There is at present no need to create a constitutional court as suggested by law lecturer Abdul Aziz Bari, said constitutional lawyer Syahredzan Johan.

 

This is because the civil courts do not interfere in the affairs of the syariah courts, he said, in accordance with Article 121 (1A) of the federal constitution.

 

For now, any dispute between Muslims and non-Muslims are being referred to the civil courts because the syariah courts have no jurisdiction over non-Muslims, he said.

 

“Article 121 (1A) of the federal constitution already states that the civil courts have no jurisdiction over the syariah courts,” Syahredzan told Malaysiakini yesterday.

 

The syariah courts have jurisdiction only over Muslims in the matters of family law and religious matters.

 

He said Abdul Aziz’s suggestion should only be implemented if the government accepts the proposal by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom for a Syariah Federal Court, with powers similar to that of the civil Federal Court.

 

Syahredzan however said Jamil Khir’s suggestion would be difficult to implement, because the powers over the syariah courts currently resides with each state.

 

At the same time, creating two parallel federal court systems could result in conflicts between the two.

 

“Later, there could be competition between the two courts in issuing their own court orders,” he said.

 

Abdul Aziz, who lectures at Universiti Selangor, had mooted the formation of a constitutional court following Jamil Khir’s proposal for a Syariah Federal Court.