A three-member panel led by Justice Azizah Nawawi unanimously held that the civil courts have no jurisdiction to review decisions handed down by the shariah courts.

“Matters of renunciation are within the jurisdiction of the shariah courts,” Azizah said.

The other judges who sat with her were Justices See Mee Chun and Azizul Azmi Adnan.

The court made no order as to costs.

The woman, born a Muslim, claimed she never practised Islam and that her mother had allowed her to choose her religion.

She had gone to the Kuala Lumpur shariah high court in 2018 to seek an order that she be allowed to renounce Islam as she intended to practise Buddhism.

However, the shariah court ordered her to attend 12 counselling sessions instead.

Two years later, the shariah court denied her application to leave Islam and ordered her to attend additional counselling sessions instead. An appeal to the shariah appeals court failed.

The woman then turned to the civil courts to nullify the decisions of the shariah courts. She claimed the decision to reject her application to renounce Islam violated Article 11, which guaranteed a person’s freedom of religion.

Her application was dismissed by the High Court last year. The court had said that civil courts have no power to determine renunciation cases.

Lawyer Fahri Azzat represented the woman, while senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly and Sallehuddin Md Ali appeared for the government.