Muslim Arbitration Tribunal operates within the framework of English law and does not constitute a separate Islamic legal system. Under the Act they are deemed to be "arbitration tribunals". The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal has no powers to grant a divorce which is valid in English and Welsh law. A "talaq" can be granted to recognise divorce. A sharia marriage has no bearing on personal status under UK law. The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal has no jurisdiction on criminal matters but can attempt reconciliation between spouses. Dominic Grieve of the Conservative Party has stated: “If it is true that these tribunals are passing binding decisions
Ban on sharia law leaving other religious conciliators free to continue their work. "Any reform would have to impact equally on all faith communities, and it is not only Muslims who would object if federal legislators presumed to do that." Sharia law is explicitly banned in Quebec, upheld by a unanimous vote against it in 2005 by the National Assembly. In Ontario there was a "heated 20-month controversy" after Toronto lawyer Syed Mumtaz Ali declared in 2004 that an “Islamic Institute of Civil Justice” would begin "arbitrating family matters on the basis of sharia law", accompanied by a warning that Muslims who did not