INTRODUCTION Effective communication is a process through which the sender conveys a message that the receiver readily receives

and understands. It is a two-way process instead of a one-way process.1 Effectual communication engages the choice of the best communications channel, the technical know-how to use the channel, the presentation of information to the target audience, and the skill to understand responses received from others. Self development, interpersonal skills, mutual understanding, mutual cooperation and trust is also important to set a complete channel of most effective and winning communication skills.2 Indeed, the practice of effective communication is integrated and effected into Sulh sessions under the Syariah Court Civil Procedures & Rules. To know how the practice effective communication is incorporated in the sulh sessions, first, it is wise to know the procedure of sulh as provided by the Syariah Courts Civil Procedure and Rules and the Sulh Working Manual. Second, the integration of effective communication into sulh procedures will be discussed by identifying the elements of effective communication in the sulh procedure. For the purpose of this discussion reference is made particularly to the practice of sulh in the Syariah Court of Federal Territories.

PROCEDURE OF SULH IN THE SYARIAH COURTS CIVIL PROCEDURES AND RULES The relevant legal provisions and rules relating to the sulh process in Federal Territories are as follows :1) Syariah Court Civil Procedure (Federal Territory) Act 1998 (Act 585) Section 99 - "The parties to any proceedings may at any stage of the proceedings, hold sulh to settle their dispute in accordance with Hukum Syara'.

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http://www.ehow.com/facts_5459110_definition-effective-communication-skills.html http://www.goodcommunicationskills.net/

Section 247 (1) (c) The Syariah Court Rules Committee may make rules for, inter alia, the procedure of sulh, for carrying out the provision of the Act.

2) The Syariah Court Civil Procedure (Sulh) (Federal Territories) Rules 2004 PU(A) 18/2004. 3) Sulh Working Manual.

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 247(1)(c) of Syariah Civil Procedure (Federal Territories) Act 1998, the Syariah Court Rules Committee makes the Syariah Court Civil Procedure (Sulh) (Federal Territories) Rules 2004. This rule is applicable in all matters except in application for divorce.3 The Rules provides that where, after receiving a summons or an application for any cause of action, the Registrar is of the opinion that there is reasonable possibility of a settlement between the parties to the action, the Registrar shall not fix a date for trial of the action, but fix a date, as soon as practicable, for the parties to hold sulh. Then, the Registrar shall serve the notice of the date fixed for sulh on the parties.4 At this juncture, it is the duty of the Registrar of to look into the case and use his discretionary power to decide whether it is appropriate to hold sulh for the parties. Furthermore, where any party, to whom a notice under Rule 3(c) has been serves, without reasonable cause, fails to appear in the date fixed for sulh, such non-appearance shall be treated as a contempt of court and the court may commence proceedings for contempt of court in accordance with Section 229 of the Act.5 The sulh session, or known as Majlis Sulh, shall be conducted in the presence of the parties of the action,6 chaired by Registrar or any public officer appointed for such purpose by the Chief Syariah Judge.7 In addition, Rule 5(3) requires each party to appear in the Majlis Sulh in person i.e. no Syarie lawyer may appear or act as such for any party and no party shall be represented by any person without leave of the chairman. Furthermore, the chairman, where
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Syariah Civil Procedure (Sulh) (Federal Territories) Rules 2004, Rule 1(3) Ibid, Rule 3 5 Ibid, Rule 4 6 Ibid, Rule 5(1) 7 Ibid, Rule 5(2)

