Law Society risks 'undermining' rule of law by promoting sharia, Chris Grayling warns

The Justice Secretary says the Law Society to satisfy itself that it is not "undermining" the rule of law in this country by promoting Islamic Law.

Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Justice
Chris Grayling said: 'The Law Society will need to satisfy themselves that nothing in the course of guidance undermines the principle that Sharia law is not part of the law of England and Wales.' Credit: Photo: Geoff Pugh for The Telegraph

Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, has warned the Law Society that it must not “undermine” British legal principles with its new guidance and training for lawyers in Sharia law.

The Law Society, the professional body which represents solicitors, has faced criticism for running training courses in Sharia and for publishing guidance to help lawyers draw up ‘Sharia compliant’ wills.

The controversial new initiatives resulted in lawyers and anti-Sharia law campaigners protesting outside the Law Society’s head office in central London last week. Critics have accused the Law Society of creating the “perception” that Sharia is now “a legal discipline”.

Sharia law is Islam’s legal system. It derives from the Koran and the Hadiths, the sayings and customs attributed to the Prophet Mohammed, as well as fatwas - the rulings of Islamic scholars.

Currently, Sharia principles are not formally addressed by or included in Britain’s laws. However, a network of Sharia courts has grown up in Islamic communities to deal with disputes between Muslim families.

Next month, the Law Society is running a training course described as an “introduction to Islamic Sharia law for small firms”. The course offers training in Sharia law covering wills and inheritance, family and children and corporate and commercial law.

The event - which counts as part of a solicitor’s formal training - at the Law Society’s headquarters on Chancery Lane, central London on June 24 has already sold out.

However, Mr Grayling told The Sunday Telegraph: “Sharia law has no jurisdiction in England and Wales and the Government has no intention to change this position.

“Wills in England and Wales are governed by English law, regardless of your religion, and this permits people to leave their possessions to whomever they choose.

“The Law Society will need to satisfy themselves that nothing in the course of guidance undermines the principle that Sharia law is not part of the law of England and Wales.”

Mr Grayling’s intervention was supported by Conservative MP Robert Buckland, a member of the Commons’ Justice committee and a part-time judge.

He said: “There is one law in this country, and it is the law of England, Wales Scotland through our common law and statutes.

“We don’t have room for other legal systems and everybody who lives in our country should abide by our law.

“The Law Society has a wider duty to uphold our legal system. They are validating a set of values that are not part of our law.”

Mr Buckland questioned why the Law Society was giving such weight to Sharia law given it was essentially faith teaching, like the Christian Bible.

He said: “Why is the Law Society not teaching the Old Testament or the New Testament?”

Charlie Klendjian, a spokesman for the Lawyers' Secular Society, welcomed Mr Grayling’s intervention in the row.

He said: “There are two questions for Mr Grayling, and indeed for the Law Society. Firstly, why is the Law Society giving guidance on theology at all, and thereby being seen to endorse and legitimise sharia law as a legal discipline?

“And secondly, why is it in any way appropriate for the Law Society to give people advice on how to incorporate explicitly discriminatory provisions in their wills?

“The Law Society’s guidance is explicitly discriminatory towards women, non-Muslims, adopted children and ‘illegitimate children’.”

A spokesman for the Law Society said: “It is a hallmark of the common law system that individuals are free to organise their own affairs as they see fit, subject only to any restrictions imposed by law.

“Our guidance is intended to help our members better serve their clients’ lawful instructions on the distribution of assets, including those who may adopt Sharia principles as far as is allowed by the law of England and Wales.

“It is appropriate that the Society should provide information on the law at any point in time so that solicitors can advise their clients accurately.

“The profession plays an important role in advising the public on the law and what may be done under the law. This is not the same as promoting the principles themselves or any conflicting interpretations of those principles.”