which the bequest is to be implemented is insufficient for them: a- If the kinships are of equal…
- Article 288Entitlement to inheritance arises upon the death of the decedent, whether actual or legally declared.
- Article 290If two or more persons die, some of whom would inherit from others, and it is not known who died first, none of them shall be entitled to the estate of the other,…
- Article 291a- The following shall be paid from the estate in the following order: First: An amount sufficient for the funeral preparations of the deceased and the funeral…
- Article 292An impediment to inheritance is the intentional killing of the deceased, whether the killer was a principal perpetrator or an accomplice, or a false witness whose…
- Article 293a- There shall be no mutual inheritance between a Muslim and a non-Muslim. Law Index 1172 Home Page Personal Status Law Law No. 51 of 1984 concerning Personal Status b-…
- Article 294A- An apostate shall not inherit from anyone. B- The apostate's property, before or after apostasy, shall pass to his Muslim heirs upon his death. If he has no Muslim…
- Article 295a - Among the grounds of inheritance are marriage and kinship. b - Inheritance through marriage shall be by prescribed share. c - Inheritance through kinship shall be by…
- Article 296A fixed share is a prescribed portion of the estate for an heir. In distributing inheritance, the fixed-share heirs shall be given priority, namely: the father, the…
- Article 297A - Subject to Article 309, the father shall have a prescribed share of one-sixth if the deceased has a child or a son's child, however far descended. B - In the absence…
- Article 298a- Uterine siblings shall have a fixed share of one-sixth for one and one-third for two or more, males and females sharing equally. Home Page 1173 Index of the Law…
- Article 299a - The husband has a fixed share of one-half in the absence of a child and a son's child, however far down the line of descent, and one-quarter where there is a child…
- Article 300Subject to the provision of Article 307: a - A single daughter shall have the prescribed share of one-half, and two or more shall have two-thirds. b - Sons’ daughters…
Articles 301 – 40045
- Article 301Subject to the provisions of Articles: 307, 308: a - A single full sister shall have the prescribed share of one half, and two or more shall have two thirds. b -…
- Article 302A- The mother has a prescribed share of one sixth where there is a child, or a son's child however remote in descent, or two or more brothers and sisters. B- She has one…
- Article 303If the shares of the fixed-share heirs exceed the estate, it shall be divided among them in proportion to their inheritance shares. Part Two Inheritance by Residuary…
- Article 304a - If there are no fixed-share heirs, or there are such heirs but the fixed shares do not exhaust the estate, 1174 Law Index Home Page Personal Status Law Law No. 51 of…
- Article 305Residuary heirs in their own right have four classes, some taking precedence over others in inheritance in the following order: 1 - Descendancy, including sons and sons’…
- Article 306a- If residuary heirs in their own right belong to the same line of relationship, the person entitled to inherit shall be the nearest of them in degree to the deceased.…
- Article 307a- Residuary heirs through another are: 1- Daughters together with sons. 2- Sons' daughters, however low the descent, together with sons' sons, however low the descent,…
- Article 308a- Residuary heirs together with others are: Full sisters or paternal half-sisters together with daughters or sons’ daughters, however far down the son’s line, and they…
- Article 309If the father or grandfather inherits together with a daughter or a son's daughter, however remote the descending degree, he shall be entitled to one-sixth as a…
- Article 310A- Where the grandfather inherits together with full brothers and sisters or paternal half-brothers and half-sisters, he shall have two situations: 1- He shall share…
- Article 311a- Exclusion is where a person is capacity to inherit, but does not inherit because of the existence of another heir. b The excluded person excludes others.
- Article 312A person deprived of inheritance, the impediment being one of its impediments, does not exclude any of the heirs.
- Article 313a - The established grandmother is excluded by the mother. b - The more remote grandmother is excluded by the nearer grandmother. c - The paternal grandmother is…
- Article 314Uterine siblings are excluded from inheritance by the father, by an agnatic grandfather however remote, and by a child and a son's child however remote.
- Article 315a- A son's daughter is excluded by a son and by a son's son, however low the descent, if she is of a lower degree than he. b- She is also excluded by two daughters, or…
- Article 316A full sister is excluded from inheritance by the father, the son, and the son’s son, however far down the line.
