Abu Dhabi: The Federal National Council (FNC) on Tuesday is expected to debate on a range of issues, including a proposal to change child custody rules and adherence to anti-tobacco laws by shisha cafes.
Under the UAE Personal Status Law, the mother and father are granted definitive roles in the raising of a child. The father is deemed the guardian. He is responsible for the child’s financial needs as well as providing him/her with shelter, reasonable medical care. He is granted the right to hold the child’s passport.
The mother is deemed the custodian and is responsible for the day-to-day needs of the child such as food and sanitation.
The courts, unless given reason to believe otherwise, generally see the best interests of a child in remaining in the mother’s physical custody while being under the guardian’s (father’s) supervision.
Minors are treated in the same way. Boys are considered minors until the age of 11, and girls are considered minors until the age of 13.
On Tuesday, Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Minister of Health, will be quizzed on measures taken to ensure cafes’ abidance by the anti-tobacco laws.
Under the rules, shisha cafes and shops selling tobacco products must not be near schools and mosques. A minimum distance of 15 metres should be maintained from kindergartens, schools, universities and colleges and a minimum of 100 metres from places of worship. A minimum of 150 metres from residential areas is the rule for shisha cafes.
Shisha cafes are subject to specific rules when it comes to their opening hours. The regulations specify that these cafes must comply with working hours from 10am to midnight. Shisha may not be served to customers younger than 18 years, and the cafes will be forbidden from delivering shisha to apartments,
Further, tobacco products cannot be displayed near items marketed for children, or sportswear, health, food and electronic products.
Advertising of tobacco products is no longer permitted. The law bans any content that advertises tobacco products, such as newspaper advertisements, TV commercials and animations.
It also bans importing tobacco products that are not in line with technical standards set by the UAE, and any violations regarding such imports can lead to a one-year prison sentence and a fine ranging from Dh100,000 to Dh1 million, in addition to the confiscation of products.
In another issue, Hamad Ahmad Al Rahoumi, a member from Dubai, will put a question to Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for FNC Affairs, on etisalat’s sponsorship agreement with Barcelona, extended by four years to the end of June 2017.
Sultan Juma Al Shamsi, a member from Ajman, will put a question to the Minister of Justice on allowances for the public notaries.
