If the qadi has no authority over the other party

Question

Question: In a case with two parties, in which the judge (qadi) of the court has the power to enforce his enforceable decision against one party but has no power of enforcement against the other party, is the judge of the court competent to issue a decision in the above case or not?

Answer

If the qadi is a Sharʿi qadi, then how could it be that he has the power to enforce a ruling against one party and has no such power against the other? Explain this. Or else the qadi is not a Sharʿi qadi possessing executive power, but rather one party made him qadi and the other did not — then in what sense is he a Sharʿi qadi? He can be given the status of an arbiter (hakam)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.