Magister Legum - LLM / As a Muslim south African trained in South African Roman-Dutch law, I have been exposed to experiences/situations which indicate a conflict between the principles of South African Roman-Dutch law and Islamic law of succession. This has prompted me to do some research into the history of Islamic law, the spreading of Islamic law over large parts of the world and the question of the recognition and application of Islamic law in South Africa. The central theme of this study is the Islamic law of succession in so far as it affects women. Chapter One of my dissertation contains a brief historical background which outlines on the one hand, the nomadic society, women and succession in pre-Islamic Arabia and on the other, their improved position upon the advent of Islam {seventh century) . It ends with the historical background of Muslims in South Africa. Chapter Two is devoted to the marriage property background against which both the South African and Islamic law of succession operate. Thereafter, in Chapter Three, the South African law and Islamic law (substantive rules} of succession are compared. These include both intestate and testamentary succession, the latter being limited on the Islamic side. Chapter Four, with the backgrounds sketched in Chapters Two and Three, demonstrates the visible internal conflicts between the Islamic and South African law of marriage and succession as encountered in South African practice. After evaluating statistics and alternative solutions in this regard, and having arrived at certain conclusions, I propose that recommendations about the possible recognition and application of Muslim Personal Law in South Africa which is at present enjoying the attention of the South African Law Commission in Project 59 should see fruition and be implemented as it can only assist the society in closer inspection are riddled with controversies. Chapter Six explores the treatment received by a Muslim widow, daughter and mother in terms of their respective fixed "intestate" shares and its implications for modern twentieth century society. which we live since it is a vital aspect affecting our daily lives {and deaths!). Chapter Five covers the whole aspect of the Muslim testator or testatrix' s limited "freedom" of testation and reforms by certain forerunner countries in this regard which on closer inspection are riddled with controversies. Chapter Six explores the treatment received by a Muslim widow, daughter and mother in terms of their respective fixed "intestate" shares and its implications for modern twentieth century society.

Ce n’est traditionnellement pas sous l’angle de sa disponibilité que le statut personnel et familial est étudié, mais par le prisme du principe d’indisponibilité de l’état des personnes qui a longtemps déterminé les orientations du droit régissant les situations internes, tout comme les orientations du droit international privé. Néanmoins la libéralisation du droit des personnes et de la famille ne cesse de progresser, au point que l’on peut se poser la question d’un renversement du principe et de l’exception. Mesurée dans un premier temps, la disponibilité du statut personnel et familial a été renforcée avec l’entrée en vigueur de la loi de modernisation de la justice du XXIe siècle qui a notamment déjudiciarisé le processus de changement de prénom ainsi que le divorce par consentement mutuel, et « démédicalisé » la procédure de changement de la mention du sexe à l’état civil. Par ailleurs, la Cour EDH et le droit de l’UE ont une influence considérable sur le droit des personnes et de la famille, y compris sur le droit de la filiation. Dans un nombre non négligeable de circonstances, le contrôle de proportionnalité et l’essor d’un principe de reconnaissance des situations de fait, ou de droit, permettent aux individus de se soustraire volontairement aux règles qui avaient vocation à leur être appliquées. L’ordre public et l’impérativité du droit national en sont fragilisés, le tourisme législatif favorisé. Ces rouages sont difficiles à réguler. Seule une coopération au niveau supranational, délicate à mettre en oeuvre, pourrait contribuer à en contenir efficacement les effets / Historically it is not under the scope of its availability that the personal and family status is examined, but through the prism of its inalienability, the latter having determined the main lines of domestic and international private law for many years. Nevertheless, the liberalisation of individual and family law keeps gaining ground to such an extend that we might be in front of areversal of the principle and exception. Steady at first, the growing availability of personal and family status was highly reinforced when the XXIth Century Justice Modernisation Act came into force. This act notably delegalised the forename modification process and mutual consent divorce, as well as demedicalised the rectification process of one sex on the civil status register. Nowadays, it is to some extend worth considering the personal and family status as available to individuals. Furthermore the European Court of Human Rights and the EU Law have atremendous influence on personal and family law, including filiation law. In many cases, the proportionality test principle and the rising recognition of de facto or legal situations allow individuals to voluntary escape what should have been legally bounding them. Public policy and domestic laws are thus weakened and legal tourism encouraged. This legal machinery is all the more troublesome because it seems difficult to regulate. Only a suprational cooperation, which is delicate to implement, might contribute to efficiently suppress its effects

This thesis examines the Indian system of personal laws (‘the PLS’), under which the state applies a version of religious doctrine to the family matters of citizens whom it identifies as belonging to different religious groups. There has been a lengthy and persistent debate over the PLS, particularly in relation to its discriminatory effects upon women. However, another problem with the PLS has been little commented-upon. Supporters of the PLS emphasise its positive impact on religious freedom to such an extent that there is a pervasive assumption that the PLS is, indeed, good for religious freedom. But there has been surprisingly little critical assessment of the truth of this claim in either academic or political debates. This thesis, a work of applied normative legal theory, attempts to fill this important gap in the literature on the PLS. The thesis addresses the question of how the PLS affects one conception of religious freedom, namely religious autonomy. Its principal findings are that the PLS interferes with the religious autonomy of those subject to it by affecting their religious options (by interfering with their freedom from religion and their freedom to practice religion) and by harming their self-respect (by discriminating on the grounds of sex and religion, and by misrecognising their religious identities). Furthermore, the thesis finds that the PLS cannot be defended in the name of religious autonomy based on the possibility of exit from the system, the advantage of having the ‘option of personal law’, the power it gives people to bind their future selves, the expressive potential of the personal laws, the contribution it makes to membership in a religious community, the contribution it makes to religious group autonomy, or the recognition or validation it provides for religious identities. These conclusions imply that concerns relating to religious autonomy constitute an important set of objections to the PLS. The thesis then considers several reform proposals, including certain modifications of the PLS, a move towards a millet system, ‘internal’ reform of individual personal laws and the introduction of a Uniform Civil Code. It particularly focusses on one reform possibility – religious alternative dispute resolution – which has not been considered closely in the Indian context.

