SC begins preparations for Shari'ah High Court

The Supreme Court (SC) announced Wednesday it has started the process of establishing the Shari'ah High Court, the highest tribunal under the Shari'ah legal system in the Bangsamoro.

According to a statement, the SC directed the Office of the Court Administrator and the Fiscal and Budget Management Office to prepare and submit the budget and staffing pattern required for the Shari'ah High Court for the next fiscal year.

This came after the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) requested the SC for the immediate organization of the Shari'ah High Court.

The BTA cited Republic Act 11054, also known as the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which the SC said is relevant to the Shari'ah justice system in the Bangsamoro region.

In the Philippines, Shari'ah represents the legal system rooted in the Qur'an, and the sunna of the Prophet Muhammad, according to a policy brief by the Program on Islamic Studies of the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies.

Citing provisions of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the May 2024 resolution of the BTA Parliament stated that the Shari'ah High Court shall exercise jurisdiction over Shari'ah courts, not just in the region but outside of it as well.

Decisions of the Shari'ah High Court "shall be final and executory," although questions of the law may be raised to the Supreme Court, the document read. — VDV, GMA Integrated News