Moral Damages

Moral damages are monetary compensation awarded to a claimant for non-financial harm — injury to reputation, dignity, feelings, or family relations — caused by the defendant's wrongful act. Under Articles 292 and 293 of the UAE Civil Code, compensation extends to "harm to feelings, to honour, to dignity, to reputation, to social standing and to physical suffering." UAE courts accept moral damages in defamation, wrongful arrest, medical negligence, wrongful termination, and cases of gross insult, and may award them alongside actual (material) damages. The amount is left to the court's discretion, guided by the gravity of the wrong, the claimant's circumstances, and precedent. Moral damages are ordinarily personal to the victim and do not transfer to heirs except in defined circumstances.