Shari’ah law should be used in Britain, says Britain’s Chief Justice

The most senior judge in England on July 4 gave his blessing to the use of Shari’ah law to resolve disputes among Muslims. Chief Justice Phillips said that Islamic legal principles could be employed to deal with family and marital arguments and to regulate finance, the Daily Mail reported on July 4.

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June 20, 2022
The most senior judge in England on July 4 gave his blessing to the use of Shari’ah law to resolve disputes among Muslims. Chief Justice Phillips said that Islamic legal principles could be employed to deal with family and marital arguments and to regulate finance, the Daily Mail reported on July 4.
Justice Phillips declared: “Those entering into a contractual agreement can agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law.”
In his speech at an East London mosque, Justice Phillips signalled approval of Shari’ah principles as long as punishments – and divorce rulings – complied with the law of the land.
Justice Phillips spoke five months after Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams suggested Islamic law could govern marital law, financial transactions and arbitration in disputes. He said of the Archbishop’s views: “It was not very radical to advocate embracing Shari’ah law in the context of family disputes.”
He added there is “widespread misunderstanding as to the nature of Shari’ah law.”
Justice Phillips said: “Those who are in dispute are free to subject it to mediation or to agree that it shall be resolved by a chosen arbitrator. There is no reason why principles of Shari’ah law or any other religious code should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of dispute resolution.”
He however added that any sanctions must be “drawn from the laws of England and Wales.” Severe physical punishment – he mentioned stoning, flogging or amputating hands – is “out of the question” in Britain.