Definitions and terms

The following words and terms are understood in this document as follows:

“Sharia Advisor” the advisor for the advice/judgement

“Session” the meeting for advice/judgement

“The Parties” the clients who are requesting advice/judgement

“Party” of the two (or more) clients

“Dispute” the issue/s presented for advice/judgement

The Advisor

1. The Islamic Council of Europe will forward a Sharia Advisor for The Parties to provide advice in the Dispute.

2. The Sharia Advisor will follow the document ‘A to Z of Advice’ document in carrying out the process of advisory/judgement.

3. Neither the Sharia Advisor nor any employee or partner of The Islamic Council of Europe shall act for any of the Parties in connection with the Dispute.

4. The Parties accept that neither the Sharia Advisor nor The Islamic Council of Europe is acting as agent for The Parties in connection with the Dispute and that neither the Sharia Advisor nor The Islamic Council of Europe will offer legal advice to The Parties and that no comments made by the Sharia Advisor during the advisory/judgement process should be construed as legal advice as understood within the United Kingdom legal system.

Advice & Judgement

5. All advice and judgement will be administered by the Sharia Advisor at the The Islamic Council of Europe office, with both The Parties on the agreed time and date. The session will start at the time agreed by The Parties and will continue for the maximum period on an hour unless terminated by any party or the Sharia Advisor.

6. Notes on the advice given by the Sharia Advisor will be kept on file for administration records only.

7. Any of the Parties may withdraw from the service at any time whereupon the advisory/judgement provided will terminate.

8. The Islamic Council of Europe will not take on cases that are currently being handled elsewhere. If after taking on a case that it becomes apparent that the matter is already being handled elsewhere, The Islamic Council of Europe have the right to close the case with immediate effect.

9. Complaints regarding cases are only discussed and handled via e-mail, not via telephone.

Confidentiality

10. The advisory/judgement shall be without prejudice and legally privileged. The Sharia Advisor, The Islamic Council of Europe and both The Parties will keep details of advice given strictly confidential unless agreed by all parties including, this includes:

a. the fact that the Session is to take place or has taken place;

b. any information or documents (whether supplied orally, in writing or otherwise) which is or are acquired by the Sharia Advisor or The Parties in the course of the Session (or as part of any disclosure or submission made under this Agreement prior to the Session);

c. the outcome of the Session including the terms of any settlement or the fact that the Session did or did not settle the Dispute.

11. The Sharia Advisor and The Islamic Council of Europe shall further keep strictly confidential and not disclose to any other party (unless authorised so to do) any information supplied by any of The Parties in any private session (being a session at which not all of The Parties are present) provided however that nothing in these terms and conditions shall prevent disclosure:

a. by The Parties to any court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction which is or becomes seized of the Dispute of the fact that the Session is to take place or has taken place;

b. by the Parties to any court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction (or Arbitrator) which is or becomes seized of the Dispute of any documents acquired by them in the course of the Session (or as part of any disclosure or submission made under these terms and conditions prior to the Session) which would in any event have been disclosable in such proceedings;

c. By The Parties in proceedings to enforce the terms of any settlement reached in the Session before any court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction to such court or tribunal of the terms of the settlement reached;

d. By any of The Parties or by the Sharia Advisor or The Islamic Council of Europe to the appropriate authority or person in so far as they may be required by law to make such disclosure;

e. By any of The Parties or by the Sharia Advisor or The Islamic Council of Europe to the appropriate authority or person in so far as they reasonably consider that they may be exposed to the risk of any criminal penalty if they do not make such disclosure;

f. By any of The Parties or by the Sharia Advisor or The Islamic Council of Europe to the appropriate authority or person in so far as they reasonably consider that there is a serious risk of harm to the life or safety of any person if the information in question is not disclosed;

g. By The Parties for the purposes of obtaining legal, professional or medical advice or insurance to any advisor, insurer or insurance broker who is themselves bound by an obligation of confidentiality.

12. The Parties will not call the Sharia Advisor or any employee or partner of The Islamic Council of Europe as witness, consultant, arbitrator or expert in any proceedings or litigation or other proceedings arising in connection with the Dispute or out of or in connection with advice given at the Session.

Fees and Expenses

13. The Session fees shall be in accordance with The Islamic Council of Europe’s published fee rates unless agreed otherwise and shall be payable by The Parties before any session is commenced.

14. Each of The Parties shall in the absence of agreement to the contrary bear their own costs and expenses of attending the session.

15. If the Session is cancelled before 3 weeks of your agreed session date, then no fee is incurred. There is a 30% charge of the session fee for any cancellations that occur between 1 and 3 weeks of your agreed session date. If the Session is cancelled within one week of the session date a fee of 50% is chargeable. Cancellations within 24 hours of the Session time are subject to 100% cancellation fee. This applies regardless of when the Session is booked.

16. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this agreement shall fetter the ability of any court or tribunal that is or becomes seized of the Dispute to make any order as to the costs of connected with the Session.

17. The Party bringing forward the case is responsible for payment of fees.

18. In the event of the Party wishing to withdraw their case, a partial refund will be issued based on the amount of work that has taken place on their respective case.

19. Refunds are issued back to the original payment method and can take up to 14 days to process.

20. In the event where a refund back to the original payment method is not possible (due to reasons outside of our control), alternative payment details (usually bank transfer) will be requested.

21. In the event of payment being made from The Islamic Council of Europe to a Party, payment can only be made to the Party directly.

22. If any additional or further work is required on a case, then a quote will be provided beforehand. Only once the additional fees are paid for in full, will the case work resume.

23. The Council reserve the right to charge any fee they deem to be suitable, based on the nature and complexity of the case.

Exclusion of Liability

24. The Parties acknowledge that in attempting to facilitate a settlement of the Dispute, the Sharia Advisor will use his or her personal experience, skill, judgment and intuition. The Parties further acknowledge that by reason of the Sharia Advisor’s obligation under clause 9 of these terms and conditions to keep confidential and not disclose to the other Party the information supplied by each of The Parties in any private session during the Session that none of The Parties will know the full circumstances in which the Sharia Advisor so exercises his or her skill, judgment and intuition and that the Sharia Advisor will be prevented by clause 9 from disclosing the same. Accordingly, neither the Sharia Advisor nor The Islamic Council of Europe shall be liable to The Parties for any act or omission in the services provided by the Sharia Advisor or The Islamic Council of Europe under these terms and conditions unless such act or omission was in bad faith.

Law and Jurisdiction

25. These terms and conditions shall be construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales and The Parties hereby submit to the non exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

CCTV

26. All appointments are subject to CCTV monitoring (video & audio) for health, safety and training purposes.

27. CCTV footage is retained for up to 2 years

Late Policy

28. If a Party is late for their appointment, their slot may be cancelled and no refunds will be issued.

User Agreement

29. The Party’s details may be used to inform them of our products and services. To opt out simply e-mail [email protected]

30. The Party’s details will not be shared with any other parties

Case closure

31. Party inactivity of 3 months will lead to the automatic closure of a case

Online Video Consultations

32. Online video consultations must be conducted using the platform indicated by The Islamic Council of Europe. Parties must use Zoom and will be e-mailed the link for their consultation beforehand.

33. Consultations may be recorded for training and quality purposes

34. Parties are requested to treat the video consultation as if it is a face-to-face consultation, by maintaining appropriate behaviour and Islamic dress code

35. Parties are requested to set a suitable environment for the video consultation – private space with no distractions

36. Parties are not permitted to record the consultation in any way whatsoever

37. If Parties do not adhere to the aforementioned guidelines, The Islamic Council of Europe has the right to cancel the consultation, with no refunds being issued