Home / Regular Issue / JTAS Vol. 20 (S) Jun. 2012 / JSSH-0587-2012

 

Forum Non Conveniens in the Syariah Court of Malaysia

Suzana Muhamad Said and Shamsuddin Suhor

Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, Volume 20, Issue S, June 2012

Keywords: International Parental Child Abduction, Syariah Court, Malaysia, Forum Non- Conveniens, Foreign Custody Order

Published on:

Syariah Court is territorial in nature. Matters that are heard in the Syariah Court are mostly matrimonial-related issues, albeit there are also property issues that have nothing to do with matrimonial claims for example hibah, waqaf and faraid. Incoming international parental child abduction is not considered within the Syariah Court purview. Nevertheless, there is a provision in the Islamic family law for instance under section 105 of the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territory) Act 1984 (Act 303) which gives power to the Syariah Court to restrain the taking of a child who is under the lawful custody of a person out of Malaysia, failure of which shall be punishable and subject to contempt of court but this provision would not be applicable to children abducted from abroad to Malaysia by their own parent (incoming abduction). Since parental child abduction is initiated from disputes arising out of matrimonial matters, it is suggested that the Syariah Court be at liberty to hear matters related to international parental child abduction. This paper examines the application of forum non conveniens in disputes concerning the international parental child abduction if occurs within the Syariah Court's jurisdiction. This paper proposed that the Syariah Court should take a step forward to adopt the doctrine of forum non conveniens in deciding child custody disputes that involve foreign elements.

ISSN 1511-3701

e-ISSN 2231-8542

Article ID

JSSH-0587-2012

Download Full Article PDF

Share this article

Recent Articles