This Code of Conduct is designed to ensure that services are delivered with fairness, transparency, accountability, and compassion.
Councils and Services adopting this code commit to high standards of service provision, gender equality, and legal and religious integrity.
Parts of the code can be implemented immediately, while other parts will be aspirational and things the Councils can work towards.
NOTE – we use the term ‘Shariah Council’ in this Code of Conduct as this is the most prevalent descriptor of Councils which provide this form of service. However, not all bodies will describe themselves as Shariah Councils. If you provide a divorce and family dispute resolution service in Muslim communities, this guide is suitable for you.
1. Transparency in Governance and Decision-Making
The Council must publish clear information about:
- Who is on the panel or decision-making committee, including full names and photographs.
- Where the Council is based – providing a full postal address, not a PO Box number of other similar address. This supports transparency and builds trust.
- Relevant qualifications and experience of all panel members, including Islamic scholarship credentials, legal expertise, or pastoral training (if applicable).
- Decision making process – whether decisions are made collectively or by individuals, and how disputes or differences of opinion are resolved internally.
- Decisions must be clearly reasoned and provided in writing, citing the relevant Islamic jurisprudential schools or legal reasoning used. These need not be detailed so they do not become overly burdensome, but they should ensure the decision is understood by the service user.
2. Costs and Fee Reductions
All fees must be clearly published on the Council’s website and in printed materials.
Councils must offer:
- Reduced fees or full waivers for users on low incomes or in vulnerable circumstances.
- A clear policy on how such fee reductions are assessed.
- Expedited services should not be offered where users are asked to pay higher fees, and all applicants should be treated in the same way to prevent discrimination based on financial position.
- No fees should be required for initiating complaints or appeals.
3. Timeframes and Refunds
Councils must publish:
- Expected timelines for processing applications (e.g. 3-4 months from submission to outcome).
- Maximum processing time (e.g. no longer than 6 months).
- If the Council fails to meet these timelines without valid reasons, users are entitled to a partial or full refund.
Users must be regularly updated about any delays, with written explanations.
4. Complaints and Appeals Process
A formal complaints mechanism must be established and clearly published.
Users can raise issues about delays, unfair treatment, gender bias, conduct of panel members, or lack of communication.
Councils should:
- Appoint a designated complaints officer.
- Respond to complaints within 14 working days.
- Allow users to appeal outcomes to an independent reviewer or external advisory panel (including women and professionals trained in family law and safeguarding).
5. Structured Framework and Step-by-Step Process
A clear and consistent case management framework must be followed:
- Initial Application – Form and documents submission.
- Eligibility Assessment – Ensuring the issues can be resolved by the Council – this is usually limited to a religious divorce.
- This should not include any issue to do with child custody which are the remit of the family courts.
- If domestic abuse is relevant and needs to be considered, ascertain whether the victim needs any protections during the divorce process, such as keeping their address confidential.
- Do not attempt to mediate domestic abuse issues as this it is the remit of criminal law.
- Do not ask for evidence or proof of domestic abuse.
- Notification of Spouse – Where required by Islamic law.
- Opportunity for Reconciliation – Entirely user-led, and not mandatory. If one party does not seek reconciliation, this should not be pursued even if the other does.
- Hearing (if required) – With both parties, ensuring fair representation, special measures if required to protect either party where there is domestic abuse, offered both online or in-person.
- Where there is domestic abuse, offer remote meetings even if there is not a non-molestation order in place.
- Decision Issued in Writing – With explanation, date and names of panellists.
- Certificate of Islamic Divorce – Issued promptly and recorded.
- Post-Divorce Support – Referral for counselling, legal advice or domestic abuse support.
6. Gender Equality in Panels
Councils must aspire to 50% female representation on decision-making panels and set publicly declared targets to reach this within a specified timeframe (e.g. within 2 years).
Interim measures may include:
- Observer roles for female scholars and professionals.
- Use of external female experts to advise panels.
- Gender balance must be maintained in hearings wherever possible.
7. Visibility and Representation of Women
Women must be visible and present in all aspects of the Council:
- Front-facing staff.
- Advisors and case workers.
- Panel members and management.
Councils must ensure that female users can request to speak with a woman at any stage in the process.
Public events, media appearances, and educational programmes must feature female representatives to encourage trust and accessibility.
8. Training for Panel Members and Staff
Panel members hold significant responsibility and must be equipped with up-to-date knowledge and skills that are essential for safeguarding and supporting users – especially women, who make up the vast majority of applicants. This includes understanding legal obligations, safeguarding protocols, and emotional wellbeing practices.
Core Training Areas
A. Domestic Abuse Awareness and Response
Each Council should consider providing panel members with access to comprehensive training on domestic abuse, including:
- Types of abuse: Physical, emotional, financial, psychological, sexual and coercive control.
