Islamic and International Law

Sharia Law and Islamic legal traditions are emerging as ever more important means of conflict resolution and dispute settlement in a variety of national and international contexts. But where do Islamic legal traditions fit in the context of secular and unity legal systems more broadly, including international law and the institutions ?

Faculty:
Mark Ellis (Chair) - Executive Director, International Bar Association, London
Dato Arshad - (Special Guest) Ambassador Extraordinary, Embassy of Malaysia, Vienna
Georges Assaf - Director, Institute for Human Rights, Beirut Bar Association, Beirut
Natasha Bakht - Professor of Law, Ottawa University, Ottawa
Michael Bryant - Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Toronto; former Attorney General and Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP), Ontario
William Burke- White - Assistant Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hans Corell - Former Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Stockholm
William Duncan - Deputy Secretary General, Hague Conference on Private and International Law, The Hague (tentative)
Sayed El Amin - (Special Guest) Ambassador Extraordinary, Embassy of the Republic of Sudan, Vienna
Amira el-Azhary Sonbol - Professor of Islamic History, Law and Society, Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service, Washington, DC
Anver Emon - Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Toronto
Courtney Erwin - Chief of Staff, Cordaba Initiative, New York, New York
Clark Lombardi - Assistant Professor of Law, Washington University, Seattle (invited)
Ziba Mir-Hosseini - Independant Consultant, Senior Research Associate, Middle East Institute, SOAS, University of London (tentative)
Fernando Pombo - President, International Bar Association; Chairman and Founding Partner, Gomez-Acebo & Pombo, Madrid
Javaid Rehman - Professor of Law, Brunel University, Uxbridge
Shahbaz - (Special Guest) Ambassador Extraordinary, Embassy of the Republic of Pakistan, Vienna
Adel Sherif - Deputy Chief Justice, The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Cairo John Xefos - Managing Partner-Riyadh, Baker & McKenzie Ltd., Riyadh
Doudou Diéne - Special Rapporteur for Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, United Nations, Geneva (invited)
William Kerr - Executive Director, Florida State University, Tallerhassee, FL (invited)

Abstract:

The majority of contemporary debates about Islamic law tend to focus on the Sharia law tradition as a subjective doctrine rooted in strict religious code. Recent controversies surrounding "personal status laws," including, but not limited to the rights of women, have served to further this view, characterizing Sharia law as a rigid interpretation of the Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammed. Nuanced examinations of the rich history and diverse juridical context of Islamic legal traditions are rare, and little serious effort has been made to find a means of accommodating Sharia law traditions within the treaties, conventions, and institutions that form the foundations of modern international law. Furthermore, extremist Islamic political movements have attempted to appropriate Sharia law for their own ends, imbuing its traditions with an air of theocratic inflexibility incompatible with modern legal systems.

This is problematic. All legal traditions require institutions that can adjudicate consistently, and without institutional frameworks all legal doctrines become abstract, void of the structure needed to interpret the "rule of law" in a predictable way. Since 1945, an interlocking system of international conventions and treaties has provided such a structure for the regulation of relations between states, but representatives from Islamic legal traditions were largely absent during their creation. Consequently, Sharia law today lacks an institutional structure that can provide a predictable and consistent means of creating legal norms. This session, in conjunction with the International Bar Association, will seek to find common ground between the traditions of Islamic and international law and develop a framework for accommodating the diverse heritage of Islamic legal thought within modern rule of law systems. Focusing on international law as a means of neutralizing radical views and creating international dialogue, this session will further attempt to locate areas of substantive legal analysis where Islamic and international traditions can find complementary principles, doctrines and means of adjudication.