Dispute and Conflict Resolution in Islam EMCL-760   Credit Hours: 5


This course will cover:

a.      Dispute Resolution:

·         Seeking legal settlement on a dispute through a lawsuit presupposes winning a litigation by rejecting an opportunity to amicable out of court settlement of the case or a reconciliation between the parties.

·         Choosing litigation over dispute resolution makes a presumption of victory by anticipating winning the case.

·         Choosing of an out-of-court dispute resolution usually circumvents a public court battle and open hostility between the disputing parties by presenting them an alternative peaceful dispute settlement through arbiters who are mutually agreed upon.

·         Muslims are encouraged to first undertake the path of reconciliation (sulh) before advancing to court litigation.

·         An articulate party to a case may win the case because of their skilled presentation and persuasive argument before a judge even if he/she happen to be the wrongdoer; and the party who is wronged could lose the case just because he/she is not articulate.

 

b.      Conflict Resolution:

·         The principles of sulh can be applied to:

o   Civil disputes such as contractual disputes or monetary and property claims.

o   It can also be applied to settlements of criminal actions on the basis of agreed upon compensation or forgiveness on the part of the victim or his/her family.

o   It can also apply to marriage or divorce disputes.