IFSB takes a look at legal angles in Islamic finance

| Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Fourth IFSB seminar on legal issues in the Islamic financial services industry to be held in Malaysia.


The specificities of Shari`ah-compliant financial services offered by banking and financial institutions need to be supported by a strong legal framework, according to the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB).

It says that legal firms rendering services to institutions Islamic financial services (IIFS) need to understand the specificities of these institutions and the parameters in which they operate as well as establish a legal framework within these parameters.

The IFSB is orgranising it’s fourth seminar on Legal Issues in the Islamic Financial Services Industry on 28-29 September 2009.

The IFSB said the seminar aims to achieve the following objectives:

  • To collect and record data on the various legal environments in which IIFS operate, and draw from the experiences of different jurisdictions in order to better understand and analyse the effectiveness of appropriate legal and regulatory framework for Islamic finance;
  • To review the legal requirements in specific areas which are developing but critical in driving the industry forward. In particular, to focus on areas such as Shari`ah Board's functions, liquidity management and dispute resolutions; and
  • To discuss in depth the interface between the Shari`ah and modern legal frameworks, as such interaction is fundamental to every single Shari`ah-compliant finance contract used by IIFS. This requires that the knowledge and understanding of Shari`ah scholars and legal practitioners of these issues are both hands-on and up-to-date at all times.

The Seminar will attempt to contribute to the Shari`ah and legal aspects of the Islamic financial services industry by discussing the following topics:

  • Recent experiences in introducing legal and regulatory framework for Islamic financial services;
  • Shari`ah and legal issues in Islamic structured products;
  • Insolvency and asset recovery framework: gaps and challenges;
  • Interlink/interface between civil law systems and Shari`ah rules and principles and effective dispute resolution mechanism; and
  • Challenges in managing legal risks in Islamic financial services: case studies.

The keynote address of the seminar will be delivered by Sir William Blair, High Court Judge of the Queen's Bench Division while the opening address will be by Professor Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, Secretary-General of the IFSB. Joining them are 17 chairpersons and speakers from among the leading industry experts. The confirmed personalities are:

1. Y.Bhg. Tun Abdul Hamid Haji Mohamad, Member, National Shariah Advisory Council, Bank Negara Malaysia and former Chief Justice of the Federal Court, Malaysia

2. Gopala Krishnan Sundaram, Assistant-Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia

3. Thomas C. Baxter, General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

4. Dato’ Dr Nik Ramlah Nik Mahmood, Managing Director, Securities Commission, Malaysia

5. Dr. Mohamed Akram Laldin, Executive Director, International Shariah Research Academy

6. Stefan Gannon, General Counsel, Hong Kong Monetary Authority

7. Ashraf Mohammed, Principal Counsel, Asian Development Bank

8. Roberta Calarese, Legislative Counsel and Director in Policy and Legal Services Division, Dubai Financial Services Authority, UAE

9. Mansoor Shakil, Director - Asset Management Group, Al Rayan Investment L.L.C., Qatar

10. Dr. Mahmood Ahmad Ghazi, Professor of Shariah, Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, Qatar

11. Muddassir Siddiqui, Partner, Head Islamic Finance – Middle East, Denton Wilde Sapte, UAE

12. Hanim Hamzah, Resident Partner, Roosdiono & Partners, Indonesia

13. Michael J.T. McMillen, Partner, Fullbright & Jaworski LLP, New York, USA

14. Yeo Wico, Partner, Allen & Gledhill, Singapore

15. Hamid Yunis, Partner, Taylor Wessing, UK

16. Dr. Charles Proctor, Partner, Bird & Bird, UK

17. Me Nada Abdelsater-Abusamra, Partner, Raphael & Associes Law Firm, Lebanon


Link: http://www.cpifinancial.net/v2/News.aspx?v=1&aid=3081&sec=Islamic%20Finance


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