ABSTRACT
As described in Chapter 10, the legislation amendment of November 2001 created a situation of deep or “strong” legal pluralism, from the point of view of Muslim litigants. Except for issues of marriage and divorce (which were left under the exclusive jurisdiction of the shari‘a courts), 1 all other issues pertaining to personal status matters of Muslims in Israel can henceforth be dealt with either by shari‘a courts or by family courts. Muslim men and women may now freely choose to appeal to either one of these forums in diverse matters such as child and wife maintenance, custody, and guardianship over minors. Furthermore, since a “connection principle” does not apply, filing a suit by one of the spouses in the shari‘a court does not prevent the other party from filing a related suit in the family court, and vice versa. 2 Although the material laws that apply to personal status matters of Muslims are presumably similar in both tribunals, in effect, the differences in rules of evidence, in procedures, and in legal cultures—produce dissimilar judgments.
