SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis deals with Islamic Law of Civil Procedure, according to the Maliki School, which applies in those "area courts" in the northern states of Nigeria whose "native law" is the Shari'a. These courts have been called in the thesis the Shari'a courts of Northern Nigeria. The thesis is divided into six chapters, with the conclusion as the seventh chapter. Chapter I is an introductory chapter which gives a historical sketch, the constitutional background and the framework of the legal system within which the Shari'a courts exist and function. Chapter II deals with the arena of the courts - their establishment, staff, sessions and the question of venue. Parties to litigation are discussed in Chapter III while Chapter IV considers pleadings. In Chapter V the actual trial procedure and the mode of proof are considered and the issue of conflict between the Shari'a rules on these on the one hand and the practical needs of modern litigation on the other is also tackled. Chapter VI deals with general matters of civil litigation: sulh, arbitration, execution of judgements, injuctions, time bar, costs, and appeals. In the thesis generally, both the Shari'a rules and the statutory enactments governing the topics have been considered and in the conclusion the possibility of codifying the Shari'a rules and integrating them within a unified code of civil procedure governing all native courts has been considered and my conclusion is that this is both possible and desirable.