Article

Access to Justice and Human Rights: A Comparative Study of Islamic Jurisprudence and Secular Legal Systems

ABSTRACT

This study examines the conceptual frameworks of access to justice within Islamic and Western legal traditions. It provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of access to justice discourse in both systems, aiming to develop a robust analytical framework for conceptualizing access to justice from an Islamic Law perspective. The central objective is to delineate the correlation between Islamic notions of access to justice and their Western counterparts, highlighting the distinctive features of the Islamic approach and areas of commonality with Western legal traditions. This study explores the complex relationship between access to justice and human rights from the perspective of Islamic jurisprudence. Also, it contends that although Islam is not the only factor in achieving human rights in Muslim states, it is a crucial element that can be effectively utilized to enhance the poor human rights conditions in these countries. The comparative approach is employed for two primary reasons. First, this study focuses on Muslim-majority countries where understanding Islamic legal traditions is essential to comprehend the social and cultural context within which access to justice operates. Second, from a broader comparative perspective, exploring access to justice through diverse cultural traditions and religious legal systems, including Islam, enriches our understanding of this fundamental right. This exploration allows for a more nuanced appreciation of the myriad approaches to ensuring justice for all. 

Keywords

access to justice Muslim justice human rights Western concepts comparative justice