Legal Protection for Children Without Family Care: A Comparative Study of Oman, UAE, and Morocco

souad Ezzerouali; Mashsaalah  Alzawe; Muwaffiq Jufri; Abdelrazek Wahba Sayed

Authors

souad Ezzerouali Dhofar University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1635-1978
Mashsaalah Alzawe University of Benghazi
Muwaffiq Jufri Universitas Trunojoyo Madura
Abdelrazek Wahba Sayed Jeddah International College

Keywords:

Child Rights, Foster care, Legal Protection, Best interest of the child, Adoption

Abstract

This study comes within the framework of the increasing interest in children's rights in the Sultanate of Oman, where the system of fostering children deprived of family care is an important legal and social tool that contributes to providing a safe family environment for orphaned children or those deprived of family care either due to poverty, illness, neglect by their parents, or ignorance of their parentage. The study sheds light on the legal organization of fostering by outlining the conditions and obligations of the foster career, monitoring mechanisms, and tracking the status of the fostered child to ensure his/her legal protection. The study is characterized by its originality, as it is the first of its kind to deal with the subject of fostering in Omani law compared to Moroccan and Emirati law and to study its compatibility with the provisions and purposes of Islamic Sharia, which makes it fill an existing research gap. The study uses a descriptive analytical approach to interpret legal texts, as well as a comparative approach with other laws and Islamic jurisprudence.

References

Ahmad, Syafi’i. “Menggagas Hukum Islam Yang Akomodatif-Transformatif Dalam Konteks Legal Pluralism di Indonesia.” Justicia Islamica: Jurnal Kajian Hukum dan Sosial, 15 no. 1 (August 30, 2019): 1–25, https://doi.org/10.18860/ua.v18i1.4268.

Albahri, Ghanima, and Hussain Al-Othman. “Family Protection Policy in the UAE: A Descriptive Analytical Study.” Al-Adab Journal 151 (2024): 97–150.

Alhadrawi, A. K. A., Ezzerouali, S., Jawad, A. R., Saleh, A. B., Al-Hadrawi, B. K., & Al-hadrawi, K. K. (2024). Unveiling Extremism: Leveraging Digital Data Mining Strategies. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(7), 492-502.

Al-Hadrawi, B. K., Al-hadrawi, K. K., Alshawabkeh, M. A., & Ezzerouali, S. The Impact of Emotional Marketing Strategies on Patients' Decisions Regarding Infertility Treatment Options: A Study of Legal and Ethical Aspects.

Al-Hadrawi, B. K., Al-hadrawi, K. K., Ezzerouali, S., Al-Hadraawy, S. K., Aldhalmi, H. K., &Muhtar, M. H. (2024). Mind Intruders: Psychological, Legal, and Social Effects of Human Parasites in the Age of Technological Progress.

Al-Hadrawi, B. K., Al-Hadrawi, K. K., Ezzerouali, S., Al-Hadraawy, S. K., Aldhalmi, H. K., & Alshawabkeh, M. A. (2025). Narratives of Comfort and Convenience: Exploring Artificial Intelligence's Role in Alleviating Consumer Anxiety: Legal Aspects. Journal of Lifestyle and SDGs Review, 5(3), e03865-e03865.

Angela, Maria. “Islamic Law in Southeast Asia,” accessed September 26, 2019, http://www.hudson.org/research/9814-islamic-law-in-southeast-asia

Arifin, Zainal. “Model Ijtihad Muslim Di Pesantren Temboro”. Dissertation, UIN Sunan Kalijaga, 2017.

Azuratunnasuha, Azuratunnasuha. “Transfer of Foster Parents' Assets to Foster Children from the Perspective of Islamic Law.” Jurnal Pendidikan Agama Islam Indonesia (JPAII) 4, no. 2 (2023): 39–42.

Baharudin, M. H., and R. M. Yusoff. “Protection Rights of Children in Terms of Family Relationship from Islamic Law and Malaysian Laws: A Comparative Analysis.” INSLA E-Proceedings 3, no. 1 (2020): 75–85.

Banane, M. C., & Ezzerouali, S. A. (2024). The Stereotypical Phenomenon in the Imaging of the Arab Marxists. The International and Political Journal, (58).

Banane, M. C., Ezzerouali, S., & Elzein, A. M. (2024). The Struggle for Land in Morocco: A Case Study of Amazigh. Mazahib, 23(2), 391-430

Bara, Bushra. “Conflict of Laws on the Sponsorship of Neglected Children.” Majallat al-Fiqh wa-al-Qānūn 170, no. 2169 (2015): 1–18.

Buchler, Andrea, and Eveline Schneider Kayasseh. “Fostering and Adoption in Islamic Law—Under Consideration of the Laws of Morocco, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.” Electronic Journal of Islamic & Middle Eastern Law 6 (2018): 31.

Darrak, Sara. Sponsorship of Neglected Children between Legal Requirements and Realistic Requirements. 2016.