possible, shall assist the parties to resolve the dispute concerning the subject matter of the sulh and shall give each party an opportunity to be heard.8 Besides, the chairman may take evidence from the parties, accept any document submitted and may, if he thinks necessary, adjourn Majlis Sulh from time to time.9 The Majlis Sulh will be conducted by a sulh officer called the Chairman. The Sulh Working Manual serves as a guideline throughout the process to help the Sulh officer manage the sulh session. According to the working manual, the Majlis Sulh will be conducted in five stages i.e. the introductory session, the first submission session, the joint discussion, caucus meeting and the joint negotiation. In the introductory session called taaruf session, the Sulh Officer will first introduce himself. Then he will explain in brief the process of Sulh and its objective is to settle dispute by way of mutual agreement. He must also tell the parties about the rules of Majlis Sulh which includes: whenever one party is talking, the other one should listen without interruption; parties must speak politely, in low tone and calm mode; no personal attack is allowed; and no direct communication between the parties, unless with the presence of Sulh Officer. The parties must give undertaking to be bound by the rules. In addition, Sulh Officer must inform the parties that all information obtained throughout session is confidential even to the judge appointed to hear the case if sulh is not successful. Afterwards, each party will be allowed to speak and submit their respective disputes. They can express the issues, needs, interest and their expectation to be achieved from the session. Then, the sulh officer will analyze the situation, determine whether there are issues to be settled, the position of parties, their interests and alternative to dispute resolutions. Afterward, they will enter into the joint meeting session. Here, the sulh officer will convey his analysis and suggestions to the parties and after that, discuss the possible settlement with the parties. If the parties are able to reach an agreement, partly or wholly, then a settlement agreement will be recorded. If not, then the Sulh officer can ask one party to leave the session and conduct the session with one party in attendance known as caucus meeting. The caucus sessions will start by meeting with the plaintiff first then followed by the respondent.
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Syariah Civil Procedure (Sulh) (Federal Territories) Rules 2004, Rule 5(4) Ibid, Rule 5(5)

Caucus meeting is conducted to enable the party to open up issues at ease without worries of prejudice by the other party. This is done through the discretionary power of the sulh officer by looking into any anticipated situations that may prolong the case. Subsequently, a joint negotiation will be conducted once again to discuss possible settlement. If the parties have reached an agreement to settle the action, wholly or partly, the chairman shall prepare a draft agreement and submit it to the parties for their confirmation and signature and, thereafter, the Chairman shall transmit such draft agreement to the court to be recorded as a judgment by consent under Section 131 of the Syariah Court Civil Procedure Act 1998.10 However, if the action is unable to be resolved in a Majlis Sulh, the chairman shall report the matter in writing to the court.11 Subsequently, the court shall fix a date for hearing to continue the proceedings for the purpose of disposing the case.12

INTEGRATION OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION INTO SULH SESSION The integration of the practice of effective communication into the Sulh sessions is in the sense that the elements of effective communication can be traced in the practice of sulh procedure as provided in the Syariah Courts Civil Procedure and Rules and the Sulh Working Manual. Among the important elements to set a complete channel of effective communication skills are mutual understanding and mutual cooperation. These elements can be easily connected to the objective of sulh which is aim to settle and dissolve disputes by way of mutual agreement. In addition, the principle of integrity which is one of the principles of effective communication can also be traced in sulh. The purpose of communication is to support individuals in achieving and maintaining the cooperation between parties. Integrity is therefore material to effective communication as it allows parties to be prepared to open up issues at ease without worries of prejudice by the parties or the mediator. This principle relates to the fact that sulh officer is under

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Syariah Civil Procedure (Sulh) (Federal Territories) Rules 2004, Rule 6 Ibid, Rule 7 12 Ibid, Rule 8

