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not any imam can make a fatwa that is binding under a certain countries laws. here in the UAE, all imams are selected by the government for each and every mosque. whilst they can give decrees on day to day things, fatwas for criminal law must go through the government system. in saying this, many (id say most) islamic countries have quasi-islamic law implemented.
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It depends on the country. Many countries have made an uneasy accord with the Imams instead of directly ruling/choosing them. For example look at Egypt.
The government is technically a socialist dictatorship. However they've had such problems in the past dealing with the radicals and the Muslim Brotherhood they've made a truce with the clerics. In that, it's a parallel system. There are legal laws on the books, and the clerical religious laws. It's up to the plaintiff to choose which to go to, and for the vast majority of cases the government doesn't care. Very rarely, when the defendant is connected, the government can and does overrule the Shari'iah ruling... but again that's only rarely.
In practice I'll accept that they're not in direct conflict for the majority of cases in Egypt... and in cases of divorce the Shari'iah rulings are much more favorable to the woman compared with the government. The clerics in Egypt are much more balanced than in many other Muslim countries.