2. Once the Council is in receipt of this initial correspondence, an application form is sent to the client.

3. New applications must be completed in full, including a contact address for the husband.

4. The Council will issue an initial letter to the husband, informing him that his wife has approached the Council to file for a divorce. The applicant will receive a copy of this letter, along with a reference number, for future correspondence. If the husband fails to reply within the allocated period (in the UK, this period is one month and outside of the UK, this period is extended to two months), the Council will send a second letter. If there is no reply from the husband to this letter, the Council will issue a third letter. If the applicant has obtained a civil divorce, she must prove that her husband defended the case. Where the husband did not defend the case through the civil courts, only the initial letter (as mentioned above) will be sent to the husband.

5. Where an applicant's spouse does not reply to a third letter as issued by the Council, the Council will send to the applicant a letter (P4) reuesting the applicant to verify - with evidence - her husband's address.

6. In the absence of a contact address, the Council will request other contact details, including - but not limited to the husband's telephone number; email address; the address of next of kin. The Council will only make an advertisement in the local press once in possession of this information. Any delay in providing this information to the Council will result in delays in finalising the applicant's case.

7. Once the Council has received verification of the husband's address, it will send to the applicant (and the husband if he lives in the UK) a letter detailing a date, the time and venue (in the locality of the applicant) for an interview between the applicant and her spouse, with a chosen representative present (normally an Islamic scholar). The representative will be requested to write a recommendation report on the case, outlining what he believes should happen next.

8. If the husband does not attend the interview within a prescribed period, the Council will issue a final notice and a copy of the initial, second and third letters (see 4., above) will be sent to him via recorded delivery.

9. Once each of the above points have been met, the Council will send to the applicant a letter, requesting confirmation from the applicant that her case file may be submitted by the Council at the next Council meeting [meetings are normally convened on the last Wednesday of every month: at each convening of a Council meeting, a group scholars - no less than six and no more than eight - make decisions or recommendations regarding all divorce cases].

10. All decisions made on cases presided over by the Council in session must be actioned before an Islamic divorce may be pronounced and a certificate issued. Once a divorce is so-granted by the Council, a letter of the Council's intent is sent to the applicant's husband, granting him twenty eight days in which to comply with the Council's decision. If no objections are lodged within this period, the Council will issue to the applicant an Islamic divorce certificate. The Council reserves the right to revoke certificates issued, in cases where the applicant breaches any conditions stipulated by the Council prior to the issuing of the certficate.