Religiöse Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit

The debate on (Islamic) »magistrates« raises the question of whether and to what extent the German legal system may or even should be open to the use of religious law. While in Germany the possibility of allowing religious arbitration panels to make final and legally binding settlements of family law disputes on the basis of religious law has hardly been discussed, Anglo-Saxon countries offer a wide range of religious arbitral jurisdiction accompanied by intense debates. Based on the legal framework, practical examples and a critical analysis of the debate on religious arbitration in the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA, the author shows how religious courts operate in secular constitutional states, what procedural rules they follow and what constitutional concerns have to be taken into account when enforcing religious arbitration awards. She concludes by examining whether the religious arbitration of family law disputes could also take place in Germany.