Blood money, or diya, is set at AED 200,000 in the UAE for the manslaughter of a male or a female, and it is a criminal penalty rather than a civil damages award. The figure sits in Article 30 of Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021, the Crimes and Penalties Law, which also gives the Cabinet power to raise or lower it on a proposal from the Minister of Justice.
Almost every published explanation of UAE diya still attributes the AED 200,000 figure to Federal Law by Decree No. 1 of 2019. That law was expressly repealed. Article Two(3) of the 2021 Penal Code repealed it outright when the Code entered force on 2 January 2022, and the amount was carried into Article 30 of the Code itself. This guide covers where diya now comes from, when it applies, who pays it, how it interacts with motor insurance, and how it is distributed.
Where the AED 200,000 Figure Comes From
Article 30 of the Crimes and Penalties Law classifies diya as one of the penalties that makes a crime a misdemeanour, and then states directly that the amount of diya for the manslaughter of a male or female is AED 200,000. The equal treatment of male and female victims is written into the text.
The Code’s opening article sets the wider frame. Article 1 provides that the provisions of Islamic Sharia apply to crimes punishable by retribution, known as qisas, and to crimes punishable by diya, while other crimes and their penalties are defined by the Code and the other penal laws in force. Article 67 lists qisas and diya together as principal penalties, and adds that where the conditions set out in Sharia for applying qisas and diya are not met, the courts order the penalties stipulated in the Code or the other penal laws instead.
So diya is not a compensation formula bolted onto a criminal case. It is a penalty in its own right, with a statutory amount and a statutory power to change that amount by Cabinet decision.
Why the repealed 2019 law still matters
The 2019 decree-law is the source cited in most law firm summaries, news articles and expat forum posts on this subject. Because the amount did not change when it was repealed, quoting the wrong instrument usually produces the right number, which is why the error has persisted. It stops producing the right answer the moment the Cabinet exercises its Article 30 power, and it produces the wrong answer today for anyone trying to read the actual governing text.
When Diya Applies
Diya attaches to a death, not to an injury and not to property damage. In practice the great majority of UAE diya rulings arise from road traffic deaths, where the driver is prosecuted for causing death by fault under Article 393 of the Crimes and Penalties Law.
Article 393 sets out the offense and its aggravating circumstances:
| Circumstances | Penalty under Article 393 |
|---|---|
| Causing the death of another person by fault | Incarceration and/or a fine |
| Breach of the duties of the person’s job, profession or craft; or intoxication or narcotization at the time; or refusing to help the victim when able to | Incarceration of not less than one year, and a fine |
| The act caused the death of more than three persons | Incarceration of two to five years, and a fine |
| More than three deaths plus one of the aggravating circumstances above | Incarceration of three to seven years, and a fine |
Deliberate killing is a different offense entirely. Article 384 punishes intentional killing with life imprisonment, and with death where the killing was premeditated or predetermined, accompanied by another crime, committed against the perpetrator’s descendants or against a public servant performing their duties, or committed using a poisonous or detonating substance. Article 384(3) reduces the penalty to temporary imprisonment of not less than seven years where the victim’s relatives waive their right to qisas, at any stage of the case or before the penalty is executed.
Injuries short of death fall under Article 394, causing injury to the physical integrity of another by fault, with incarceration up to one year and/or a fine up to AED 10,000, rising to up to two years where the injury causes permanent disability or where the same aggravating circumstances apply. Article 394 does not carry a fixed statutory sum equivalent to diya.
Who Actually Pays: The Insurance Position
In a road death, the payment almost always comes from the motor insurer rather than from the driver personally. Under the Central Bank’s Unified Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy Against Third Party Liability, the insurer compensates the injured third party for amounts the insured or driver is liable to pay for death or bodily injury.
The limit structure in that policy contains a distinction that is widely misreported, and it runs the opposite way to what most people assume.
| Who died | Insurer’s maximum liability |
|---|---|
| An unrelated third party | The value judicially awarded, without any limit whatsoever |
| The insured’s spouse, parents or children | AED 200,000 per injured person |
| A family member of the insured or of the driver | AED 200,000 per person |
| The driver of a rental vehicle, public transport vehicle or driving school vehicle | AED 200,000 per person |
| Disability rather than death (capped categories) | AED 200,000 adjusted by the percentage of disability |
The AED 200,000 ceiling in the motor policy is therefore a cap on claims by the insured’s own close family and by certain drivers, not a cap on what an ordinary third party can recover. For an unrelated victim the policy commits the insurer to the amount the court awards with no stated limit, and Chapter Two also extends cover to the third party’s judicial expenses and charges, though expressly not to fines.
Two further protections are worth knowing. Chapter One provides that the company may not assert against the injured third party any argument it could use against the insured, so a dispute between insurer and policyholder does not defeat the victim’s claim. And the policy states that nothing in it undermines the right of any person to claim compensation or recover any amount payable under any applicable legislation. If a claim is refused, the grounds an insurer can and cannot rely on to reject a motor claim are limited and reviewable.
How Diya Is Distributed
Diya is paid to the heirs of the deceased, and it is divided among them according to Sharia inheritance shares rather than in equal parts. The motor policy reflects this directly: where a person covered by the insurance dies, the company pays the benefit due to their heirs.
This produces a practical difficulty for expatriate families that catches people at the worst possible moment. Establishing who the heirs are, and in what shares, requires a determination from the courts, and the payment will not be released to a spouse simply because they are the surviving spouse. The mechanics follow the same framework that governs Sharia inheritance distribution in the UAE, and non-Muslim families may be able to apply their own law under the civil personal status framework, which is set out in the guide to non-Muslim inheritance under Federal Decree-Law 41/2022.
