Book of Judiciary and Testimonies

No one may undertake the office of judge unless fifteen qualities are fully present in him: 1) Islam; 2) legal adulthood; 3) sound intellect; 4) freedom; 5) maleness; 6) upright character; 7) knowledge of the rulings derived from the Quran and the Sunnah; 8) knowledge of the scholarly consensus; 9) familiarity with the areas of juristic disagreement; 10) acquaintance with the methods of independent reasoning (ijtihād); 11) a working command of the Arabic language; 12) familiarity with the exegesis of the Book of Allah; 13) the ability to hear; 14) the ability to see; 15) the ability to write and to remain alert.

It is recommended that he sit in the center of the town, in a place clearly visible to the people, with no doorkeeper barring access. He should not hold court in the mosque. He must treat the two litigants equally in three matters: their seating, the words he addresses to them, and the looks he directs toward them. He may not accept gifts from those whose cases he adjudicates.

The judge should avoid rendering judgment in ten situations: when angry, hungry, or thirsty; when strongly aroused by desire; in excessive grief or excessive joy; when ill; while suppressing the urge to relieve himself; when drowsy; or in extreme heat or cold.

He is not to question the defendant until the plaintiff’s claim has been fully stated, nor to administer an oath to him until he has first questioned the plaintiff. He must not coach either party in presenting his argument or prompt him with words. He should not impose undue hardship on the witnesses and may accept testimony only from those whose integrity has been established. He may not accept the testimony of an enemy against his adversary, nor the testimony of a father for his son or a son for his father. Likewise, he is not to accept a judge’s written document