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- Volume 10, Issue 2, 2022
Journal of Law, Religion and State - Volume 10, Issue 2-3, 2022
Volume 10, Issue 2-3, 2022
- Introduction
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- Articles
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Assisted Suicide in Italy: Navigating the Frontiers of “Legitimate Medicine”
More LessAuthor: Adelaide MaderaAbstractThe unrestrainable evolution of medical science and technology is drastically changing healthcare, enabling new medical procedures and remedies, which are increasingly intertwined with moral principles. Although a uniform European approach to assisted suicide is lacking, a common trend is developing: the boundary between euthanasia, assisted suicide, and end-of-life care on one hand, and the frontiers of “legitimate medicine”, on the other are becoming increasingly blurred, emphasizing the polarization between secular and religious narratives.
In Italy, ruling no. 242/2019 of the Constitutional Court declared the partial unconstitutionality of Article 580 of the Italian Criminal Code, which prohibits assistance in suicide.
The present paper analyzes the legal regime of assisted dying in Italy, the role of the rule of law, the religious influence on political decision making, and investigates current legal challenges and potential future legal tracks.
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Judging in a Brave New World?: Adjudicating Cases of Parental Refusal on Religious Grounds to Consent to Medical Treatment
More LessAuthor: Michelle FlynnAbstractThis article considers case law concerning parental refusal to consent to medical treatment of a child based on religious belief or conscience. The focus of enquiry is on three pivotal decisions of the Irish Superior Courts which will serve to chart the development of judicial reasoning in this contentious area of law. In the last few decades, Ireland has experienced significant changes in its population and attitudes toward religion as a result of increased immigration, multiculturalism, and secularism. This case law analysis reveals that there has been a shift from a test that examines the motivations or reasons for parental decision making to one that focuses on the effect on the child. This shift in focus raises concern about the extent to which the religious or conscientious objection of a parent concerning a child’s medical treatment will be considered in future cases. The present analysis provides an illuminating example of the way in which religion and the state can be in tension with each other.
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- Introduction
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- Articles
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Paternal Filiation in Muslim-Majority Environments: A Comparative Look at the Interpretive Practice of Positive Islamic Law in Indonesia, Egypt, and Morocco
More LessAuthors: Baudouin Dupret, Adam Belkadi, Monika Lindbekk & Ayang Utriza YakinAbstractIn most Muslim-majority countries, Islamic normativity underwent a process of “positivization” completely altering the sense which is made of these norms and the ways through which they are obtained. This article aims to deepen our understanding of this phenomenon through a comparative examination of an issue addressed in classical fiqh, partly legislated in modern statutes and codes, sensitive to the progress of scientific evidentiary methods, and largely at judges’ discretion. It proceeds, for each of the three countries under study (Indonesia, Egypt, and Morocco), to describe the situation, starting with the legal system, family law, and the question of paternal filiation (ithbât al-nasab, in Arabic), then paying attention to the “trajectory” of a recent case, from first-instance decisions to final rulings. In conclusion, it focuses on the room that the combination of fiqh principles and contemporary legal sources and thinking opens for creative analogy, radically innovative interpretation, and polycentric tensions between various jurisdictions.
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Muslim Family Law Reform: Understanding the Difference between Muslim-Majority and Muslim-Minority Jurisdictions
More LessAuthor: Yüksel SezginAbstract35 Muslim-majority and 18 Muslim-minority countries formally integrate Muslim Family Laws (mfl s) into their legal systems. Both groups of governments have undertaken legislative reforms to improve the status of women/children under mfl s and strengthen the rule of law within their mfl systems. The existing scholarship does not address whether mfl s are more reformed or human/women’s rights friendlier in Muslim-majority or Muslim-minority countries. Employing an innovative methodological tool, the Muslim Family Law Index, this exploratory article surveys cross-national and historical trends in mfl reform (1946–2016). It shows that although Muslim-minority countries appear to have more “reformed” mfl systems than their Muslim counterparts, a closer analysis reveals that they have prioritized different types of legislative reform. The former favored exit rights, while the latter prioritized substantive reforms. The type and extent of interventions were strongly associated with colonial heritage, state-religion relations, international norm diffusion, women’s activism, and ethnoreligious diversity/tolerance. These findings have implications for studying multicultural theory, human/women’s rights, and democratization in the mfl-applying world.
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Religious Family Agreements
More LessAuthor: Brian H. BixAbstractThe article offers an overview of recent United States court cases on the topic of religious family agreements, focusing in particular on cases seeking to enforce mahr provisions, provisions of ketubahs, and religious upbringing agreements. Overall, the recent cases display the tensions created by an intersection of separate concerns: interpretive, doctrinal, and constitutional. The cases ultimately display a cautious approach, including a general reluctance to enforce provisions where doing so might interfere with religious freedom or override the financial rights of vulnerable parties.
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- back matter
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