In 2018, participants chose the topic of “Challenging the Shari’ah Compliance of Islamic Finance Products”. As in previous years, the workshop is preceded by the submission of written commentaries on the topic. The specific issues addressed in the commentaries are initiated by an opening discussion paper. Commentaries provide an opportunity for participants to exchange thoughtful, conceptually well organised and clear ideas in advance of the workshop. Commentaries also enable participants to narrow down the range of relevant issues in relation to the topic so that the workshop deals only with the most advanced topics for discussion. A detailed programme of events is prepared from the commentaries. Participants are requested to have read in advance all of the circulated commentaries, as they form the basis of workshop discussion.
In previous years, the public lecture has brought together a practitioner and scholar to address a topic from their respective perspective. In 2018, the public lecture was given by Michael McMillen, Partner of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP and moderated by Mr Nicholas Foster, Senior Lecturer in Commercial Law, SOAS. The lecture, entitled ‘Retaining and Redefining Shari’ah Compliance in Islamic Finance’, addressed the complex and numerous considerations in relation to the standardisation of Islamic financial law. A public recording of the lecture is available for downloading on CIMEL’s website.
