A landmark legal decision may mean that divorces could be settled by religious courts, such as Sharia, after a couple had their divorce settlement under Jewish law referred to by the High Court.
The divorce case involved a couple of observant orthodox Jews who married in 2006 in a Jewish ceremony and initially lived in Israel, but returned to London for the birth of their first child.
They had planned to move to Toronto but the marriage began to disintegrate and they separated in 2009, shortly after the birth of their second child.
Disputes over access to the children followed and the father began proceedings under The Hague Convention on child abduction.
However, before the case came to court in London, the couple decided to refer their disputes to a senior rabbi in the New York Beth Din, the Jewish rabbinical court, and asked if the judge would agree.
At the High Court, Mr Justice Baker was persuaded by the couple’s arguments that arbitration in their own religious court would be better than litigation, and in line with their beliefs.
The judge examined the principles used by the Beth Din and ensured that they were in line with the laws in England and Wales while respecting the devout beliefs of both parties.
He added that the outcome was in keeping with English law, whilst achieved by a process rooted in Jewish culture to which the families belong but made it clear that the arbitration or ruling by the Beth Din was not binding. Mr Justice Baker said that would have made unlawful, because it would be ousting the jurisdiction of the courts.
Muslim leaders have welcomed the ruling and a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said that if it leads to the eventual acceptance of Sharia court divorces, then “Muslims will be very encouraged”.