Ezzerouali, S. A., & Siddiq, A. M. (2024). The right of the tenant to compensate for emptying in shops in accordance with the provisions of the Moroccan Commercial Rental Law No. 49.16. AL-ANBAR University Journal of Law and Political Sciences, 14(1 part: 2).

Ezzerouali, S., & Al Fatih, S. Establishing Specialized Courts for Investment Disputes in the Sultanate of Oman: A Bet to Realize Oman's Vision 2040 in Attracting Investments

Ezzerouali, S., Al-Hadrawi, B. K., Al-hadrawi, K. K., Mahroug, M., Alhadrawi, A. K. A., & Aldhalmi, H. K. (2024). Legal Challenges in Hospital Management and Their Impact on the Quality of Healthcare. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(8), 6210-6220.

Ezzerouali, Souad, Mohamed Cheikh Banane, and Brahim Hamdaoui. “Sharia in Moroccan Law: A Perpetual Source and Guiding Reference.” Legality: Jurnal Ilmiah Hukum 33, no. 1 (2025): 44–68.

EZZEROUALI, Souad. “Expanding the Authority of Muhtasib to Protect Consumers: A Comparison between Moroccan Law and Islamic Qanun of Aceh.” Trunojoyo Law Review 7, no. 2 (2025): 161–191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21107/tlr.v7i2.29151

Gesell, Arnold. “The Ontogenesis of Infant Behavior.” In Manual of Child Psychology, edited by L. Carmichael, 295–331. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1946. https://doi.org/10.1037/10756-006.

Habashy, F. “Protecting the Rights of Children Without Parental Care in Egypt: A Review from the Perspectives of Islamic Law and UN Instruments.” Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice 20, no. 3 (2024).

Hadi, Sadd Ahmed Abdullah, and Mahmoud Saleh Jaber. “Provisions Related to the Basic Rights of the Child in the Alternative Family: A Jurisprudential and Legal Applied Study on the Alternative Family in the State of Kuwait.” IUG Journal of Sharia & Law Studies 27, no. 4 (2019).

Henning, A., and N. Zmyj. “Infant Do, Infant See: The Role of Feedback to Infant Behavior for the Understanding of Self and Others [Editorial].” Infant and Child Development 25, no. 3 (2016): 233–239. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.1987.

Hooker, M. Barry. Indonesian Syariah: Defining a National School of Islamic Law (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2008), 5.

Kamali, Mohammad Hashim. “Goals and Purposes Maqasid Al-Shariah Methodological Perspectives.” In The Objectives of Islamic Law the Promises and Challenges of the Maqasid Al-Sharia, edited by Muna Tatari Idris Nessery and Rumee Ahmed, 7–10. London: Lexington Books, 2018.

Kasdi, Abdurrohman, and Khoiril Anwar. “Inheritance Distribution of Adopted Children in the Perspective of Customary Law and Islamic Law Compilation.” Al-Ahkam 29, no. 2 (2019): 141–158.

Kingdom of Morocco. Law on Foster Care for Neglected Children. Law No. 01-15, 2002. Official Gazette No. 5031, October 19, 2002, 2362.

Kutty, Faisal. “Islamic Perspectives on Adoption.” In The Oxford Handbook of Religious Perspectives on Reproductive Ethics, 239. Oxford University Press, 2024.

Laghlali, Fatiha. Social Care: Sponsorship of Neglected Children in the Moroccan Street. 2016.

Lubis, Nur A. Fadhil. “‘Islamic Legal Studies in Indonesia: Some Notes on Contemporary Challenges,’” in Proceeding AICIS XII, Jakarta 23-24 February 2012, Direktorat Pendidikan Tinggi Islam, Kementerian Agama RI.

Mouritsen, Flemming. “Child Culture—Play Culture.” In Childhood and Children’s Culture, edited by Flemming Mouritsen and Jens Qvortrup, 14–42. Odense: University Press of Southern Denmark, 2002.

Nagm, Mohamed Sobhi. Lectures in Family Law. Algeria: University Press, 1992.

R. Ramadhoni, L. Firdawaty, and A. Q. Zaelani, A View of Islamic Family Law on the Neglect of Children’s Growth and Development Rights by Parents (2023).

Sidney, Mustafa. “The Role of Sponsorship in Attributing Nationality in Moroccan Law.” African Journal of Legal and Political Studies 3, no. 2 (2019): 109–126.

Sonbol, Amira al-Azhary. “Adoption in Islamic Society: A Historical Survey.” In Children in the Muslim Middle East, 45–67. University of Texas Press, 1995.

Suyatno, S. H., and M. Hum. “Comparison of Child Adoption from the Perspective of Islamic Law, Western Law, and Customary Law.” JL Pol’y & Globalization 84 (2019): 78-84.

Zain, Ayman, A. Nasir Yousuf Abdel Kareem, Okba Kazar, and Souad Ezzerouali. 2025. “The Legislative Gap for Copyright in the Era of Generative AI: Where Do We Stand in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals?”. Journal of Lifestyle and SDGs Review 5 (4):e06057. https://doi.org/10.47172/2965-730X.SDGsReview.v5.n04.pe06057.