Thesis:

Title : The Effect of Judges' Social Background on Judicial Decisions in the Five Schools of Thought

This study examines the impact of judges’ social background on judicial rulings within the framework of Islamic jurisprudence, with particular emphasis on the five major schools of law. In the judicial process, a judge is not only bound by religious evidence, jurisprudential rules, and principles of justice, but is also shaped by a specific social and cultural context. Such a background may directly or indirectly influence the manner in which the judge understands the subject matter, evaluates evidence, identifies customary norms, assesses the credibility of witnesses, and ultimately issues a ruling. The main question of this research is the extent to which the social background of judges affects judicial decision-making from the perspective of the five Islamic schools of law, and what the legitimate and illegitimate boundaries of such influence are. Using a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative approach, this study investigates the jurisprudential foundations concerning the qualifications of judges, the principles of justice, impartiality, judicial independence, and the ethics of adjudication in Imamiyya, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali jurisprudence. The findings indicate that although the classical jurisprudential texts do not explicitly employ the term “social background,” they implicitly address the role of individual and social factors in judicial decisions through discussions of judicial integrity, prohibition of bias, equality of litigants, prohibition of adjudication in suspicious circumstances, and the moral and intellectual qualifications of judges. The study concludes that a judge’s social awareness may be beneficial insofar as it contributes to a better understanding of facts and customs; however, any influence leading to discrimination, partiality, or deviation from Islamic legal standards is incompatible with judicial justice.

Keywords: Judges’ Social Background, Judicial Rulings, Five Schools of Islamic Law, Comparative Jurisprudence,