What is the ruling on overturning judgments issued by an unqualified predecessor judge?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judiciary
Primary text
If the preceding judge was unqualified for the position of judge, all of his rulings that deviate from correctness must be overturned, regardless of whether the matter permits independent legal reasoning (Ijtihad) or not, because his judgment is fundamentally invalid, and his adjudication is null. Overturning these judgments is not considered overturning a previous ijtihad with a new ijtihad, as the first was not a valid legal opinion. Furthermore, rulings that conform to correctness are not overturned due to the lack of benefit in overturning them, as the right has already reached its rightful recipient.
Supporting text
Abu al-Khattab and the school of Al-Shafi'i hold that all judgments of an unqualified judge must be overturned, whether they erred or were correct, because his very existence as a judge is equivalent to his non-existence. They argue there is no benefit in preserving them, as if the right reached its recipient through coercion rather than a judicial decree, or through a decree whose existence is nil, the outcome would remain unchanged.