What actually happens after a fatal accident
The sequence is criminal first, money second. Police attend and produce a report assigning fault, the file goes to the Public Prosecution, and a criminal case proceeds under Article 393 where fault is attributed. The diya ruling comes out of that criminal case. The victim’s family are not bystanders in it: they can pursue their claim within the criminal proceedings, and their waiver has legal effect on parts of the outcome. Expect the process to take months rather than weeks, and expect any travel by the accused to be restricted while it runs. The immediate steps after a road accident in the UAE matter a great deal here, because the police report is the document the whole case is built on.
Waiver, Pardon and What Families Can Agree
A waiver by the victim’s relatives has real legal consequences, but it does not empty the case. In deliberate killing under Article 384(3), a waiver of qisas converts the penalty to temporary imprisonment of not less than seven years rather than ending the prosecution.
The distinction that matters is between the private right and the public right. Diya and qisas belong to the victim’s heirs and can be waived or settled by them. The state’s own prosecution interest does not disappear because a family accepts payment, which is why a driver who has paid diya in full may still face incarceration under Article 393. Families are sometimes told that a settlement ends the matter entirely. It does not.
Diya is also distinct from a negotiated civil settlement. A family may agree an additional sum with an insurer or a defendant, and the motor policy provides that the company is bound by a settlement between the insured and the injured third party where it consented in writing. That written consent requirement is the reason informal roadside or hospital settlements so often fail to hold.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is blood money in the UAE?
AED 200,000 for the manslaughter of a male or female, under Article 30 of Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021. The same article allows the Cabinet, on a proposal from the Minister of Justice, to increase or decrease that amount, so it is a figure fixed by law rather than by judicial discretion.
Is diya the same for men and women in the UAE?
Yes. Article 30 states the amount for the manslaughter “of a male or female” as a single figure of AED 200,000, so the statutory amount does not differ by the victim’s gender.
Which law sets blood money in the UAE now?
Article 30 of the Crimes and Penalties Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021. Federal Law by Decree No. 1 of 2019 on determining blood money in cases of manslaughter, which most sources still cite, was expressly repealed by Article Two(3) of the 2021 Code when it entered force on 2 January 2022.
Does car insurance cover blood money in the UAE?
In substance yes. The Unified Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy Against Third Party Liability requires the insurer to compensate an injured third party for amounts the insured or driver is liable to pay for death or bodily injury. For an unrelated third party the insurer’s liability is the amount judicially awarded without any stated limit; for the insured’s spouse, parents and children it is capped at AED 200,000 per person.
Who receives the blood money payment?
The heirs of the deceased, divided according to Sharia inheritance shares rather than equally. The motor policy states that where a person covered by the insurance dies, the company pays the benefit to their heirs, which in practice requires a court determination of who the heirs are.
Can the family waive blood money?
Yes, diya belongs to the heirs and can be waived or settled by them. A waiver does not end the criminal case: in deliberate killing under Article 384(3) it converts the penalty to temporary imprisonment of not less than seven years, and in death by fault under Article 393 the state’s prosecution continues regardless.
Does paying diya mean the driver avoids prison?
No. Article 393 provides for incarceration and a fine for causing death by fault, rising to a minimum of one year where the death involved a breach of professional duty, intoxication, or a refusal to help the victim, and to two to five years where more than three people died. Diya is a separate penalty and settling it does not extinguish those.
Is blood money paid for injuries as well as death?
The AED 200,000 diya figure in Article 30 is stated for manslaughter, meaning death. Injuries short of death are prosecuted under Article 394 with incarceration and fines but no equivalent fixed statutory sum. Under the motor policy, disability claims within the capped categories are met by adjusting the AED 200,000 by the percentage of disability.
Does diya apply to non-Muslims and expatriates in the UAE?
The Crimes and Penalties Law applies to crimes committed in the State without a nationality or religion condition on Article 30, so a diya ruling can arise where the victim or the accused is a non-Muslim expatriate. Distribution to heirs, by contrast, engages personal status law, where non-Muslims may be able to apply their own law.
How long does a blood money case take in the UAE?
There is no published statutory timetable, because the diya ruling follows the criminal case and its length depends on the investigation, the prosecution and any appeal. Plan on months rather than weeks, and expect travel restrictions on the accused while proceedings are live.
Official Sources
- Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021, the Crimes and Penalties Law (UAE Legislation portal)
- Central Bank of the UAE – Unified Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy Against Third Party Liability
- UAE Legislation portal – federal legislation library
- The Official Portal of the UAE Government – litigation procedures
- Central Bank of the UAE – insurance regulation
Information is current as of August 2026. Every article number, penalty and figure above was read from the full English text of Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 as published on the UAE Legislation portal, and every insurance limit from the Central Bank’s Unified Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy Against Third Party Liability as published on its own smart services site. Three limitations are stated rather than smoothed over. The published English text of the Crimes and Penalties Law is a translation and the Arabic original prevails on any point of wording. Article 30 gives the Cabinet power to change the AED 200,000 amount by decision, and no consolidated register of such decisions was available from this research, so the figure should be confirmed as current before anyone relies on it in a live case. And the distribution of diya among heirs is decided under personal status law and by the court seized of the matter, so the outline above is not a substitute for a determination in a specific estate. This is general information, not legal advice. Anyone facing a criminal case or a fatal accident claim in the UAE should instruct a licensed UAE advocate.
