The court had been asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held: The request was denied. The case was not one of public law: ‘ the particular function which the Imam was performing affected the applicant’s rights in a way which was peculiar to a limited class of persons, namely, persons who were members of the Bury Park Mosque Community’. However, as to the suggestion that the dispute was in essence one of religious doctrine: ‘The sole source of the power of the Mosque’s constitution, in the eyes of English law, is the consensual submission of the members of the Mosque community to its provisions. Likewise, the decision making authority of the Imam derived from the private law of contract, albeit by way of an order of the Chancery Court, the proceedings before the Chancery Court being based on alleged breaches of the constitution by the defendants to that action, that is to say by the existing executive committee.’
Judges:
Balcombe, McCowan, Roch LJJ
Citations:
Times 15-May-1993, Independent 13-Sep-1993, [1993] EWCA Civ 36, [1994] COD 142
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, Ex parte Wachmann 1992
A local rabbi sought judicial review of the declaration of the Chief Rabbi, following an investigation into allegations of adultery with members of his congregation, that he was religiously and morally unfit to occupy his position.
Held: Simon . .
Appeal from – Regina v The Imam of Bury Park Mosque, Luton and others ex parte Suliman Ali ChD 30-Aug-1951
Application was made for judicial review of a decision as to the governance of a Mosque.
Held: The application was not justiciable, in that the role played by the Imam did not contain an element of public law so as to attract the supervisory . .
Cited – Lee v Showmens Guild of Great Britain CA 1952
Decisions of inferior tribunals, including arbitrators, were reviewable on the basis of general error of law on record for which certiorari might issue. A decision may be reviewable where there was no evidence supporting particular conclusions.
Cited – Regina v Take-over Panel, ex parte Datafin PLC CA 1986
Amenability to judicial review
The issue of amenability to judicial review often requires an examination of the nature of the power under challenge as well as its source: ‘In all the reports it is possible to find enumerations of factors giving rise to the jurisdiction [of . .
Upheld – Regina v the Imam of Bury Park Jame Masjid Luton and others ex parte Suliman Ali QBD 13-Sep-1991
The court was asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held: . .
Cited by:
Cited – Blake v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 31-Jul-2003
The claimant, a former Anglican priest, sued in defamation. The defendant argued that the claim was non-justiciable since it would require the court to adjudicate on matters of faith and religious doctrine.
Held: The claim could not be heard. . .
Cited – Khaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 17-Jul-2012
The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Ecclesiastical, Judicial Review
Updated: 27 October 2022; Ref: scu.428702