Syarie lawyers have been urged to help clear backlogged cases, especially inheritance, child custody and divorce cases.

Terengganu Syarie chief judge Ismail Yahya said the role of syarie lawyers was not merely to represent their clients but also to help speed up cases by making submissions according to the syarak (Islamic) law.

"If syarie lawyers are engrossed in ensuring victory for their clients, that will not help the court as it is guided by syarak rules," he told reporters after receiving the QE-Quality Environment/5S certificate for the Terengganu Syariah Department at meet-the-people session in Kuala Terengganu today.

On backlogged cases, he said, according to a study conducted by the International Islamic University of Malaysia, the court was responsible for only two per cent of them.

"Other backlogged cases occurred when one party was not ready while in some cases, they had to be differed midway through as there were not enough witnesses.

"Syarie lawyers were also responsible. They sought postponement not for two or three weeks but up to three months as they have other cases to attend to and this caused further delay," he said, adding that there were 64 syarie lawyers in the state.

On the QE certificate, he said it would boost the morale of the state Syariah Department's employees and enhance its image.

"We can see that the staff are putting more efforts to improve the image of the department.

"For example, we were commended by clients for being able to register cases within four or five minutes and locate a record under 10 minutes," he added.

The Terengganu Land and Mines Department and the Kuala Terengganu Municipal Council were accorded with the certificate before.

- Bernama