Malaysia's top Islamic authority will allow women to be judges in the Islamic Shariah court but not on certain cases, a report said today.

The National Fatwa Council agreed that women could be appointed to religious courts, which operate alongside Malaysia's civil courts, based on their abilities, experience and integrity, the New Straits Times reported.

Council chairman Shukor Husin told the paper that there was disagreement among the experts and muftis, or religious leaders, who debated the issue.

"Some of those disagreed, some agreed but with conditions and some agreed without any conditions," he said.

Under the council's ruling, women judges will not be allowed to preside over crimes which come under the "hudud" and "qisas" laws.

Under hudud law, theft, robbery, illicit sex, alcohol consumption and apostasy are considered offences punishable by whipping, stoning to death and amputation of limbs.

Lukewarm response

Qisas refers to offences that involve bodily injury or loss of life, which are punishable by death, imprisonment or monetary compensation.

However, even mild versions of corporal punishment such as caning are very rare in Malaysia's Islamic legal system.

In Kuala Lumpur, civil society group Sisters in Islam gave a lukewarm response to the decision.

Its legal adviser Nora Murat told the newspaper that the government and religious authorities had pushed for women Shariah judges for some time.

"There are many capable women who can be judges and I hope that the system used to appoint the female judges will be the same as the one used for male judges," she said.