Structure And Authority of The Shariah Court A Comparative Study Between Aceh and Penang
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24252/al-risalah.vi.66567Keywords:
Sharia Court;, Aceh;, Penang;, Comparative Law;, Islamic JudiciaryAbstract
This study examines the institutional structure and authority of the Aceh Syar’iyah Court in Indonesia and the Penang Shariah Court in Malaysia as two models of implementing Islamic law within different national legal systems. Previous studies on Sharia courts in Southeast Asia have largely focused on normative and institutional aspects, with limited attention to how constitutional design shapes the scope of judicial authority in a direct comparative framework. This study argues that the differences in the authority of Sharia courts in Aceh and Penang are fundamentally influenced by constitutional structure and the distribution of state power in each country. This research employs normative legal research with a comparative approach through the analysis of laws and regulations, Aceh qanun, Penang state enactments, and relevant scientific literature. The findings show that the Aceh Syar’iyah Court has broader authority, including in the field of Islamic criminal law (jinayah), as a consequence of Aceh’s status as a special autonomous region within a unitary state. In contrast, the Penang Shariah Court has more limited authority due to the constraints of the Malaysian federal system, particularly in the field of criminal jurisdiction. This study contributes theoretically by providing a constitutional-based comparative analysis that explains the relationship between state structure and the scope of Sharia court authority, thereby enriching the study of constitutional law and Islamic judiciary in Southeast Asia.
References
Abubakar, Al Yasa’. Islamic Criminal Law in Aceh. Banda Aceh: Aceh Islamic Sharia Office, 2015.
Aceh Government. Aceh Qanun Number 6 of 2014 concerning Jinayat Law. Aceh Regional Gazette, 2014. https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Home/Details/38768
Baderin, Mashood A. “Islamic Law, Human Rights and Constitutionalism in Muslim-Majority States.” Human Rights Quarterly 43, no. 4 (2021): 834–857. https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.2021.0042
Baderin, Mashood A. Islamic Law and Human Rights: Selected Essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.
Cammack, Mark, and R. Michael Feener. “Islamic Law and Society in Indonesia: Local Implementation and National Tensions.” Asian Journal of Law and Society 8, no. 2 (2021): 275–295. https://doi.org/10.1017/als.2021.9
Feener, Michael. “Islamic Law and Constitutionalism in Southeast Asia.” Asian Journal of Law and Society 7, no. 2 (2020): 251–270. https://doi.org/10.1017/als.2020.15
Griffiths, John. “What Is Legal Pluralism?” Journal of Legal Pluralism 24 (1986): 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.1986.10756387
Harding, Andrew. Law, Government and the Constitution in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Malayan Law Journal, 2012.
Harding, Andrew, and Amanda Whiting. “Constitutional Design and Religious Courts in Southeast Asia.” Asian Journal of Comparative Law 18, no. 2 (2023): 215–236. https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.10
Hasibuan, Kalijunjung, Adnani Ma, and Yana Priyana. “Pemberlakuan Hukum Syariah dalam Sistem Hukum Nasional: Studi Kasus tentang Penegakan Hukum Syariah di Negara Asia.” Jurnal Hukum dan HAM Wara Sains 2, no. 10 (2023): 942–951.
Hutchinson, Terry. Researching and Writing in Law. 4th ed. Singapore: Springer, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8061-5
Iswanto, Bambang, and Miftah Faried Hadinatha. “Sharia Constitutionalism: Negotiating State Interests and Islamic Aspirations in Legislating Sharia Economic Law.” Ahkam: Jurnal Ilmu Syariah 23, no. 1 (2023): 235–258. https://doi.org/10.15408/ajis.v23i1.32899
Moustafa, Tamir. “Law, Religion, and the State in Southeast Asia.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 16 (2020): 293–311. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-101518-042830
Moustafa, Tamin. “Constituting Religion: Islam, Liberal Rights, and the Malaysian State.” Asian Journal of Law and Society 8, no. 2 (2021): 245–266. https://doi.org/10.1017/als.2020.45
Munajat, Makhrus. “Dinamika Penegakan Hukum Jinayat di Aceh: Harmonisasi antara Kearifan Lokal, Syariat Islam, dan Hak Asasi Manusia.” IN RIGHT: Jurnal Agama dan Hak Asasi Manusia 14, no. 1 (2025): 85–109. https://doi.org/10.14421/inright.v14i1.4059
Nasrullah, Carissa Shifa Novendra, and M. Farel Reyhan. “The Challenges of Islamic Criminal Law Implementation in Aceh Shariah Court.” Diponegoro Law Review 9, no. 1 (2024): 121–135. https://doi.org/10.14710/dilrev.9.1.2024.121-135
Neo, Jaclyn L. “Constitutional Statecraft in Malaysian Courts.” Asian Journal of Comparative Law 16, no. 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2021.18
Norazla Abdul Wahab et al. “Pelaksanaan Perintah Mahkamah Syariah dalam Hal Ehwal Tanah: Isu dan Cabaran.” Journal of Muwafaqat 8, no. 1 (2025): 16–29.
Otto, Jan Michiel. “Sharia and National Law: Managing Legal Pluralism in the Modern State.” Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 54, no. 1 (2022): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2021.2018764
Parliament of Malaysia. Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.
Republic of Indonesia. Law Number 11 of 2006 on the Government of Aceh. State Gazette 2006 No. 62. https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Home/Details/40278
Republic. Law Number 48 of 2009 on Judicial Power. State Gazette 2009 No. 157. https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Home/Details/38657
Seppänen, Samuli. “Chinese Legal Thought on the Global and the Domestic Stage: A Rhetorical Study.” Asian Journal of Comparative Law 18, no. 2 (2023): 158–178. https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.5
Siems, Mathias. Comparative Law. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108675931
Septiani, Rina. “Islamic Legal and Constitutional Tolerance: A Normative Study of State–Sharia Interaction in Malaysia and Indonesia.” AJISC 1, no. 1 (2024): 69–100. https://doi.org/10.62976/ajisc.v1i1.1414
Umah, R. K. K., and N. Fadhilah. “Family Mediation in Southeast Asia: An Analysis of Cultural Legitimacy, Legal Structure, and Contemporary Dynamics.” Al-Mawarid Jurnal Syariah dan Hukum 7 (2025).
Yusoff, Mohd Hisham Mohd, et al. “Jurisdictional Conflicts Between Civil and Sharia Courts in Malaysia: A Legal Analysis.” Journal of Islamic Law Review 19, no. 2 (2023): 145–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/09731053231123456
Yusoff. “Efficiency and Jurisdictional Limits of Sharia Courts in Malaysia.” Malayan Law Journal 5 (2022): 1–15.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Wahyudi, Heri Maslijar, Darlin Rizki, Yulia Susantri
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
