The Syariah Lawyers Association of Malaysia (PGSM) has mooted an additional tier in the Syariah Court system to allow for more avenues of appeal.

 

It said that under the present system, cases that originated from the Syariah Subordinate Court can appeal twice, whereas cases that originate in the Syariah High Court can only be appealed once.

 

In contrast, it pointed out that in the civil court system, a case would have two opportunities to file appeals wherever it originates from.

 

“This situation shows an inequality in the judicial process in the Syariah Court, whereby appeals from the subordinate court has two tiers of appeals, while the Syariah High Court only has one tier of appeal.

 

“Therefore, the government and state authorities need to implement a higher tier of appeal, which is the Syariah Special Appeals Court, immediately, so that justice in accordance to Islamic laws can be carried out fairly to all parties just as the civil court does,” said PGSM president Musa Awang yesterday.

 

He said this can be done via an amendment to the Administration of Islamic Law enactments/acts of the federal territories and of each state, and without making any changes to the federal constitution.

 

Currently, the syariah court system comprises of the Syariah Subordinate Court, the Syariah High Court, and the Syariah Appellate Court. The proposed Syariah Special Appeals Court would be superior to the other three courts.

 

Musa added that there had been cases in the Syariah Court where parties involved are left dissatisfied, such as the case of Tengku Ibrahim Ismail Nasiruddin Shah’s lawsuit against the Terengganu government regarding the estate of the late Terengganu Sultan Zainal Abidin III.

 

“Although the decision has already been made by the Syariah Appellate Court, the parties are still dissatisfied and yet they have no opportunity to appeal to a higher court,” he said.

 

Federal Syariah Court

 

In another case also in Terengganu, the disgruntled respondent of a case had resorted to applying for a judicial review at the Syariah Appellate Court for a decision at the same court, he said.

 

In addition, he said the syariah courts are also faced with increasingly complex cases, as well as cases of high public interest such as conversion cases and cases involving conflicting jurisdictions.

 

He said the Syariah Special Appeals Court can also serve as reference for other syariah courts for matters of public interest and those that involve conflicting jurisdictions.

 

Last month, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom said the government was mulling the proposal to set up a Federal Syariah Court. This will give it the same powers as the civil Federal Court.

 

Critics have panned the proposal as it would be unconstitutional to have another court system with the same jurisdiction as the civil Federal Court.

DAP in particular flayed non-Umno ministers for remaining silent during their cabinet meeting over the matter last month.