Dubai’s highest court has established a firm legal precedent regarding divorce settlements for Muslim couples, ruling that agreements reached before a judge are final and cannot be challenged in higher courts. This decision clarifies that once spouses settle their disputes—whether in the Court of First Instance or the Court of Appeal—and have that agreement officially recorded as an executive instrument, they lose the right to appeal the outcome later. Legal experts emphasize that this move reinforces the absolute finality of court-recorded settlements, ensuring that once both parties have consented to the terms on the record, the litigation process is effectively concluded.

The ruling stemmed from a case where a husband attempted to contest a divorce settlement, claiming he did not understand the language of the document and was pressured into the agreement. However, the Court of Cassation dismissed his appeal, noting that the hearing minutes confirmed the presence of a professional translator and that the judge’s role was merely to authenticate the agreement, not to issue a contested judicial verdict. By citing Article 81 of the Civil Procedure Law, the court affirmed that such recorded minutes hold the weight of an executive order, protecting the integrity of the process and preventing parties from walking back on settled, court-approved agreements.