Specific arbitration rules for Islamic banking and financial services have also been enacted to compliment the court system and enable disputes relating to Islamic finance to be dealt by the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration. This infrastructure is unique to Malaysia and reflects the support and cooperation from the legal fraternity to keep up with the development of Islamic finance. Importantly, a supportive judicial system helps create an  BIS Review 102/2010  3  environment where players and consumers are able to execute financial transactions efficiently, with sufficient certainty and enforceability. In recent times, we have witnessed a number of legal disputes involving Islamic Financial transactions that have been brought to the common law courts for settlement. These recent cases tried in the English courts have highlighted the hesitancy on the part of the common law judges to deliberate on issues concerning Shariah principles in Islamic finance transactions. This is quite understandable given the lack of expertise on the matter. While evidence on Shariah matters can be admitted from subject matter experts but such evidence or advice is not binding. The scenario in Malaysia is different. We have a dedicated High Court for Islamic finance related cases and our judges shall refer to the SAC for questions or rulings relating to the Shariah and these rulings are binding. Malaysian courts, therefore are well equipped to uphold the sanctity of the Islamic financial contracts as they have the avenue to make references.
It is impossible to calibrate this precisely at this juncture, but I would guess this would be in the region of 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  0.25 to 0.50 of a percentage point. It is important to note that the storm affected much of the Northeast Corridor, a densely populated area responsible for about 15 percent of GDP. Normal economic activity in the final days of October and the first few days of November was severely disrupted. The disruption then began to subside, but only recently has life begun to feel normal again. The negative effects of this disruption have already been noted in economic indicators such as industrial production for the month of October and initial claims for unemployment insurance during the second and third weeks of November. Yet, some of the economic disruption experienced here was offset to some extent by stronger than normal activity elsewhere. For example, plants in Ohio or South Carolina making portable generators may have worked overtime to fill the increased demand. Second, some types of disrupted activity, such as the purchase of a car or a housing start, can be made up before the fourth quarter is over. Lastly, as I mentioned before, repair and replacement of damaged property is already underway, offsetting some of the earlier disruption. This rebuilding will continue well into 2013, likely providing for somewhat stronger growth than otherwise would have been the case.