Dubai: In the UAE, several changes to the country’s laws were announced this year. Several decree laws were also announced in 2020, altering the regulations related to personal status, social life and personal freedoms. Here is a roundup of the biggest changes that will affect you and your life in the UAE. 1. Changes to marriage laws In November 2020, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a number of presidential decrees amending some articles in the Personal Status Law, the Federal Penal Code, and the Federal Penal Procedural Law. One of the changes to the Personal Status Code stipulated that the laws of the country in which a marriage took place would be applied with regards to the marriage’s terms. The earlier provisions applied the laws of each spouse’s country of nationality.