THE INTEGRATION OF DIGITAL FORENSICS SCIENCE AND ISLAMIC EVIDENCE LAWS

Abstract

Evidence is anything that tends to prove or disprove a fact at issue in legal action. It involves the offering of alleged proof through testimony or objects at court proceedings to persuade the trier of fact about an issue in dispute. Islamic Evidence Law is a body of rules that helps to govern conduct and determines what will admissible in certain legal proceedings and trials. In the proceeding that involves digital evidence, the court will consider whether the digital evidence is admissible or inadmissible depends on the requirements of admissibility stated in law statutes in force and the existence of any Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Under section 33 of the Syariah Court (Federal Territories) Evidence Act or other Syariah Evidence Enactments, digital evidence is subjected to be authenticated by the digital forensics experts. In digital forensics, the process of identification, preservation, collection, analysis, and presentation is the main procedures contained in any Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of any digital forensics services. The court will ensure that this procedure can maintain the authenticity and the originality of the evidence especially on the issue of expert qualification, a chain of custody and analysis part. Thus, digital forensics is integrated with the Islamic law of evidence to maintain justice in delivering judgment. Therefore, this article examines the standard requirement of the admissibility of digital evidence by digital forensic methodology by using the qualitative approach on the analysis of articles, books, law statutes documents and law cases. The results show that the need for amendment of Syariah Court Evidence and Procedure statutes and the necessity of the existence of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on digital evidence in the Syariah courts as a guideline for judges, lawyers and parties involved.