Enforcement of Judgments through a Judgment Notice Following Judgment Debtor Summons Proceedings in the Syariah Court
Abstract
The enforcement of judgements is an essential component in ensuring that every order of the Syariah Courts is effectively implemented, particularly orders involving post-divorce maintenance claims. This study examines the enforcement of maintenance orders in Malaysian Syariah Courts, with particular emphasis on the judgement debtor summons (JDS) mechanism. The JDS is a procedure provided for under the Syariah Court Civil Procedure Act or Enactments to compel a judgment debtor to appear before the court and explain his financial ability to settle the outstanding amount. Although this mechanism is important in addressing post-divorce maintenance arrears, the findings reveal inconsistencies in judicial practices exist regarding the requirement to file a Judgment Notice (JN) after JDS proceedings. Some judges require the filing of a JN as a mandatory step before any other form of enforcement may be carried out, while others permit enforcement measures, such as the seizure of property or hiwalah, without requiring a JN. This divergence in practices creates legal uncertainty for judgment creditors, thereby delaying the enforcement processes and increasing their financial burden. this study adopts a qualitative approach through doctrinal analysis of statutory provisions, enactments, and relevant court ecisions, including Fatimah v. Zuhaan (2020) and Syuhada v. Arfan (2019. The analysis indicates that there is no clear provision requiring the filing of a JN after JDS proceedings. The findings further show that the inconsistency in practice arises primarily from differing interpretations of the relevant legal provisions than from the absence of legal provisions themselves. Accordingly, the study proposes the development of clearer guidelines to standardise judicial practice, protect the rights of judgment creditors, and ensure that the principles of maslahat and substantive justice in Islamic Malaysian Islamic family law continue to be upheld.
Keywords: Judgment Debtor Summons (JDS), Judgment Notice (JN), maintenance, Syariah Court, enforcement of judgments, maintenance arrears
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