Dominik Krell

Dominik Krell is a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. His work bridges legal scholarship, anthropology, and Middle Eastern studies with a focus on contemporary Islamic law.

Education:

• German State Examination in Law
• B.A. in History and Culture of the Middle East, Freie Universität Berlin
• M.Sc. in Social Anthropology, University of Oxford
• Ph.D. from Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law/University of Hamburg (2021)

Krell's research centers on Islamic jurisprudence's evolution in modern nation-states, particularly Saudi Arabia's judicial reinterpretation of Sharia. His interdisciplinary approach combines legal anthropology with textual analysis of court decisions and scholarly works, examining how Islamic jurists drive legal reforms in family law, codification, and state-society relations. He investigates tensions between traditional legal theory and contemporary governance needs across Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine.

His publications reveal consistent focus on Islamic family law modernization, juristic authority in legal evolution, and cross-jurisdictional comparisons of marriage/divorce systems. Key trends include documentation of Saudi Arabia's transformative judicial practices, analysis of underage marriage regulations, and exploration of non-state pathways for Islamic legal development.

Scientific Awards:

• Max Planck Society's Otto Hahn Medal for outstanding doctoral research
• German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO) Dissertation Award
• Association for Arabic and Islamic Law (GAIR) Dissertation Award
• Honorable mention for BRAIS Prize in Islamic Studies

Krell's Leverhulme-funded research examines Islamic law's globalization through the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies' "Globalisation of Islamic Law" project. His work involves translating Arabic legal codes (Syria, Iraq), authoring expert opinions for international bodies, and comparative analysis of family law across Muslim-majority jurisdictions. He collaborates with institutions including the Max Planck Institute, King Faisal Center, and University of Bergen.

As part of Oxford's socio-legal research community, Krell contributes to interdisciplinary dialogue on law's role in Muslim societies through the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and Wolfson College's academic networks.