The most important family law applicable to Muslims in Morocco is the 2004 Family Code (Mudawana)[1]. This Code is regarded (along with the Tunisian Code) as relatively reformist compared to other such family law systems within the region in that, for example, it set the minimum legal age of marriage at 18 for men andContinue reading “Family Law in Morocco”
Category Archives: Family Law
Family Law Across the Middle East
There is no common family law system that applies from Morocco to Pakistan and from Turkey to Somalia (an area which I am describing as ‘The Middle East’ in a very loose use of that term). The family law system of each state is different – although some have influenced others. Islamic shari’a plays aContinue reading “Family Law Across the Middle East”
Family Law in Iraq
The most important family law in Iraq is the Personal Status Code[1], Law No. 188 of 1959[2] which applies to all Muslims – Shi’a and Sunni. Family law in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is based on the same 1959 Code but is subject to any Kurdish post 1991 amendments. Article 41 of the IraqiContinue reading “Family Law in Iraq”
Family Law in Egypt
In general terms, Egyptian law is codified and (notwithstanding the reference to shari’ain Article 2 of the Constitution) based on the French-style civil law system. However, as is common across the Middle East, family law in Egypt is a ‘pluralistic legal regime’ in that adherents to different faiths have family disputes resolved according to the tenetsContinue reading “Family Law in Egypt”
Family Law in Syria
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 sittingContinue reading “Family Law in Syria”
Family Law in Lebanon
Article 9 of the 1926 Lebanese Constitution guarantees that the personal status and religious interests of the people are respected, whatever religious sect they belong to. Decree 60 L.R. (13 March 1936) of the French High Commissioner, who also exercised the duties of the legislative authority during the French mandate in Lebanon, granted the recognizedContinue reading “Family Law in Lebanon”
Family Law in Pakistan
Personal Status (i.e. Family and Inheritance) law in Pakistan is primarily governed by Islamic law for Muslims. However laws such as the The Guardian & Wards Act 1890; Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939; and the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 introduced some (primarily procedural) reforms and there are a number of other statutory provisionsContinue reading “Family Law in Pakistan”
Adoption and kafala in Islam
Islamic law does not recognise adoption as such in that it prohibits the legal fiction that a child becomes the child of the adoptive parents. There is a specific injunction in the Qur’an which states: …Nor has He made your adopted sons your (biological) sons. Such is (only) your (manner of) speech by your mouths. Continue reading “Adoption and kafala in Islam”
Family Law in Algeria
Family law in Algeria is governed by the 1984 Family Code. The provisions of the 1984 Code are drawn from various schools of law, a draft Algerian code of Muslim law formulated by a commission in 1916 during French rule, and parallel legislation from neighbouring countries (particularly Moroccan enactments). It is primarily rooted in shari’a principles. ArticleContinue reading “Family Law in Algeria”
Andrew Allen QC 