In April 2010 researchers at Cardiff Law School and the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK at Cardiff University began a study of religious courts and tribunals across the UK. The research has been funded by the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme. The research team was led by Professor Gillian Douglas, an expert on family law, who was joined by Dr Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK, Professor Norman Doe, Director of the Centre for Law and Religion, Cardiff University, Dr Russell Sandberg, lecturer in law at Cardiff University, and Research Associate Asma Khan. The project, ‘Social cohesion and civil law: marriage, divorce and religious courts’, explored how religious law already functions alongside civil law in the area of marriage and divorce by examining the workings of three religious courts in detail: a Jewish Beth Din, a matrimonial tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church and a Muslim Sharia Council. The project asked ‘What is the legal status of these courts?’ and ‘How do they operate in relation to marriage, divorce and remarriage?’

On 18 May 2011 a symposium was held at Cardiff Law School in order to discuss the key findings from the project and the wider debate concerning Britain's religious courts. Dr Russell Sandberg began proceedings by providing an overview of the organisation of the three religious courts studied, to which Dr Prakash Shah, Queen Mary, University of London, responded. This was followed by a keynote address, given by Mr Justice McFarlane. Chaired by Honorary Professor Mark Hill QC, Sir Andrew McFarlane's address was entitled ‘Am I bothered? The relevance of religious courts to a civil judge’ and sought to remind the audience of the contributions to the debate previously made by the Archbishop of CanterburyFootnote ³ and the then Lord Chief Justice,Footnote ⁴ as well as what he considered to be the important points that civil judges ought to note from the Cardiff research project. The lecture was a comprehensive and reflective analysis of the approach of family judges in a multi-faith society.

After lunch, the focus moved on to focus upon the marriage and divorce jurisdiction of the three courts studied. Professor Gillian Douglas presented the project findings in this regard, examining how the three jurisdictions compare to each other and to the civil law, to which Dr Samia Bano (Reading University) responded. Professor Ian Leigh (Durham University) then gave the second keynote address, which explored how international law could affect religious arbitration. The Symposium concluded with a session focussing upon the relationship between religious courts, society and civil law. This session included papers from Asma Khan and Dr Sophie Gilliat-Ray and a response from the barrister Ahmad Thompson. It concluded with a panel discussion, chaired by Professor Norman Doe. The panel consisted of Amra Bone (a member of Birmingham Shariah Council), David Frei (the Registrar at the London Beth Din) and Robin Griffith-Jones (the Master of the Temple). Further information about the project can be found on its webpage.Footnote ⁵