A Systematic Analysis on the Admissibility of Digital Documents as Evidence in Malaysian Syariah Courts

Abstract

Digital document is a relatively new form of evidence, particularly for use in the Malaysian Syariah courts. This scenario contrasts with civil courts, which started using digital documents in court proceedings as early as the 1950s. The use of the digital document as evidence is intended to strengthen other methods of proof further. However, the Syariah courts are still less exposed to a new proofing method because there are no specific provisions according to Islamic law to allow it. Not only that, but Syariah law practitioners are also rarely exposed to cases related to the use of digital documents. Therefore, this qualitative study will analyse the admissibility of the digital document as evidence under Islamic law through a systematic analysis. This study uses the PRISMA methodology with the range of data stored on the web at www.scopus.com and http://myjurnal.my, which brings together thousands of scientific writings worldwide. The final screening results found a total of 21 articles that discussed the practice of digital documents as evidence under Islamic law. Furthermore, from the final filter, the researchers found several works of literature that previously discussed the usage of digital documents as evidence in a trial proceeding, which indirectly shows that the Syariah court has begun to accept this type of evidence. It is expected that the results of this study will assist legal practitioners in the Syariah court and become a reference point for researchers, academics and the public in Malaysia.