Law reform

Maroc: Perceptions et pratique judiciaire à propos du code de la famille

Une équipe de recherche a réalisé en 2007 une étude en collaboration avec la Fondation Friedrich-Ebert, institution indépendante et reconnue qui défend les idées et les valeurs fondamentales de la social-démocratie. L’étude propose une lecture de l’impact du nouveau code de la famille marocain, la Moudawana, entré en vigueur en février 2004. "La réforme est en marche. Mais comme toute réforme juridique, ce texte ne vaut que par son appropriation par la société et par les instances judiciaires et par son application dont le respect incombe essentiellement au corps des magistrats. Ce sont ces terrains d’investigation que cette recherche a tenté d’explorer."Pour en savoir plus, vous pouvez consulter et télécharger Le code de la famille. Perceptions et pratique judiciaire

Saudi Arabia: New law will end male dominance in Saudi courts

Saudi Arabia's justice minister says his department is drafting a law that would allow female lawyers to argue legal cases in court for the first time. Mohammed Al-Eissa told reporters on Saturday the bill will be issued in the coming days as part of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s “plan to develop the justice system.” The law would mark a major step for female lawyers in the Kingdom. Currently, women law graduates can work in government offices and in court offices, but cannot argue cases before court. Under the new law, women would be allowed to argue cases on child custody, divorce and other family-related issues.

مصر: بدء العد التنازي لإصدار قانون ضد التحرش الجنسي

وافقت وزارة العدل يوم الثلاثاء على الاقتراح بمشروع قانون والمقدم من النائبة جورجيت قلينى بإضافة 3 مواد إلى قانون العقوبات تتصدى لظاهرة التحرش الجنسى. وأعلن المستشار أحمد شريف عضو لجنة التشريع بالوزارة أمام اجتماع لجنة الاقتراحات والشكاوى بمجلس الشعب الثلاثاء برئاسة المستشار محمد جويلى رئيس اللجنة أن الاقتراح المقدم من النائبة مطابق للدستور. وقال شريف إن جريمة التحرش المطلوب إضافتها لقانون العقوبات تختلف عن جريمة هتك العرض.

Interview With Ziba Mir Hosseini: Understanding Islamic Feminism

Born in Iran and now based in London, Ziba Mir Hosseini, an anthropologist by training, is one of the most well-known scholars of Islamic Feminism. She is the author of numerous books on the subject, including Marriage on Trial: A Study of Family Law in Iran and Morrocco (l.B.Tauris, 1993) and Islam and Gender, the Religious Debate in Contemporary Islam (Princeton, 1999). She is presently associated with the Centre for Islamic and Middle Eastern Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand she talks about the origins and prospects of Islamic feminism as an emancipatory project for Muslim women and as a new, contextually-relevant way of understanding Islam.

Saudi Arabia: Rights panel take up child bride case

Saudi Arabia’s state human rights body has hired a lawyer to review the case of a girl whose mother sought her divorce from an 80-year-old man, a move activists hope is a first step against child marriage. Saudi Arabia, a patriarchal society that applies an austere version of Sunni Islam, has no minimum legal age for marriage. Fathers are granted guardianship over their daughters, giving them control over who their daughters marry and when.

Maroc: La nouvelle ''Moudaouana'' est biaisée par le dysfonctionnement du système juridique

Il est 9h. Jawad est dans le couloir qui dirige vers une salle d'audience au tribunal de la famille au quartier des Habous à Casablanca. Ce jour, c'est la dernière séance de la tentative de réconciliation avant son divorce, en instance depuis des mois. Des hommes de toutes tranches d'âges ont investi la salle archicomble.

Saudi Arabia: Son of Former Mufti says Women Should Be Allowed to Drive

The issue of women driving in Saudi Arabia is again a topic of public discussion,[1] following an extraordinary incident that took place during the recent flooding in the city of Jeddah. A 15-year-old girl named Malak Al-Mutairi managed to extricate herself from a partially submerged car, and then got in the family jeep and towed other vehicles and their occupants to safety, saving her own family and eight others.[2]

المملكة العربية السعودية: المحكمة العليا تنقض حكم « تكافؤ النسب » وتعيد فاطمة إلى زوجها

نقضت المحكمة العليا الحكم الصادر من محكمة الجوف في " قضية النسب " الشهيرة ، والذي سبق وأن أُيد من محكمة التمييز حيث زعم اخو الزوجة غير الشقيق بأن زوجها لاينتسب إلى قبيلة. المحامي احمد الخالد السديري الذي قدم طعناً في الحكم الصادر من محكمة الجوف قال في تصريح له " هيئة حقوق الانسان كلفتني بعد أن أثار هذا الحكم ضجة كبيرة، وتناولته الصحف الغربية فأخذتني الحمية فكتبت طعنا وقدمته لهيئة حقوق الانسان السعودية". ويضيف السديري "بعد ذلك رفعت الهيئة الطعن للمقام السامي وأُحيل من المقام السامي إلى المحكمة العليا للنظر فيه. ولأن عندنا قضاء عادل يحكم بالشرع ويحكم بالعدالة التي هي جوهر الشرع حكمت المحكمة العليا بنقض الحكم الصادر من محكمة الجوف وإعادة شمل الاسرة ودرء الضرر عن الزوجين، وهذا الحكم نهائي"

Saudi Arabia: Judiciary Council overturns forced-divorce decision

Over four years after a judge in Jouf annulled the marriage of Fatima and Mansour at the behest of Fatima’s half brothers, the Supreme Judiciary Council in Riyadh on Saturday overruled the decision and ordered that the couple be reunited in matrimony. “The divorce ruling is void, therefore the return of the couple together is inevitable now and does not require (another) marriage ceremony,” Ahmad Al-Sudairi, who has been providing the couple pro bono representation, told Arab News. Fatima was pregnant with the couple’s second child when on June 20, 2005 a judge ruled in favor of Fatima’s half brothers and divorced her from Mansour Al-Timani in absentia.

France: Reactions to proposed partial ban on burqa

Sarkozy's veil climbdown: Has Nicolas Sarkozy lost face in his battle against the burqa? One might think so considering his latest compromise on the issue. While the French president firmly believes that these allegedly Islamic veils are "a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement" which are "not welcome" anywhere in the Fifth Republic, he now thinks the only workable ban would be on public transport or in civic buildings.