Islamic marriages are not legally binding, Court of Appeal judges have ruled, after overturning a landmark judgement which lawyers warn will leave thousands of Muslim women in “legal limbo”.
In August 2018 the High Court ruled that an estranged couple's Islamic marriage, conducted in a ceremony called a Nikah, falls under British matrimonial law - despite it not being legally recognised as such. This marked the first time that Sharia law was recognised by a British court.
However in November 2019, the Attorney General's office brought an appeal against this ruling that the marriage between Nasreen Akhter and Mohammed Shabaz Khan - who were married under Sharia Law but not UK law - was void. DT.
