The 1953 Syrian Law of Personal Status (SLPS) is a comprehensive Code that modifies and regulates many aspects of shari’a. Article 305 of SLPS directs that the residuary source of law is the most authoritative doctrine of Hanafi school of law of Sunni Islam.
Family law for Muslims in Syria is administered by judges sitting in the shari’a personal status courts. Although shari’a court judges administer
family law, they are not religious clerics trained in Islamic jurisprudence. Rather, they are appointed in the same way as other judges working within the courts of general jurisdiction, and they require a law degree, amongst other qualifications.
Andrew Allen QC 