Impact of Islamic Law on Commercial Sale Contracts – A Private International Law Dimension in Europe

Abstract

The steady rise in Islamic finance has necessarily entailed a corresponding rise in transnational commerce which is guided by Islamic law and practice. There is much research literature on the content and scope of Islamic law with respect to transnational commerce. The object of this article however is not to engage with the scholarly debate as to what Islamic law says about how transnational commerce is carried on but to question how European transnational sales law copes with the direct and indirect effect of Islamic law. The research question is essentially one that relates to how an established European or Western private international law regime should accommodate both legally and practically the intervention of Islamic law. It will also examine the implications for the CISG and its application in European countries where there is an Islamic element in the sale relationship.

Keywords: Islamic commercial law, transnational commercial law, private international law, Vienna Convention on Sales

JEL Classification: K12