In the U.S. you can settle out of court before it ever goes to court. The point is to avoid the courtroom and the costs involved and a huge settlement awarded by a jury or that it might not go your way.


>>>>This is the sort of thing that the rabble rousing right wing press seizes on without reading the detail. Whats actually being talked about is putting the sharia court on the same footing for the Muslim community as the Beth Din for the Jewish community. Uk law would still take precedence.
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>>>>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7233040.stm
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>>>IMO both are wrong - no other court should have any formal standing but the country's own legal system. The parties may chose to settle out of court, but only after being in the court first.
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>>>But then, it's just another patch on the multicolored mix of legal systems and all kinds of courts that's already in place.
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>>I don't think all case need to end up in court. Its nice for the lawyers but the Beth Din, Sharia Courts and other conciliation services can be a good thing. Why end up at those services after paying a fortune in legal costs.
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>Only after the regular court (the one that is same for all) is convinced that both parties are freely choosing to settle out of court. Which can be just one hearing - but the civil legal system should take precedence. Once out of court, the parties can take off their law suits and don whichever unlawful suits they like ;).