(Scottish Legal News) The Parliamentary Assembly of the 47-nation Council of Europe has expressed concern about the “judicial” activities of “Sharia councils” in the UK and has recommended that barriers to Muslim women’s access to justice be removed.
A resolution adopted last night by the assembly, which brings together parliamentarians from across Europe, stated:
“Although they are not considered part of the British legal system, Sharia councils attempt to provide a form of alternative dispute resolution, whereby members of the Muslim community, sometimes voluntarily, often under considerable social pressure, accept their religious jurisdiction mainly in marital and Islamic divorce issues, but also in matters relating to inheritance and Islamic commercial contracts. The Assembly is concerned that the rulings of the Sharia councils clearly discriminate against women in divorce and inheritance cases.”
