The Bedouin Judge, the Mufti, and the Chief Islamic Justice: Competing Legal Regimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

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Main author: Welchman, Lynn
Format: Journal Article           
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id eprints-7655
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description This article examines competing legal frameworks in dispute resolutionin the occupied territories, against the background of weakening central authority, bitter political rivalries, and increasing insecurity on the ground. Two case studies from 2005 are presented — a killing in Gaza and an attempted sexual assault in the West Bank — where the involved parties had recourse to three distinct but overlapping bodies of law, not all of which were part of the formal Palestinian legal system: statutory law, Islamic law, and customary (or tribal) law. The resolution of these cases, while shedding light on the intersection of local politics and alternative legal systems, underscores the challenges of forging a united legal system in a situation of occupation, weak government, and heterogeneous legal heritage.
format Journal Article
author Welchman, Lynn
author_facet Welchman, Lynn
authorStr Welchman, Lynn
author_letter Welchman, Lynn
title The Bedouin Judge, the Mufti, and the Chief Islamic Justice: Competing Legal Regimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
publisher University of California Press
publishDate 2009
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/7655/

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