Legal Pluralism Flashcards
what is meant by a normative system?
any system of rules or standards that co-ordinate behaviour or order
how can resolutions between religious norms and state legal order be made?
arbitration - family disputes
statutes - motorbike helmet accommodations for Sikhs
case law - imaginative interpretation
how does J. Austin describe state law?
secular and distinguished from other phenomena
ex//religion and morality
where is there a strict separation between religion and the state?
what is this known as?
France
laïcité
who called for a greater tolerance of religions in the English legal system?
Archbishop of Canterbury
Dr Rowan Williams
what statute highlights the ability to refuse performance based on ‘conscientious objection’?
Abortion Act 1967 s4
doctors enabled to deny the performance
what did M. Siddiqui find in the 2018 review into the application of Sharia Law in the UK?
‘regarded by some as keeping many Muslims isolated, entrenched and with little social and psychological stake in wider British citizenship and civic life’
what controversy highlighted the conflict between the western legal freedoms and religious blasphemy?
Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’
amounted to the issuing of a fatwa by the supreme leader of Iran
how did the HO reject the recommendation of Sharia Law having a self-governing body in the UK?
‘Sharia law has no jurisdiction in the UK and we would not facilitate or endorse regulation, which could present councils as alternative to UK laws’
why does Menski argue there may still be a divide in accepted sources of legal authority?
‘as Muslims, they still put up God’s aw above the state law in the first place’
what are the two main positions on legal pluralism?
state law and religious law are mutually exclusive - one supreme legal order
state law and religious norms co-exist alongside one another - accepted legal pluralism
who supports the concept of legal pluralism?
Griffiths
what are examples of legal pluralism in arbitration?
arbitration act 1996 - arbitration can be conducted in religious courts for civil law matters
Beth Din - Jewish courts that function as a legal system
how did Prentice, former Justice Minister in 2008, describe the function and limits of religious courts?
‘any member of a religious community has the option to use religious courts’
BUT if the decisions are brought to a national court, they will be ‘subject to national law’
what are family law statutory exemptions based on religious beliefs?
Adoption and Children Act 2002
allow a ‘special guardianship’ instead of full adoption so relationship with parents is not severed as this is prohibited under Islamic law
Divorce (Religious Marriages) Act 2002
possible for judges to request a couple divorce religiously before civil divorce is granted