The influence of the cross-strait matrimony is not only to the parties theirselves, but also to the problems of complexsive population policy, the allocation of internal social resources, safeguard against noational interests, the consideration of the safety of national defense and foreigners treatment. If the cross-strait matrimony asise disputes and gets into the litigation procedure, the court do not deal with it appropriately, it will cause the damage of parties¡¦ rights and interests, the influence of the mutually preferential relationship of cross-strait judicial systems and deteriorate relationship of Cross-Strait. For this reason, it is very important to solve the cross-strait matrimony cases properly. The law of the cross-strait matrimony cases is not complete, the court is not clearly how to probe into and solve problems in the cross-strait matrimony cases. By the viewpoints of trail practice and conflict of laws, the nature of the cross-strait matrimony cases is equivalent to the generally foreign matrimony cases what is called international identity disputes, and the court confronts the problems of the cross-strait matrimony cases similarly to international identity disputes. The theories, legislative and precendent of conflict of laws of international identity disputes is also applicable to the cross-strait matrimony cases, therefore, it will contribute to solve the problems. This article introduces legislatives of every nation, international convention and judicial practice, from the viewpoints of legislative policy and trial practice to analyze the court in Taiwan district how to decide the problems of the delimintation of jurisdiction and the conflict of laws of the cross-strait matrimony cases.

Nous sommes aujourd'hui face à un incontestable déclin du critère de la nationalité en droit international privé. À l'heure de la mobilité croissante des personnes et de l'essor des autres critères de rattachement, il nous faut faire le constat de la marginalisation de la nationalité, pourtant considérée pendant longtemps comme la principale notion en matière de statut personnel, une marginalisation confirmée par les règlements européens et la jurisprudence. Face aux changements dans ce domaine et aux incertitudes qui y sont liées, il est nécessaire d'analyser ces données afin de pouvoir procéder à un bilan et d'énoncer des résolutions pour l'avenir. En effet, l'évolution du droit international privé a conduit à privilégier de nouveaux critères de rattachement, considérés comme plus efficaces et moins discriminatoires que la nationalité, qui sont ainsi plébiscités par le législateur et les juges européens. Il s'agit tout d'abord des critères territorialistes, et particulièrement de la résidence habituelle qui est devenue le rattachement principal, pour la plupart des textes européens, en matière de divorce, de responsabilité parentale ou encore de régime des incapables. L'importance donnée aux individus, reconnus en tant que quasi-sujets de droit international, résultant de l'intervention des droits de l'homme, apparaît comme le principal facteur du déclin de la nationalité. Le principe de non-discrimination et la prise en compte de la volonté des parties, jusqu'à leur désunion et leurs successions, illustrent cet état de fait. Il s'agit alors de savoir, à la lumière des réflexions sur ces nouveaux paradigmes, s'il est encore possible de reconsidérer le rattachement des personnes en revalorisant le critère de la nationalité dans certains domaines, comme cela a été suggéré dernièrement en droit des successions. Nous proposons ainsi une méthodologie permettant aussi bien dans le conflit de lois que dans le conflit de juridictions de déterminer les raisons du déclin de la nationalité. Nous menons également une réflexion sur son irrévocabilité en droit international privé. / The decline of the nationality in private international law is nowadays an undeniable reality. The impact of an almost unconditional mobility of European citizens and the emergence of other connecting factors in the personal law result in the weakening of the nationality link, despite its historical role in determining the law applied to an individual. The weakening is confirmed by the modern European legislation and case law. This study seems essential to understand the foundations of nationality as the connecting factor and takes into account the important changes of the nationality and its uncertainty. Indeed, the evolution of the European private international law led to the switch of the connecting factor from nationality toward territorial nexuses. Particular significance is put on the nexus of habitual residence, which is considered to be more efficient and less discriminatory, and is retained by the main European regulations and judgments, not only in case of international divorces or parental authority, but also according to such matters as legal capacity. Furthermore, the superiority of human rights appears to be the essential reason for the acknowledgement of individuals as the quasi-subjects of international law, which resulted in the decline of nationality as a connecting factor. Consequently, the principles of non-discrimination and personal autonomy impact the further fields of personal law, e.g. disunion and heritage. In the light of these new paradigms, it should be questioned if it is possible to overcome the decadence of the nationality and authorize its part in some matters of the European private international law, as it was regulated in the new heritage European regulation. For these reasons, this study propose a methodology that determines the reasons of the fall of nationality as the nexus of the private international law, both in the conflict of laws and in the conflict of jurisdictions, and provides some reflections on its irreversibility.