EUROPEAN LAW AND SHARIA. THE GREEK CASE AND THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The imperial Ottoman millet system was adopted in Greece by the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th which accounts for the persistence of Islamic courts in the area of Thrace. These courts resolutions apply to issues related to marriage and family, and are recognised and enforced by current Greek courts. Muslim inhabitants of this Western Greece area are subjected to this rule which, in fact, is the only case of direct application of the Islamic Sharia in Europe. This paper studies this peculiar case, focusing on the consequences for women's and minor children's rights in the particular framework of the compatibility between this personal status and both the Greek Constitution and the international covenants signed by the country. This issue has been recently addressed and ruled by the European Court of Human Rights in the Molla Sali sentence of December 19th 2018. The legal reasoning of the Strasbourg Court has turned into a relevant instrument to judge the possible inclusion of Islamic Law within the rules and principles of the European law.