Posted on 07/03/2008 7:27:22 PM PDT by markomalley
Muslims in Britain should be able to live according to Sharia law, the country's most senior judge has said. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice, strongly backed Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his suggestion earlier this year that aspects of Sharia law should be adopted in Britain.
The archbishop's remarks sparked a national debate and led to calls for his resignation.
Risking inflaming that controversy again, Lord Phillips has said that Muslims in Britain should be able to use Sharia to decide financial and marital disputes.
The judge did add that only the criminal courts should have the power to decide when a crime has been committed and when to impose punishment.
But his suggestion that different religious groups should run their affairs according to different rules sparked warnings that community cohesion could be undermined.
In a speech at the East London Muslim Centre in east London, Lord Phillips said it was "not very radical" for Dr Williams to argue that Sharia law can be used to help govern issues like family disputes and the sale of financial products.
Lord Phillips said: "It is possible in this country for those who are entering into a contractual agreement to agree that the agreement shall be governed by law other than English law."
Therefore, he said, he could see no reason why Sharia law should not be used to settle disputes in this country.
He said: "There is no reason why principles of Sharia law, or any other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution."
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
A good example of why the Conservatives have about a 20% lead over Labor in the current polls. They even recently kicked out the communist mayor of London and replaced him with a Conservative.
Lord chief justice throws out 700 years of common law as though is was yesterday’s rubbish. The British rule the empire of foolishness, the sun never sets on their idiocy.
The lunatics are on the grass...
What an absolute moron. Why should the West subvert civilization to allow for an inferior backward culture to grow in its midst.
Utterly ridiculous.
Recent history proves that the “so called peaceful Muslims” work as a team with their Islamic Military. They immigrate to a country touting what peaceful law abiding citizens they are, establish themselves, build mosques, increase their numbers and “bingo” terrorists acts start occurring in the host country. Do the attacks in Spain, England, France, Thailand, Bali, the Philippines, Holland, Sweden and the USA ring any bells here? All these attacks have been preceded by the establishment of moderate mosque communities which in turn became footholds from which the Islamic military could launch their terrorist attacks. The larger the percentage of Muslims that occupy a country the greater the havoc they wreak. The situation is directly proportional. Reducing the percentage of Muslims that dwell in the host country is the most effect way of stopping terrorism.
WRONG. Anyone who wants to live under Sharia law should return to where Sharia law is already the law of the land. Pretty simple.
No, FReepers, that is not the sound of thunder...
That is Blackstone rolling over in his grave...
“The archbishop’s remarks sparked a national debate and led to calls for his resignation. “
I have “great” faith in the intelligence of our British cousins.... :-)
The archbishop is toast..........and Lord Phillips does not care much for his country....dump him ....
Stick a fork in England. It is finished.
The lunatic is in my head.
The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade, you make the change
You re-arrange me ‘til I’m sane.
You lock the door
And throw away the key
There’s someone in my head but it’s not me.
And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear.
And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes
I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon.
“I can’t think of anything to say except...
I think it’s marvelous! HaHaHa!”
Pink Floyd had it pegged 30 years ago... Whoa!
A dozen posts before someone read the article. Ding!
I love you; you love me; we're a happy family.
Of course they should be able to live under Sharia...and I would bet that plenty of people would be willing to help them pay for their ticket to fly to Somalia, Yemen or whatever hellhole they choose to move to to enable that to occur.
Can I enter into a contractual agreement with British citizens to sell them guns?
Although I’ve had several favorite songs from the album for years, only a few days ago did I purchase and listed to THE WALL all the way through. OMIGOSH, it’s the best album I’ve ever heard. Just took me almost thirty years to discover it.
MM
What he says here is no different than contract laws in Texas.
Lord Phillips said: "It is possible in this country for those who are entering into a contractual agreement to agree that the agreement shall be governed by law other than English law." ...
... He said: "There is no reason why principles of Sharia law, or any other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution."
This is a subset of the law for a contract that two people want to enter.
It's not to say that stoning or polygamy are suddenly ok.
And the history books will read “the day of head chopping for politicians followed the passage of sharia law, and was enforced by those who personally opposed it, but said the politicians should get first tickets”.
Profile: Lord Chief Justice
Lord Phillips is said to be popular among lawyers
The top judge in England and Wales, Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, has frequently spoken of his concerns about prison overcrowding and the need to make more use of community sentences.
The top judge initially came to prominence during his chairmanship of the inquiry into the BSE crisis.
He has also presided over the Maxwell pension fund trial.
Born Nicholas Addison Phillips on 21 January 1938, he was educated at Bryanston School, Blandford, Dorset, and King’s College, Cambridge.
He completed national service with the Royal Navy before being called to the bar in 1962.
Promotions
He was made a QC in 1978 and served as a recorder from 1982 to 1987.
He became a High Court judge in 1987, later presiding over the complicated trials involving the Maxwells and investment company Barlow Clowes.
He was twice promoted during the two-year, nine-month inquiry into BSE.
He was made a Law Lord in January 1999, and two months later sat in one of General Augusto Pinochet’s appeals.
Lord Phillips ruled that the former dictator of Chile had no immunity for extraditable crimes.
In June 2000, he was appointed Master of the Rolls - in charge of the civil division of the Court of Appeal.
His BSE inquiry report concluded that earlier action by the government could have prevented the spread of the disease.
Going undercover
David Body, solicitor for families of vCJD victims, at the time praised the “thorough and proper job” done by the inquiry.
During his career, Lord Phillips has called for the High Court and county courts to be replaced by a single unified civil court.
In 2006 he called for more use of community sentences on the grounds that the jail population in England and Wales neared capacity and made it difficult to ensure inmates could be rehabilitated.
To make his point, Lord Phillips went undercover to take part in a community prevention scheme during which he helped clean up a council estate.
He also said support for terrorism will grow if immigrants feel their human rights are not being respected.
Those comments came after some anti-terrorism measures were abandoned following a ruling by judges that they were illegal under the Human Rights Act. He is also well known for using a bicycle - and wearing a crash helmet - to get to and from court.
He married Cristylle Marie-Therese Rouffiac in 1972, and the couple have a son and daughter, as well as her two children from a previous relationship.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.