a duty to display positive attitude and observe neutrality to avoid bias in facilitating the sulh sessions.13 Thus, sulh officer is required to give each party an opportunity to be heard.14 Furthermore, principle of clarity is also effected in sulh. The key to effective communication is clarity. Clarity means getting your message across so the receiver will understand what you are trying to convey. No communication is complete unless the message is understood by the other party. Principle of clarity is visualized in sulh through the procedures of sulh sessions. As discussed aforesaid, the Majlis Sulh consist of a number of stages i.e taaruf session, early presentation, joint discussion, caucus, joint negotiation. This procedure is to ensure the issue in dispute is conveyed appropriately and precisely i.e. the issue addressed by one party is understood by the other party as well as the sulh officer. Lack of clarity in expressing and evaluating the problems will lead to misunderstanding and may cause the sulh session to be unsuccessful. Therefore, it can be deduced from the above that expressive skill is important in conveying message. Expressive skill is one of effective communications skills to convey message to others through words, facial expressions and body language. Expressive skill can be found in sulh session in two areas. First is through the early submission by the parties. At this stage, each party is allowed to speak and submit their respective disputes, starting with the Plaintif/Applicant and then followed by the Defendant/Respondent. Here, the parties will be able to express their needs and interest as well as their expectations to be achieved from the process. The second is through the caucus meeting whereby the sulh officer meets only one party at a time. He will approach each party individually without the presence of other party with intent to encourage the party to be expressive and open up issues at ease without worries of prejudice by the other party. Apart from that, it is important to note that communication is a two way effort and the receiver has responsibility too. Here, the element of passive and active listening plays its significant role in effective communication. This skill is to be observed by both the sulh officer and the parties. In sulh session, the rule of thumb is that whenever one party is talking, the other should listen attentively without interruption. This is to enable the party to fully give attention to
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Ethical Code for Sulh officers Syariah Civil Procedure (Sulh) (Federal Territories) Rules 2004, Rule 5(4)

what the other party wants to convey so that they can understand and appreciate each others needs and interest. The passive listening is also to be observed by the sulh officer. The objective of good passive listening by the sulh officer is to encourage and help each party to fully express his side of the story in his own way and for the mediator to really hear, understand and remember what is being communicated. Apart from that, at times, the sulh officer shall apply the active and attentive listening skill. Active listening is effected in sulh session when the sulh officer demonstrates that he/she has heard and taken account of what has been said by the parties through the analysis and suggestion for possible settlement. It is important for mediators to demonstrate not only that they have listened to what the parties have said but also that they have heard accurately.15 In addition, reframing is also integrated in the conduct of sulh session. Reframing is a process of changing the way a thought is presented so that it maintains its fundamental meaning but is more likely to support resolution efforts.16 It is a skill of slightly modifying the words or the context of a partys statement in order to recast it in a positive vein.17 This is a technique which the sulh officer use to gradually move the parties in the right direction i.e. away from conflict and towards resolution.18 Practically, this skill can be traced in Rule 5 of the Syariah Court Civil (Sulh) Rules 2004 which provides that the mediator shall, where possible, assist the parties to resolve the dispute concerning the subject matter of the sulh. Here, the sulh officer may apply reframing in coming up with an analysis and suggestion of possible settlement and facilitate and persuade the parties to reach settlement based on the suggestions.

CONCLUSION The Syariah Court Civil Procedures & Rules is made with a view to ensure the success of a sulh session by embedding the elements of effective communication in it. It is the duty of the chairman of the sulh session to adhere to the practice and ensure the same to be observed by the disputants by guiding them so that the sulh process will be succeeded and serve its objective.
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Charlton & Dewduey. 2009. The Mediators Handbook Skills and Strategies for Practice. Australia: International Distributors. p 194 16 Ibid, p 197 17 Noone, Micheal. 1996. Essential Legal Skills: Mediation. London: Cavendish Publishing Limited. p 49 18 Ibid.

REFERENCES Statutes 1) Syariah Court Civil Procedure (Federal Territory) Act 1998 (Act 585) 2) Syariah Civil Procedure (Sulh) (Federal Territories) Rules 2004 Rules & Regulations 3) Ethical Code for Sulh officers 4) Sulh Working Manual Books 5) Aseel Al-Ramahi. 2008. Sulh: A Crucial Part in Islamic Arbitration. London School of Economics and Political Science Law Department 6) Charlton & Dewduey. 2009. The Mediators Handbook Skills and Strategies for Practice. Australia: International Distributors. 7) Noone, Micheal. 1996. Essential Legal Skills: Mediation. London: Cavendish Publishing Limited. 8) Siti Noraini Binti Haji Mohd Ali and Zulkifli Hasan. Perlaksanaan Sulh dan Keberkesanannya di Mahkamah Syariah Selangor Web 9) http://www.ehow.com/facts_5459110_definition-effective-communication-skills.html 10) http://www.goodcommunicationskills.net/