Sharia Tribunals, Rabbinical Courts, and Christian Panels

this is a balanced, well-argued and carefully researched work, based on practical experience, which could be recommended reading for those researching or practising in this sensitive area of law. * Brigitte Clark, Ecclesiastical Law Journal *
Professor Broyde's book provides an engaging and expansive analysis of both the theoretical and practical aspects of religious arbitration. Based on his own experience and extensive research, he impressively illuminates many of the procedural and substantive issues and challenges that confront religious tribunals today. This book is an excellent reference tool for anyone who seeks to learn and understand more about the dynamics and potential benefits of the religious arbitration process. * Rabbi Yona Reiss, Chief Rabbinical Judge (Av Beth Din), Chicago Rabbinical Council *
Impressive in both depth and scope, Professor Michael Broyde has written the definitive and indispensable guide to the rise of religious arbitration in the United States, a fair and nuanced account of its critics, and a compelling case for its preservation. Anyone interested in moving beyond polemics will find this book to be an indispensable resource. * Brett G. Scharffs, Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, and Francis R. Kirkham Professor of Law, Brigham Young University Law School *
Drawing upon his long experience as an arbitrator, Michael Broyde carefully describes how arbitration of commercial and family law matters occurs in Jewish, Islamic, and Christian tribunals. His astute analysis of the benefits and risks of religious arbitration leads him to develop sensible design principles, and demonstrates why, rather than threatening important secular values, religious tribunals can contribute to a healthy pluralism. * Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Harvard University Law School *
For the past quarter century, Michael Broyde has pioneered the development of religious arbitration as a vital form of dispute resolution among co-religionists averse to suing each other in secular courts. He has helped transform the Beth Din in New York into a sophisticated legal tribunal with enviable expertise in both Jewish and secular law. He has generously advised Muslim, Christian, and other religious communities on how to develop comparably sophisticated forms and forums of religious arbitration. And he has cogently defended the constitutional and cultural place of this and other religious forms of alternative dispute resolution in modern liberal societies dedicated to religious freedom. This book, distilling that experience, is both a learned apologia and an expert guide to religious arbitration. It has all the earmarks of a classic in the making. * John Witte, Jr., Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University *