Decision on appointment of non-Muslim Syariah lawyers to be fixed later

A five-man panel, led by Court of Appeal president, Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif reserved judgement Thursday after hearing submissions by all parties involved.

Senior Federal Counsel Shamsul Bolhassan argued that lawyers appearing before the Syariah courts must be Muslims as Syariah courts have jurisdiction only over persons professing Islam.

According to a Bernama report, Shamsul submitted that Section 59(1) of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 states that any person may be admitted as a syariah lawyer if he or she was qualified in Islamic Law.

Shamsul who represented the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) submitted that under the section, discretionary powers are conferred to the religious council to admit any person with sufficient knowledge of Islamic Law to become a Syariah lawyer.

"It is common knowledge that the Syariah Courts have jurisdiction only over persons professing the religion of Islam. Persons appearing before the Syariah courts, therefore, should also be subject to its jurisdiction," he said.

He was submitting in the appeal by Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) and the AGC against the Court of Appeal's landmark ruling which declaring that non-Muslim lawyers were eligible to practice as syariah lawyers in the Federal Territory Syariah courts.

The Court of Appeal in the ruling had declared Rule 10 of the Rules of the Syariah Lawyers 1993 mandating that only Muslims could be admitted as Syariah lawyers was ultra vires the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993.

The Court of Appeal had overturned a High Court decision which disallowed a judicial review application by a non-Muslim lawyer, Victoria Jayaseele Martin, who was seeking to be admitted as a Syariah lawyer in the Federal Territories.

Martin, 53, had obtained a Diploma in Syariah Laws and Practice from the International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM) in 2004.

At the outset, counsel Datuk Sulaiman Abdullah, acting for MAIWP, had argued that the Syariah courts were managed by persons professing the religion of Islam, therefore the Syariah lawyers appearing before them also should be Muslims.

He said the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 is for the benefit of Muslims and purely limited to Muslims.

Questioned by Justice Md Raus, whether the Syariah courts could impose contempt of court on non-Muslim lawyers in the Syariah court, Sulaiman replied that the Syariah courts only dealt with persons professing the religion of Islam.

"It is clear that only Muslims can fulfill the functions pertaining to Syariah courts," he said.

However, counsel Datuk Dr Cyrus Das submitted that under Section 59(1) of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 the words "any person" also included non-Muslims, regardless of his or her religion and there was nothing in the act to restrict the meaning of the words to mean "any Muslim".

He said Martin has knowledge in Syariah Law and therefore she was qualified to appear before the Syariah courts.