Consumer Protection in the Context of Product Liability: A Comparison of Islamic and English Laws

Posted: 31 May 2015

Date Written: May 28, 2015

Abstract

This study begins with a brief look at the evolution of consumer protection as a law in modern legal systems, particularly English and Islamic laws. The entire debate is based on the presumption that the protection of consumers has become significant due to the advancement of science and technology. The study focuses on the product liability that deals with the issues of damages and harms caused by a defective product in a sense that in contemporary times many products are production mysteries and that they have caused accidents. The thesis presents a discourse of various product liability regimes in the United Kingdom such as contract and tort with analysis in the light of Islamic Shar┘’ah. The study explores the theoretical foundation of consumer protection in general and product liability in particular in both English and Islamic laws. In this regard, the European Union Directive on product liability (1985) is widely referred which became part of the English law through enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1987. It is appreciated that today the English law to a large extent is capable of solving the disputes of product liability and a valuable amount of case law has been developed in this regard. The regime, however, has various deficiencies, which have been pointed out in this thesis.

Similarly, the thesis explores the protection of consumers in the context of product liability from the perspective of Islamic law. It also explores the juridical basis for the adequate protection of consumers in general and product liability in particular. The classical Islamic law has been evaluated to analyze the concept of consumer protection from an Islamic perspective. The thesis also analyzes the reasons of Muslim community for lagging behind in scientific and technological advancement and that it could not enact laws to cope with modern legal challenges. It stresses on the dire need to reconsider the Islamic law on product liability in the context of modern scientific and technological developments. It urges the Muslim jurists to learn from the experiences of modern product liability regimes in order to make the Islamic law on the subject up-to-date, adequate and effective. Similarly, the thesis recommends the English legal fraternity to learn from the Islamic law for removing gaps and deficiencies in their legal system. The research is a comparative analysis of the subject of consumer protection in the context of product liability in a sense that the key notions of modern product liability have been thoroughly examined in both English law and Islamic Shar┘’ah.

This thesis concludes by making recommendations for drafting a comprehensive set of rules based on the divine principles of Islamic law in the hopes that such a code will effectively contribute in the development and preservation of consumer rights against defective and dangerous products in Muslim countries in contemporary age of advance technology.

Keywords: This is a PhD dissertation submitted by the author to IIU, Islamabad.

Suggested Citation

Khan, Muhammad Akbar, Consumer Protection in the Context of Product Liability: A Comparison of Islamic and English Laws (May 28, 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2611615

Muhammad Akbar Khan (Contact Author)

International Islamic University ( email )

Islamabad
Pakistan

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
732
PlumX Metrics