Back to the future: justiciability, religion, and the figment of "judicial no-man's land"

In Shergill v. Khaira, the UK Supreme Court determined that religious disputes are "justiciable" before the secular courts, and rejected Mummery LJ's decision that religion was "a judicial no man's land". The case concerned the power of a Sikh Holy Saint to dismiss trus...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public law 2016-04, Vol.2, p.198-206
Main Author: Juss, Satvinder S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Appointments & personnel changes
Charitable trusts
Religious organizations
Sikhs
Supreme Court decisions
Trustees
U.K
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In Shergill v. Khaira, the UK Supreme Court determined that religious disputes are "justiciable" before the secular courts, and rejected Mummery LJ's decision that religion was "a judicial no man's land". The case concerned the power of a Sikh Holy Saint to dismiss trustees who questioned his "succession" to the religious institution of the Nirmal Kutia Johal, which arose in India in the 1920s. The Supreme Court has gone further than any previous case law in 2 respects. First, the fundamental tenets of a belief system, even where they relate to internal doctrine, are capable of an objective assessment by a secular court provided that there is public law element to a dispute, in which case the court can then decide on the fitness of the successor for office. Secondly, the effect of this is to enable a judicial consideration of disputes arising within non-Christian faiths.
ISSN:0033-3565