Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo urged passers in the Shari’ah Bar examinations to also take the Philippine bar exams to become full-fledged lawyers.

Likewise, Gesmundo suggested to members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to take Shari’ah Bar exams for their enhanced participation in the country’s Shari’ah courts.

Those who passed the 2024 Shari’ah Bar exams will be sworn in as counselors-at-law on 14 August at the Manila Hotel. A total of 183 passers are set to take their oaths.

The SC in 1993, ruled that those who passed the Shari’ah Bar exams are only special members of the Philippine Bar and are not full-fledged members even if they are holders of Bachelor of Laws degrees.

Because of this, they can practice their profession only before the Shari’ah courts.

The Shari’ah courts were set up by the SC under Presidential Decree No. 1083, the Code of Muslim Personal Laws. PD 1083 “ordains and promulgates a code recognizing the system of Filipino Muslim laws, codifying Muslim personal laws. and providing for its administration and other purposes.”

There are five Shari’ah district courts and 51 Shari’ah circuit courts in Mindanao provinces and pending legislation to set up Shari-ah courts in Luzon and the Visayas where Muslims also reside.

Shari’ah district courts, equivalent to regional trial courts, have exclusive jurisdiction over family rights and duties as well as contractual relations of Filipino Muslims.

Shari’ah circuit courts are equivalent to municipal circuit trial courts and have jurisdiction, among other cases, on those involving offenses defined and penalized under PD 1083; and civil actions between parties who are Muslims and married under the provision of PD1083 like betrothal of breach of contract to marry, divorce, customary dowry, disposition and distribution of property upon divorce, maintenance of support, restitution of martial rights, and disputes relative to communal properties.