Is There a Right to Choose a Religious Jurisdiction over the Civil Courts? The Application of Sharia Law in the Minority in Western Thrace, Greece

Bibliographic Data

ID3129101
AuthorsEleni Kalampakou (0000-0002-1235-2615, Independent Author, 11633 Athens, Greece, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume10
Issue4
Pages260
Publication date2019-04-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel10040260
OpenAlexW2938428023
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited5

The minority in Western Thrace, Greece, has long enjoyed a special status where family and inheritance matters were subject to Sharia law and religious jurisdiction (Mufti). After judicial controversy for many years over the compulsory character of this "minority privilege", the matter has been brought before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In view of the hearing of the case of Molla Sali v. Greece before the Grand Chamber, the Greek Parliament voted for the possibility for the members of this minority to choose either religious or civil law and jurisdiction-a right for them to exit the minority community. Although a step forward, this right raises a serious challenge to the rule of equality before the law and the right to a fair trial. Therefore, the paper seeks its possible legal foundations in the international obligations of the Greek state to protect religious freedom and the minority community and stresses the need to be accompanied by the "right to voice", meaning a true reform of the procedure before the Mufti and an effective constitutionality control of his decisions

Constitutionality · Freedom of Religion · Human rights · Islam · Jurisdiction · Parliament · Political science · Politics · Sharia · Sociology · Supreme court · History · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Religious Freedom and Discrimination · Turkey's Politics and Society

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