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
Application of Islamic law by country Law 59 of 1953 (amended by Law 34 of 1975) is essentially a codified Islamic law. The Code of Personal Status is applied to Muslims by Sharia courts. In Sharia courts, a woman's testimony is worth only half of a man's. The government is declared to be secular in the constitution. However converting a Muslim is a crime. In Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani and Songkhla provinces, Islamic law is allowed for settling family and inheritance issues under a 1946 law. The remaining provinces of Thailand have a civil law system with common law influences. As part of Atatürk's Reforms, sharia was