12/21/2004 3:00:00 PM GMT
Source: Bloomberg.com
A report commissioned by the provincial government said that Muslims in Ontario should have the right to use the religious code of law based on the Qur’an or Shari’ah to settle their civil disputes, provided that all parties involved in the dispute agree.
“Arbitration is a private action because there is no state compulsion to arbitrate,'' former Ontario Attorney General Marion Boyd said in the report, which was posted on the government’s Web site.
“Muslims in Ontario retain, as do all Ontarians, the right to choose the traditional justice system or any alternative to it for the resolution of their disputes.'' The report added.
Boyd headed a review of the provincial Arbitration Act for six months at the request of Premier Dalton McGuinty to decide whether the use of religious laws in settling civil disputes was appropriate.
Her report, which isn't binding on the government, was published this morning.
Orthodox Jews already settle their disputes before the Beis Din, or House of Judgment, which solves civil disputes according to the Jewish law, Rabbi Reuven Tradburks told the review panel.
Some Christian groups also settle disputes according to religious laws.
Arbitration is much used in Toronto, Canada's most crowded city, because busy court schedules make it a more attractive alternative for quick settlements, the report said.