Kehakiman : Peguam Syariah

Friday March 18, 2011

KL Syarie lawyers must be Muslims

By M. MAGESWARI
mages@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: A non-Muslim counsel cannot practise as a Syarie lawyer in Kuala Lumpur, a High Court ruled in a landmark case.

Victoria Jayaseelee Martin, 49, lost in her bid to challenge the requirement that a Syarie lawyer in Kuala Lumpur must be a Muslim.

Yesterday, High Court (Appellate and Special Powers) judge Justice Rohana Yusuf dismissed the application by Victoria to compel the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council to admit her as a Syarie lawyer.

Justice Rohana also dismissed a preliminary objection by the Council against Victoria’s judicial review application that the civil court has no jurisdiction to decide the matter.

“The requirement (for a Syarie lawyer to be) of Muslim faith is necessary to ensure the effectiveness of legal representation,” Justice Rohana ruled in her judgment yesterday.

Justice Rohana held that Rule 10 of the Peguam Syarie Rules 1993 was made within the legislative powers of the Council.

She said Parliament had given the Council powers to use its discretion to admit any person who had sufficient Syariah law knowledge.

Justice Rohana ordered each party to bear their own costs as the issue involved public interest.

Senior Federal Counsel Arik Sanusi Yeop Johari said the court ruling showed that the Federal Constitution had given the respective states the authority to legislate on the administration of Islamic law.

Victoria’s lead counsel Ranjit Singh said his client would appeal against the court ruling as the case concerned constitutional rights.

In her application filed on May 19 last year, Victoria sought a declaration that Rule 10 of the Peguam Syarie Rules 1993, which mandates that only Muslims be accepted as Syarie lawyers, was beyond the powers of the Administration of Is la mic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993.