Amalan dan Pelaksanaan Tahkim dalam Kes Permohonan Perceraian Tanpa Persetujuan Satu Pihak: Satu Kajian Perbandingan di Mahkamah Syariah Selangor dan Sarawak

The Practice and Implementation of Tahkim in the Case of Application for Divorce without the Consent of One Party : A Comparative Study in the Syariah Courts of Selangor and Sarawak

Abstract

Pasangan suami isteri tidak dapat lari daripada menghadapi pelbagai konflik dalam rumah tangga yang akhirnya membawa kepada perceraian.  Menurut undang-undang keluarga Islam negeri-negeri, terdapat banyak peruntukan undang-undang yang boleh digunakan untuk mendapatkan perceraian sebagai contoh peruntukan permohonan perceraian di bawah seksyen 47 Enakmen Undang-undang Keluarga Islam (Negeri Selangor) 2003 dan seksyen 46 Ordinan Undang-undang Keluarga (Sarawak) 2001. Permohonan perceraian tersebut memerlukan persetujuan kedua-dua pihak-pihak untuk bercerai.  Jika salah satu pihak tidak bersetuju, mahkamah tidak akan membenarkan suami melafazkan talak  dan melantik Jawatankuasa Pendamai.  Sekiranya di peringkat Jawatankuasa Pendamai gagal untuk mencapai perdamaian atau persetujuan untuk bercerai dalam tempoh yang ditetapkan, mahkamah akan memerintahkan kedua-dua pihak melantik hakam bagi menyelesaikan pertikaian yang berlaku. Di Negeri Selangor, terdapat kaedah yang khusus berkaitan pelantikan dan kuasa   hakam iaitu  Kaedah-kaedah Hakam (Negeri Selangor) 2014 manakala di Sarawak tiada langsung kaedah-kaedah hakam yang diperuntukkan oleh mahkamah syariah tetapi hanya tertakluk kepada Arahan Amalan Ketua Hakim Syari’i Sarawak No. 1 Tahun 2006.  Justeru, kajian ini dilaksanakan bagi mengkaji pelantikan,  peranan, kesan dan kuasa hakam menurut undang-undang dalam kes-kes perceraian tanpa persetujuan satu pihak serta isu-isu berkaitan amalan dan pelaksanaan Tahkim di Negeri Selangor dan Sarawak. Kajian ini merupakan kajian kualitatif yang menggunakan pendekatan analisis dokumen dan metode temu bual separa struktur dalam pengumpulan data. Hasil kajian mendapati terdapat beberapa isu berkaitan amalan dan pelaksanaan Tahkim di Negeri Selangor dan Sarawak. Di Negeri Selangor, meskipun telah wujud kaedah hakam, masih berlaku ketidak patuhan hakam terhadap etika hakam dan tatacara Majlis Tahkim. Selain itu juga kredibiliti dan kelayakan hakam turut menjadi isu selain kekurangan infrastruktur bagi pelaksanaan Majlis Tahkim. Manakala di Sarawak, di samping ketiadaan kaedah-kaedah hakam yang khusus, majoriti kes-kes perceraian tidak sampai kepada Majlis Tahkim kerana masalah logistik pihak-pihak yang agak sukar untuk hadir ke mahkamah disebabkan jarak yang jauh dan kos tambang yang tinggi. Oleh itu, pihak-pihak bersetuju secara persetujuan bersama untuk bercerai atau tinggal secara berasingan. Kekurangan pegawai yang layak menjadi pegawai hakam di Sarawak juga merupakan salah satu faktor Tahkim tidak dapat dilaksanakan sepenuhnya di Sarawak. 

Married couples cannot escape from facing various conflicts in the household which eventually lead to divorce. According to the Islamic family laws of the states, there are many legal provisions that can be used to obtain a divorce, for example the provisions for divorce applications under section 47 of the Islamic Family Law Enactment (Selangor State) 2003 and section 46 of the Family Law Ordinance (Sarawak) 2001. The divorce application requires the consent of both parties to divorce. If one of the parties does not agree, the court will not allow the husband to pronounce divorce and appoint a conciliation committee. If the conciliation committee fails to reach reconciliation or an agreement to divorce within the specified period, the court will order both parties to appoint a hakam to resolve the dispute. In the State of Selangor, there are specific rules related to the appointment and judicial authority, namely the Hakam Rules (Selangor State) 2014 (Kaedah-kaedah Hakam (Negeri Selangor) 2014), while in Sarawak there are no legal rules provided by the syariah court but only subject to the Sarawak Chief Shari'i Chief Justice's Practice Instruction No. 1 of 2006. (Arahan Amalan Ketua Hakim Syari’i Sarawak No. 1 Tahun 2006). Therefore, this study was carried out to examine the appointment, role, effect and power of hakam in accordance with the law in cases of divorce without the consent of one party as well as issues related to the practice and implementation of Tahkim in the State of Selangor and Sarawak. This study is a qualitative study that uses a document analysis approach and a semi-structured interview method in data collection. The results of the study found that there are several issues related to the practice and implementation of Tahkim in the State of Selangor and Sarawak. In the State of Selangor, even though there is a legal system, there is still non-compliance by the legal system with legal ethics and the procedures of the Tahkim Council. In addition, the credibility and qualifications of judges are also an issue in addition to the lack of infrastructure for the implementation of the Tahkim Council. While in Sarawak, in addition to the absence of specific court rules, the majority of divorce cases do not reach the Tahkim Council due to the logistical problems of the parties that are quite difficult to attend the court due to the long distance and the high cost of transportation. Therefore, the parties agree by mutual consent to divorce or live separately. The lack of officers qualified to be judicial officers in Sarawak is also one of the factors that Tahkim cannot be fully implemented in Sarawak.