Arbitration (Taḥkīm) in Islamic and Pakistani Law

Abstract

This article studies arbitration (taḥkīm) in the Islamic justice system, discussing its various facets such as meaning, history, legal status, components, procedure, effects, powers of the ḥakam, value of the arbitral award, and the subject matter of taḥkīm. The study also examines the application of taḥkīm to family disputes in order to explore how this subject has been dealt with by jurists (fuqahā’). This is then complemented with a review of Pakistani law on arbitration. The article also proposes some amendments to the Pakistani law on arbitration. Content analysis of qualitative research has been utilized for the investigation of the issues. An appendix at the end of the article shows the similarities and differences between Islamic and Pakistani law with reference to arbitration.