- Identifying warning signs and recognising when someone is at risk.
- Understanding coercive control and its impact on decision-making.
- Safety planning and signposting users to appropriate local and national services (e.g. refuges, helplines).
- Appropriate handling of disclosures, including how to respond without minimising or dismissing the concern.
- Intersectionality and cultural sensitivity, ensuring abuse is not dismissed as a “private” or “cultural” issue, and not expecting service users to adhere to any cultural framings they disagree with.
B. Safeguarding Training
Panel members must be trained to recognise and respond to safeguarding risks, particularly regarding:
- Women at risk of harm, including forced marriage, honour-based violence, or isolation.
- Children involved in or affected by proceedings, and recognising signs of abuse or neglect.
- Vulnerable adults, especially those with disabilities or lacking capacity.
Councils need to take special precautions to keep the victim’s addresses confidential if there is domestic abuse and in safe accommodation.
Training Levels:
Resource limitations are likely to impact on access to training. However, Councils should aspire to the following:
- At a minimum, all panel members should have Level 2 Safeguarding training.
- At least one designated safeguarding lead must be trained to Level 3 or equivalent.
C. Understanding the state Family Law System
While your Councils are non-statutory and operate in the informal space, an understanding of state family law is essential to avoid misleading users and to act responsibly.
Training should include:
- Legal recognition of marriage and divorce in England and Wales.
- No-fault divorce, financial remedies, and child arrangements in family law.
- Rights of cohabiting vs married couples.
- Legal aid and court referral pathways.
- Responsibilities in signposting users to legal advice.
Suggested Training Opportunities:
Resolution (national body for family justice professionals) – Offers CPD courses tailored to non-lawyers.
D. Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law
To ensure compliance with the Equality Act 2010, all members must understand:
- Protected characteristics (particularly gender, religion, marital status, disability).
- Legal obligations of service providers under the Act.
- Avoiding direct or indirect discrimination in processes and interactions.
- Gender parity, including ensuring equal treatment in fees, hearings, and panel composition.
E. Trauma-Informed Counselling Practice
Panel members must apply trauma-informed principles in their approach:
- Understanding trauma’s impact on behaviour, memory, and communication.
- Creating a safe, respectful, and empowering environment.
- Avoiding re-traumatisation by using sensitive language and avoiding intrusive questioning.
- Recognising triggers and flashbacks and knowing how to pause or adjust processes.
- Basic mental health literacy, including recognising when to refer someone for support.
Training Providers:
Approachable Parenting – provide faith based training.
Anna Freud Centre – Specialist training in trauma-informed approaches.
NHS England’s Trauma-Informed Framework – Can be used to shape internal practices.
Mind or Rethink Mental Illness – Basic mental health awareness sessions with trauma components.
Resolution (national body for family justice professionals) – Offers CPD courses tailored to non-lawyers.
Minimum Training Requirements
Councils should work towards making it mandatory for all panel members to complete initial training in each of the above five areas before hearing cases.
Refresher training must take place every two years.
Councils should maintain a Training Log, reviewed annually.
All training providers must be recognised, accredited, or demonstrably expert in their area.
Optional but Recommended Training
- Mediation and conflict resolution – Especially where reconciliation is part of the process.
- Faith-sensitive safeguarding – Bridging religious values and protective practices.
9. Range of Divorce Services Offered
Councils must recognise and provide Islamic divorce services for:
- Talaq – Husband’s unilateral right, which must be properly recorded and certified.
- Khul‘ – Mutual agreement with the wife returning the mahr or agreed compensation.
- Faskh – Judicial annulment granted by the panel on grounds such as harm, abandonment, or abuse.
Key principle: The Council must facilitate the fastest and most straightforward route to divorce, especially where reconciliation has failed or the parties have entered a civil divorce process.
Research shows that most applicants are emotionally and practically ready for separation when they approach a Council.
10. Financial Responsibilities and Islamic Maintenance
Where there is no legal marriage and hence no legal financial remedy, Councils must still:
Remind men of their moral and religious duty to provide:
- Post-divorce maintenance (mut‘ah).
- Any agreed deferred mahr.
- Support for children, in accordance with Islamic and state laws.
Encourage written agreements and voluntary compliance, potentially working with mediation services or local imams to enforce obligations.
Accountability and Review
Organisations adopting this Code commit to annual self-audits of:
- Panel composition.
- Case processing times.
- Training completed.
- Complaints resolved.
A summary of findings must be publicly available, and the Council must update its practices accordingly.
Endorsement and Affiliation
Councils following this Code will be eligible to join a proposed Muslim Family Law Hub Charter (in development), with benefits including:
- Peer support.
- Training resources.
- Public trust through visible accountability.
