SHARI’E LAWYERS IN MALAYSIAN COURT 1.1 Historical Backgrounds and Jurisdiction of the Shariah Court Islam has been made the official religion of our country since Merdeka in 1957 by virtue of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia . The position of Islam and Islamic law as its stands today is not a new constitutional development since it has its roots from the historical experiences. The Rulers of Malay States through their respective written and unwritten State Constitutions made Islam as their State official religion even before Merdeka. Generally, in Malaysia, Shariah courts are placed within the authority of the States. It can hear disputes in matter over which the Shariah courts have jurisdiction, namely Islamic law matters.
The Written Law, which is the major law in Malaysian legal system comprises of The Federal Constitution, Legislation and Islamic law. Altogether there are fourteen constitutions which is the Federal Constitution and the thirteen State Constitutions. The Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the federation and it measures the validity of all other laws. Any law inconsistent with the Federal Constitution may be challenged in court. The Federal Constitution embodies British and Indian constitutional concepts and traditional Malay elements.
Towards an Apex Syariah Court in Malaysia Malaysia has 14 Syariah court systems. The main reason for this state of affairs is the distribution of legislative powers under the Federal Constitution between the federation and the States where Islam and Islamic Law are States matters. This paper looks at the consequences of having distinct Syariah court systems. Based on States, the courts and the laws differ from one State to another. This paper looks at the legal possibility of having one apex court for all the 14 Syariah court systems to streamline the administration and decisions of Syariah courts.
In the meantime, the words of the “source of law” more shows at a place in the nature of a value or norm in certain come from. In article 1 Provisions the People's Consultative Assembly No. III/MPR/2000 is determined that : 1. Sources of law is the source that can be materials to drafting of laws and regulations ; 2. Sources of law consists of the written law and
This is because Malaysia has a parallel legal system of Civil and Islamic laws. Administration of Islamic law is vested on the states and separate legislations could be found distinctively between the states with the various aspect of the Islamic law which includes Majlis Agama Islam who responsible for all the matters of concerning the Islamic religion, Mufti accounted to determine the Islamic Law, and Syariah Courts who responsible for the administration of justice. As to the position of the Syariah Courts, Abdul Hamid Mohamad FCJ, observed as follows: ‘A Syariah court in a State is
Federal Constitution is the supreme law of Malaysia. The Constitution of Malaysia consists of 14 chapters such as fundamental freedoms, citizenship and judicial
Behind the Singapore Constitution, the doctrine of separation of powers is one of the underlying values and basic principle that is deemed to be a fundamental aspect of the Constitution. The constitution is made up of a set of rules that regulates how a government operates as well as its formation. After Singapore’s separation from Malaysia, Singapore’s constitution was formed and the Constitution is considered as the supreme law. With the concept of constitutional supremacy where other laws must not violate the supreme law as mentioned under Article 4, it is important that the Constitution carries important values as it also determines the fundamental liberties individuals are entitled to. Separation of powers refers to the theory where the government is divided into three separate branches of government in order to preserve liberty through limiting government’s power.
Constitution are codes of rules which aspire to regulate the allocation of functions, powers and duties amongst the various agencies and officers of the government and to define the relationship between these and the public. The agencies and the officers of government are the three organs of government; Executive (executers of the law), Legislative (makers of the law), and Judiciary (interpreters of the law). In layman terms, a ‘constitution’ is laid principles which tell how a country should be run and their interaction between the citizens of their member state. One can draw the significance and the importance
IP ENFORCEMENT AND LITIGATION Judicial system in India: Indian judicial system is based on the principles of common law. Protection of Intellectual property was not a whole new concept to the world. Nevertheless the laws were put into a statutory form in various conventions and treaty like the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Berne Convention, and the TRIPS. Indian Intellectual Property laws are largely in terms with the earlier existing English laws as well as with these International conventions and treaties. Sources of Law: Sources of Law include legislations passed by the Central as well as state legislature as well as the precedents as laid by Courts.
4.1 FEDERALISM Federalism is from Latin Word, Foedus and it means agreement or convention. Meanwhile federalism is a system in which the power to govern is divided based on written constitution (Federal Constitution for Malaysia) and is shared between national and state government, Federation. Each of state and national government existing in its own right and authority. Administrative mechanism of federal level consist of Yang di-Pertuan Agong(YDPA), The Ruler Executive, The Cabinet, various form of Body, Commission and National Audit Department and others. 4.1.1 YANG DI-PERTUAN AGONG, THE CONFERENCE OF RULER, THE CABINET The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the Head of State or Head of the Federation under Article 32 of Federal Constitution.