Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I understand my officials have circulated an information note on Islamic finance to members of the Select Committee on Finance and the Public Service.

On the question of a dispute resolution mechanism, the legislation was framed to encompass various transactions but it must be understood that when it is enacted it will apply to any transaction coming within its terms, irrespective of whether it has been entered into by a member of the Muslim community or the transaction is in fact Sharia compliant. The question of a separate dispute resolution mechanism does not arise in this context. Disputes about the tax treatment to be applied to a particular transaction are governed by the taxing legislation and if one of the parties to a specified transaction considers that the wrong tax treatment has been applied, that party can appeal to the appeal commissioners, from there to the High Court and exhaust the usual statutory remedies that apply. No separate appeals mechanism is required here.

If a question arose about Sharia finance in the course of such a case, it would not be an issue of law but an issue of fact because foreign law is a matter of fact to be proved in any case. It is not a question of Irish law. It would be determined as an issue of fact in so far as there is a dispute of fact, and the law that would apply would be our taxing statute.

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