Legal information, not legal advice. Every jurisdiction page carries its verification status and sources.

🇲🇾 Malaysia · specialised court

Syariah Courts

Mahkamah Syariah / Syariah Courts

Reviewed· 2026-08-03State capitals

State rather than federal courts, so their jurisdiction and even their sentencing limits vary between the thirteen states and the federal territories. Article 121(1A) bars the civil courts from matters within their jurisdiction, which is the structural source of Malaysia's most difficult conflicts of law. The Federal Court held in Iki Putra (2021) that a state Syariah criminal provision duplicating federal law was unconstitutional, confirming that the division of powers still binds them.

How the court is constituted

Tier
specialised
Court type
State Islamic-law courts
Jurisdiction
Islamic family law, inheritance and Syariah offences affecting Muslims, within the jurisdiction conferred by each State's enactment under item 1 of List II of the Ninth Schedule.
Seat
State capitals
Established
1948

Found something out of date on Syariah Courts?

Corrections are reviewed against the primary source before anything changes.

Report a correction