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 Shari’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 Shari’ah.
This
thesis concludes by making recommendations for drafting a comprehensive set of
rules based on the divine principles of Islamic law in the hope 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 advanced technology.
This is the abstract of PhD thesis submitted by the author to the Faculty of Shari’ah & Law, International Islamic University, Islamabad in 2015. The author is also lecturer in law, IIUI and can be reached at: m.akbar@iiu.edu.pk
This is the abstract of PhD thesis submitted by the author to the Faculty of Shari’ah & Law, International Islamic University, Islamabad in 2015. The author is also lecturer in law, IIUI and can be reached at: m.akbar@iiu.edu.pk
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