Diya between shari'a and customary law

The shari'a courts did not act in this case, according to Shaykh Tamimi, because the victims’ families did not file a claim. Diya claims are processed at the shari'a court only upon the filing of a claim by the victim or victim’s family; the shari'a court does not get involved in the process of appointing arbiters, but requires prior proof of guilt before issuing a ruling for an amount of diya.

The families of the victims of the Hebron factory fire, however, chose to implement principles of diya through customary law processes and did not file claim at the shari'a court. The Deputy Qadi al-Quda was consulted only about the amount of diya payable, his answer being, as noted above, that the full diya worth 4.5 kg gold was payable for each of the female victims. Given that the jaha subsequently decided that only half the full diya was payable, it is possible that had the victims had recourse to the shari'a court and a different process, they might have received a ruling for the full diya which would then theoretically be executable in the regular court system.