Syariah Court

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The Syariah Court system is one of the two separate system of courts which exists in Malaysian legal system. Syariah refers to Sharia law in Islamic religious law and deals with exclusively Islamic laws, having jurisdiction upon every Muslims in Malaysia. The dual-system of law in Malaysia is provided for in Article 121(1A) of the Constitution of Malaysia.

Unlike the civil courts in Malaysia, which is a federalised court system, the Syariah Court is a creature of state law. Similarly syariah or Islamic law is a matter of state law, with the exception of the Federal Territories of Malaysia, as provided in Article 3 of the Constitution. Thus syariah law in one state might differ to that of another state. There are 13 state syariah law departments and 1 syariah law department for the Federal Territories.