Jordan's Church Courts: Can They Rule On Inheritance?

In Jordan, the constitution allows for the creation of religious courts that can rule on issues of family law, such as marriage, divorce, and alimony. However, there is debate over whether ecclesiastical courts can rule on inheritance matters. While some argue that inheritance is a personal status issue that religious courts can adjudicate, others maintain that Islamic Sharia law, which dictates that males receive twice the share of inheritance as females, must be applied by all courts in Jordan.

Ecclesiastical courts and inheritance law

Ecclesiastical courts in Jordan have been allowed to rule on all family issues in the name of King Abdullah II, except on inheritance. However, there is a debate on whether ecclesiastical courts can apply inheritance law.

Article 1086 of Jordan's Civil Code states that all Jordanians, regardless of their religion, must abide by Islamic sharia law when it comes to the distribution of an estate. Under sharia law, males are entitled to twice the share of inheritance that females receive. If all heirs are female, a portion of the estate is given to a male relative.

Article 109 of the Jordanian constitution provides the power to religious courts to deal with all personal status issues. Some argue that this means ecclesiastical courts can rule on issues of inheritance without worrying about Article 1086. However, others believe that the new regulation on equal inheritance for Christian women needs to be codified into national law and passed in parliament.

The small evangelical communities in Jordan and Palestine do not have their own ecclesiastical courts, so they usually resort to the Anglican court for personal status issues. Syrian and Lebanese Christians do not have gender inequality in inheritance, while in Palestine, Lutheran and Anglican ecclesiastical courts distribute inheritance equally.

The Jordanian constitution and inheritance law

Jordan’s constitution, which doesn’t discriminate based on religion (Article 6), allows for the creation of religious courts that can adjudicate issues of family law such as marriage, divorce, and alimony (Article 109). However, under Jordanian law, Shari’a law must be applied by all the courts with regard to inheritance. Article 1086 of the kingdom’s Civil Code holds that all Jordanians—irrespective of their religion—must abide by Islamic sharia when it comes to the distribution of an estate.

Sharia law gives males twice the share of inheritance that females get; if the heirs are all female, a portion of the estate is given to a male uncle or a male cousin. Some argue that this needs to be codified into national law and passed in parliament, while others believe that ecclesiastical courts have the right to apply the new regulation with a minimum of change. One suggestion is to add to the article about sharia law an exception for Christians, in accordance with the 2014 law regulating Christian communities’ personal status issues.

Yacoub al Far, a member of the legal committee drafting the agreement, told *Christianity Today* that article 109 of the Jordanian constitution provides the power to the religious courts to deal with all personal status issues. He added:

> While there is article 1086 that says all Jordanians must abide by the Islamic Sharia law, the constitution is a higher set of laws and therefore the ecclesiastical courts can simply rule on issues of inheritance without worrying about the lower court article.

Egyptian Christians—the region’s largest Christian community by far—hope that Jordanian Christians will prevail in passing the new law in a relatively conservative country whose king is a direct descendant of the prophet Mohammed. Syrian and Lebanese Christians do not have this problem of gender inequality in inheritance; in Palestine, the Lutheran and Anglican ecclesiastical courts distribute inheritance equally while Orthodox and Catholic courts have not made the change away from the Jordanian prevailing law that existed before the 1967 Israeli occupation. The small evangelical communities in Jordan and Palestine don’t have ecclesiastical courts of their own, so they normally resort to the Anglican court for personal status issues.

Islamic sharia law and inheritance law

Jordan's constitution allows for the creation of religious courts that can rule on issues of family law, such as marriage, divorce and alimony. Ecclesiastical courts have the right to rule on issues of inheritance, but under Jordanian law, Sharia law must be applied by all courts with regard to inheritance. This means that all Jordanians, irrespective of their religion, must abide by Islamic Sharia law when it comes to the distribution of an estate.

Islamic inheritance law, or al-fara'id, is fundamental to Islamic society and should be fundamental to how a Muslim does their estate planning. Islamic inheritance rules are mandatory on all Muslims in the Sharia and are widely used throughout much of the Muslim-majority world and in countries with large historic Muslim minorities. Islamic inheritance law originates from three specific ayahs, or verses, in the Quran. These three specific inheritance laws in the Quran establish the fractional shares that form the crux of the inheritance laws. The specific passages for Sharia distribution of wealth are in Surah Nisa'a (Surah No. 4), verses 11-12 and 176.

Sharia law gives males twice the share of inheritance that females get. If the heirs are all female, a portion of the estate is given to a male uncle or a male cousin. Parents also receive an inheritance, usually one-sixth of the wealth, provided they are alive. Spouses also receive an inheritance, but it is not as much as they would receive in Western culture.

Jordanian Christians and inheritance law

Jordan's constitution allows for the creation of religious courts that can rule on issues of family law, such as marriage, divorce and alimony. However, when it comes to inheritance, Article 1086 of the kingdom's Civil Code states that all Jordanians, regardless of their religion, must abide by Islamic sharia law. This means that males are given twice the share of inheritance that females receive.

In May 2023, Jordan's churches approved a law on equal inheritance for Christian women. Some argue that this should be codified into national law and passed in parliament, while others believe that ecclesiastical courts have the right to apply the new regulation without any changes to the national law. One suggestion is to add an exception for Christians to Article 1086, in accordance with the 2014 law regulating Christian communities' personal status issues.

Yacoub al Far, a member of the legal committee drafting the agreement, has stated that Article 109 of the Jordanian constitution gives religious courts the power to deal with all personal status issues, including inheritance. He argues that the constitution is a higher set of laws, and therefore ecclesiastical courts can rule on issues of inheritance without worrying about Article 1086.

The small evangelical communities in Jordan do not have their own ecclesiastical courts, so they usually resort to the Anglican court for personal status issues, including inheritance.

Jordanian civil courts and inheritance law

Jordan's constitution allows for the creation of religious courts that can rule on issues of family law, such as marriage, divorce, and alimony. However, under Jordanian law, Sharia law must be applied by all the courts with regard to inheritance. This means that all Jordanians, irrespective of their religion, must abide by Islamic Sharia law when it comes to the distribution of an estate.

Sharia law gives males twice the share of inheritance that females get. If the heirs are all female, a portion of the estate is given to a male relative, such as an uncle or cousin. This has led to a push for equal inheritance rights for Christian women in Jordan. While some argue that this needs to be codified into national law and passed in parliament, others believe that ecclesiastical courts have the right to apply the new regulation with a minimum of change.

One suggestion is to add an exception for Christians to the article about Sharia law in the Jordanian constitution, in accordance with the 2014 law regulating Christian communities' personal status issues. A member of the legal committee drafting the agreement, Yacoub al Far, has stated that the constitution provides the power to religious courts to deal with all personal status issues, including inheritance.

The small evangelical communities in Jordan do not have their own ecclesiastical courts, so they usually resort to the Anglican court for personal status issues, including inheritance.

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