Lord Chief Justice: Sharia Law could have UK role

Jul 3 2008 Media Wales SHARIA law could play a role in some parts of the legal system, the most senior judge in England and Wales said today. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, emphatically ruled out the possibility of sharia courts sitting in this country or deciding penalties but explained comments made by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams. But in a speech at the East London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel he said there was no reason why sharia principles could not be used in “mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution”. Sharia – a set of principles governing the way that many Muslims believe one should live one’s life – suffered from “widespread misunderstanding” by the rest of the world, he added. Lord Phillips said: “There is no reason why sharia principles, or any other... [read full story]