Master’s Thesis at the University of Kerbala Discusses Contemporary Judicial Interpretation in Personal Status Matters

A master’s thesis at the College of Law, University of Kerbala, explored “Contemporary Judicial Interpretation in Personal Status Matters – A Comparative Study,” presented by the student Qasim Hayawi Salman.

The study aimed to understand the concept of contemporary judicial interpretation in personal status matters and to examine the most recent interpretations issued in this field.

The thesis concluded that contemporary judicial interpretation finds its legal foundation in the provisions referring to Islamic jurisprudence. It also revealed that personal status judges do not engage in independent jurisprudence (ijtihad); instead, their role is limited—when legal texts are absent, incomplete, or ambiguous—to applying the provisions of Islamic law found in the Quran, the Sunnah, or the rulings and interpretations of prominent Islamic scholars.