Mixed Couples and Islamic Family Law in Egypt: Legal Consciousness in Transnational Social Space

Authors

  • Friso Kulk Radboud University
  • Betty De Hart Radboud University

Keywords:

Legal Consciousness, Transnationalism, Family Law, mixed families. Conciencia Jurídica, espacio social transnacional, Derecho de Familia, familias interraciales.

Abstract

Studies on legal consciousness tend to focus on law at the local or national level. This raises the question how legal consciousness is shaped in a transnational context. This paper explores the concept of legal consciousness from the perspective of Dutch-Egyptian families and their everyday experiences with family law. Taking the work of Patricia Ewick and Susan Silbey on legal consciousness as a starting point, the main question that will be addressed is what the study of transnational migrants’ encounters with law can add to the theorising of legal consciousness. It will be argued that this can add to our understanding of legal consciousness in at least two ways. Firstly, transnational social space can offer a site for exploring the way personal experiences with law connect to larger patterns of meaning. Secondly, the shifts in societal and legal positions as a consequence of migration offer the opportunity to examine legal consciousness as a dynamic process.

Los estudios sobre la conciencia jurídica tienden a centrarse en la ley a nivel local o nacional. Esto plantea la cuestión de cómo la conciencia jurídica se forma en un contexto transnacional. En este trabajo se explora el concepto de la conciencia jurídica desde la perspectiva de familias holandesas-marroquíes y holandesas-egipcias y sus experiencias cotidianas con el derecho de familia. Tomando como punto de partida el trabajo de Patricia Ewick y Susan Silbey en materia de conciencia jurídica, la pregunta principal que se aborda es lo que puede aportar a la teorización de la conciencia jurídica el estudio de los enfrentamientos de los emigrantes transnacionales con la ley. Se argumenta que esto puede contribuir a nuestra comprensión de la conciencia jurídica en al menos dos formas. En primer lugar, el espacio social transnacional puede ofrecer un lugar para explorar el modo de experiencias personales con la ley conectadas con patrones más grandes de significado. Y en segundo lugar, los cambios en la posición social y jurídica como consecuencia de la emigración ofrecen la oportunidad de examinar la conciencia jurídica como un proceso dinámico.

DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2365888

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Author Biographies

Friso Kulk, Radboud University

In 2003 Friso Kulk graduated cum laude in Arabic at Amsterdam University (UvA). Subsequently he graduated in Administrative Law. Both his theses on the intonation of arabic and the language analysis in the asylum procedure were published. He has worked as legal council with the Dutch Refugee Council, interpreter and teacher of arabic. His disseratation research is about the relation between parents and their children in Egyptian-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch families from a family law perspective.

Betty De Hart, Radboud University

Betty de Hart is Professor of Migration law at the University of Amsterdam and Assoicate Profesor at the Radboud University Nijmegen. PO Box 9049 6500 Nijmegen, the Netherlands B.deHart@jur.ru.nl

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Published

29-01-2013

How to Cite

Kulk, F. and De Hart, B. (2013) “Mixed Couples and Islamic Family Law in Egypt: Legal Consciousness in Transnational Social Space”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 3(6), pp. 1057–1069. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/249 (Accessed: 5 November 2024).