- Article 317a - A paternal half-sister is excluded by the father, the son, and the son's son, however far down the line of descent. b - She is also excluded by a full brother and by…
- Article 318a - If the prescribed shares do not exhaust the estate and there is no residuary heir by blood, the remainder shall be returned to the holders of prescribed shares other…
- Article 319A- If there are no blood relatives entitled to prescribed shares and no agnatic blood relatives, then: the estate, or its remainder, shall belong to the distant kindred.…
- Article 320Distant kindred comprise four classes, some taking precedence over others in inheritance according to the following order: The first class: The children of daughters,…
- Article 321a- Of the first class of distant kindred, those nearest in degree to the deceased have the greatest entitlement to inheritance. b- If they are equal in degree, the child…
- Article 322A- Of the second class of distant kindred, those most entitled to inherit are those nearest in degree to the deceased. If they are equal in degree, preference shall be…
- Article 323a- Of the third class of distant kindred, those nearest to the deceased in degree have priority in inheritance. b- If they are equal in degree, and some are children of…
- Article 324In the first group of the groups of the fourth class specified in Article 320, if the father's side alone is present, namely the deceased's paternal uncles related to…
- Article 325In the second group, the nearer in degree among them shall take precedence over the more remote, even if of a different line. Where the degree is equal and the line is…
- Article 326No regard shall be had to multiple lines of kinship in an heir among the distant kindred except where the side of kinship differs.
- Article 327In the inheritance of distant kindred, the male shall receive a share equal to that of two females. Book Six The Person in Whose Favour Lineage Is Acknowledged
- Article 328A- If the deceased acknowledged parentage as against himself, that acknowledgment shall not extend to the heirs unless it satisfies the conditions for its validity. B-…
- Article 329The greater of the two shares, calculated on the assumption that the fetus is male or female, shall be reserved for the fetus from the deceased's estate.
- Article 330If a man dies leaving his wife or a woman observing a waiting period from him, her unborn child shall not inherit from him unless born alive within at most three hundred…
- Article 331a - If the amount reserved for the fetus falls short of its entitlement, the balance shall be recovered from the heirs whose shares included the excess. b - If the…
- Article 332a - The missing person’s share in the estate of the person from whom he inherits shall be reserved for him. If he appears alive, he shall take it; if he is declared dead…
- Article 333If a missing person is adjudged dead and his heirs become entitled to his estate, and that missing person then returns or is found to be alive, he shall be entitled to…
- Article 334An intersex person of indeterminate sex, namely one who is not known to be male or female, shall receive the lesser entitlement under the two situations, and what…
- Article 335Subject to the period specified in the last paragraph of Article 330, a child born of unlawful intercourse and a child disowned by mutual imprecation shall inherit from…
- Article 336A- Withdrawal from inheritance is an agreement among the heirs to exclude some of them from the inheritance in return for specified consideration. B- If one heir agrees…
- Article 337The Public Prosecution shall bring actions or intervene in them if no interested person comes forward, in every matter affecting public order.
- Article 338Public order in the preceding Article means the provisions of Islamic Sharia in the following cases. a- Marriage to persons permanently or temporarily prohibited in…
- Article 339a - The Public Prosecution is considered represented in the action once it submits a memorandum stating its opinion therein, and its attendance is not required unless…
- Article 340In all cases in which the law provides for intervention by the Public Prosecution, the court registry must notify the Public Prosecution in writing as soon as the action…
- Article 341The Public Prosecution shall, upon its request, be granted a period of at least fifteen days from the date the case file is sent to it to submit a memorandum of its…
- Article 342The years and months mentioned in this Law shall be calculated according to the lunar calendar.
- Article 343In every matter for which no rule is provided in this Law, recourse shall be had to the well-known opinion in the school of Imam Malik. If no well-known opinion exists,…
- Article 344Final judgments issued by the personal status circuits shall have binding authority before all circuits.
- Article 345The application of the provisions of this Law falls within the jurisdiction of the Personal Status Circuit at the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the…