Islamic Law & Law of the Muslim World eJournal: Oct 5th

This week’s issue of the Islamic Law & Law of the Muslim World eJournal includes:

Open Issues in European International Family Law: Sahyouni, “Private Divorces” and Islamic law under the Rome III Regulation” by Susanne Lilian Gössl

This paper examines whether the Rome III Regulation, an EU legal pact concerning which law to use in divorce cases, prohibits the application of Islamic law. According to the Rome III Regulation, a court has to apply domestic law if the law of the country where a spouse obtained a divorce is unequal/discriminatory, such as when the law allows a husband to obtain a divorce through a unilateral declaration (e.g., triple ṭalāq).

Creating Laws for Economic Growth in a Hybrid Islamic Legal System” by Maliheh Zare

Modern hybrid Islamic legal systems that maintained Islamic law as a source of law while adopting a civil or common law legal system face a constant challenge: safeguarding compatibility of their laws with Islamic law and adapting them to modern realities. In response, some states in Muslim countries with aspirations for economic growth secularize their legal systems in order to modernize it. However, such states should preserve compatibility of their laws with Islamic law. Recent developments in the “legal transplants” theory show that if the original process of transplantation enables the transplanted laws to assimilate the local characteristics, then the laws will be more conducive to economic growth. This phenomenon occurs because individuals will be more likely to comply with these laws and will also be more likely to ask lawyers and courts to enforce and develop newly-introduced laws more efficiently.