Sharia Law in Canada?

[emacknight]

I’ve heard this rumour several times in the last few weeks but I haven’t found a reliable source.

The Canadian government is now prepared to grant Sharia law to their Muslim constituency. In civil disputes between Muslims in Canada, the parties may soon appeal to a Darul-Qada (judicial tribunal), where an Ulama will adjudicate, making a Koran-based judgement that will in turn become enforceable by our secular courts (unless overruled). [an exert from David Warren Online]

Is there any truth to this?

Without getting into too much of a debate, is this legally possible? Can a country have two entirely seperate legal systems running at the same time. (I guess ot answer my own question Quebec’s legal system follow the French…)

[emacknight]

Sorry, I copied the wrong link. The quote above was from “Multiculturalism,” by David Warren.

The actually article is irrelevant and doesn’t need to be read, I was just including it as a reference.

[sigSEGV]

http://canoe.ca/Columnists/levant.html
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20031211/SHARIA11//?query=sharia

[RickJay]

As the Globe article clearly and unambinguously states, what we have here is some Muslims entering into a private arrangement to hire arbitrators to make decisions based on sharia law. It doesn’t have anything to do with the government and it’s not a “legal system.”

We already allow people to do exactly the same thing in accordance with, say, the laws of Major League Baseball. You could, if you wished, make up a list of “Laws of the United Federation of Planets,” and hire arbitrators dressed in Starfleet uniforms, and get other Star Trek fans with business disputes to have the arbitrator hear cases. They’d be legally binding, too. This isn’t even a new law.

[Johanna]

“An ulama” is ridiculous bad Arabic, because the word ‘ulama’ is plural. It would make as much sense to say “a women” or “a children.” Not all plurals have to end with -s. The singular of ‘ulama’ is ‘alim.

[Northern_Piper]

*Originally posted by RickJay *
As the Globe article clearly and unambinguously states, what we have here is some Muslims entering into a private arrangement to hire arbitrators to make decisions based on sharia law. It doesn’t have anything to do with the government and it’s not a "legal system."

But private arbitrations can be enforced under provincial Arbitration Acts, just like other contracts. So an arbitration result based on sharia could be enforceable in the Canadian courts. However, the Acts provide that the enforceability of private arbitration awards is subject to judicial review for public policy issues such as non-discrimination and so on.

That said, I agree with RickJay that this isn’t new. I remember reading in law school that members of other religious faiths, such as Orthodox Jews, can agree to resolve their disputes through arbitration based on their religious traditions.