Sharia law in UK already established

A delegation of top lawyers, led by the chairman of the Bar Council of England and Wales, has told Bahrain business leaders that Sharia law is already recognised in the British legal system, and has been for more than 100 years.

In a breakfast meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, the lawyers gave a presentation to the Bahrain British Business Forum (BBBF) outlining how UK barristers can be of use to Bahrain's businesses in the resolution of disputes through both advocacy and arbitration.

Then in an open session, the media furore over the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams' apparent statement on the adoption of Sharia law in Britain was raised.

Dr Mark Hoyle, the member of the International Committee of the Bar Council responsible for relations with the Middle East, said: "The problem with discussing the Sharia in England is that it has political overtones. But, when the Archbishop of Canterbury gave his talk (the contentious statements came when Dr Williams gave the foundation lecture at the Royal Courts of Justice in February last year) there were said to be over a thousand people there, no-one walked out, there were no riots, and yet by the time I got home some journalists were reporting that the Archbishop of Canterbury was advocating getting rid of English law and replacing it with the Sharia!

"There are Sharia Councils already set up in parts of the UK and these are separate from the Court system - to be effective the procedure must be compliant with the Arbitration Act 1996. Sharia law already effectively exists in our contract law because business takes place in a global village and Sharia compliant contracts often form the basis of deals.

"The fact is that if two people make a contract under Sharia law it's still legal, there's nothing alien about using any form of law as long as it is public policy compliant. There are many, many examples of British companies dealing under Sharia law going back hundreds of years - in fact if you look in the India Office library and libraries of old British Indian trading companies you can still find these documents.

"The idea of trusts is also common to both legal systems but there can be differences in divorce and inheritance law though Sharia can also be taken into account in these areas so long as English law is not put aside."

British Ambassador Jamie Bowden added that within English law there is the possibility to take in Sharia or other religious laws saying "Two parties can make an agreement outside the courts, for example under Sharia or Jewish law, and then have that agreement blessed by the law".

Dr Hoyle also pointed out that given the ever increasing perception of a 'global village' in business and growth in the popularity of Islamic finance, Sharia law is something business lawyers are, by necessity, having to become more familiar with.