It has become obvious both to lawyers and non-lawyers that our present legal system is grossly inadequate, full of injustice and fails to meet basic principles accepted as essential to any total system of law. These failures exist both in the content of the laws and in their application. There is little or no account taken of social, moral, religious or human elements, but rather the black letter of the law is applied.

The fundamental principle that all men are equal in the eyes of the law is now subject to the proviso of the individual's status, income or ethnicity.

Reports from the law commission have stated that, in relation to criminal offences, where the accused is from an ethnic minority group, convictions are greater and sentences are longer. Moreover, the Lord Chancellor's office in its run up to the publication Of the green paper on the reform of the legal system and the legal profession noted that accessibility to redress via the present legal system depended to a great extent on the individual's financial ability to meet the cost of such, rather than on justice, fairness, and truth or falsity of the claim.

Indeed the Lord Chancellor, Lord McKay, in his green paper previously referred to set out to fundamentally redress the imbalances and injustices that exist. In particular, he proposed to make the legal profession more accountable by setting up an independent ombudsman with far reaching powers and he proposed to remove the present distinction between solicitors and barristers which, it is argued, would then reduce cost and time. However, both of these amendments, which were much needed, attracted pressure from senior judges and other lawyers and resulted in an amendment when the white paper was issued.

We maintain that these amendments and others like them are crucial to a more just legal system, and would make the following proposals and observations:

1. We propose that the law has to be just, that is, there should be a basic body of laws and principles based on justice and which are immutable. The present system enables laws to be made and maintained to further the interests of the few.

2. We propose that the laws must be clear and unambiguous. Thus the laws as far as possible will be written as opposed to the present system which consists partly of written laws, i.e. acts of parliament, and the remainder being case law, i.e. judgments given in particular cases.

3. Redress via the law must be applied uniformly and justly on the basis that "all men are equal before the law". At present we see banks, large companies and wealthy individuals being able to manipulate the law for their own benefit. We propose that there should be an independent body with far reaching powers to ensure that equality before the law is achieved and maintained.

4. We propose that those charged with the administration of justice, in particular judges, must be made accountable and subject to the self-same laws. More importantly, procedures to remove judges who are deemed unsuitable or incapable of administering justice in a fair, just or impartial way, must be put in place.

5. We propose that those who suffer injustice by the hand of the law should have an independent right of redress and compensation.

It may be argued that these proposals are all generally accepted ideals which are already embodied in the present system, but yet there are still inadequacies. The answer is fundamental. It is one of basic ideology. In the secular system the law is seen as a tool to be used by a few to obtain material objectives, i.e. wealth, power etc., regardless of moral considerations Moreover, objectives and limitations are set by man.

The alternative removes the right of man to set basic objectives and the right to use these to direct and control his fellow man. it removes arbitrary justice which depends on the mood of the individual and liberates man from his servitude to other men. Justice becomes a command to be adhered to and those things that are shameful, unjust or against the basic principles are avoided. The harshness of law cannot be manipulated and used without all the proper safety procedures, based on justice and morality being exhausted.

We maintain that an Islamic system embodies the basic fundamental morals, principles and laws to achieve a better, more organised and understanding society for all mankind.