FACULTY OF LAW

TRI 1, 2017/2018

UJP 3612 – JURISPRUDENCE I

ASSIGNMENT:
M2: Man-made laws are superior to divine laws. (Oppostion)
Group 52

No. ID Name Signature Email & Hp no

1 1132700072 LIM SIN QIAO rynelim_0822@live.com.my
0167424546
2 1132700076 JONATHAN LEE JIA LE jonlee945@gmail.com
0146104645

Lecturer : DR. MOHAMED ISHAK ABDUL HAMID

Date Submitted : 26th SEPTEMBER 2017

Received on:

___________________________
Table of Contents Pages

1.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………….2-3

2.0 Submission……………………………………………………………………………………………..4-7

2.1 Submission of First Speaker

2.2 Submission of Second Speaker

3.0 Rebuttal……………………………………………………………………………………………….8-11

3.1 Rebuttal of First Speaker of the Proposition

3.2 Rebuttal of Second Speaker of the Proposition

4.0 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………12

5.0 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………...………………..13

1
1.0 Introduction

The debate motion is saying that the man-made laws are superior to divine laws. However, we oppose to
the statement and submit that the divine laws are superior to man-made laws. Before entering into our
arguments, it is necessary to first grasp a basic understanding on “divine laws”. What is meant by “divine”?
What are “laws”? Does “laws” include divine laws? What are the “divine laws”?

The term “Divine”, according to the English Oxford Dictionary, refers to providence or God or sacred. It
was originated from the late Middle English period; it was an Old French term from Latin divinus, which
derived from the word divus ‘godlike’.

“Laws” in modern common understanding refer to legal rules and regulations passed down by the
Parliament to control the behaviour of the members of the state. This form of laws is mam-made laws, but
it does not mean that only man-made laws are laws. John Austin, one of the very prominent jurists that
defining “law”, categorised laws into: law improper and law proper. The law improper consists of law by
analogy which referring to rules of fashion, dictates of honour, rules imposed upon gentlemen by opinions
current among gentlemen and international laws; and law by metaphor which is all the laws of nature such
as the law of gravity. Law proper as per Austin not only refers to man-made laws but it also include the
divine laws.

The concept of law given by Austin is well known as the Command Theory. He defined laws as the
general commands issued by sovereigns to their subjects who have a general habit of compliance, and
backed up with sanction in the case of non-compliance. Under this concept, the main elements constitute
“law” are sovereign; command; and sanction.

According to Austin, divine laws are laws established by God for the guidance of the people he had
created. His idea of “divine law” was founded in the concept of utilitarianism under the influence of his
close friends, Jeremy Betham and John Stuart Mill. On Austin’s reading of utilitarianism, divine will is
similar with Utilitarian principles: “The commands which God has revealed we must gather from the terms
wherein they are promulgated. The command which he has not revealed, we must construe by the principle
of utility.”1 As such, divine law, defined with the help of utilitarianism, is a set of divine commands that
which leads to happiness is beloved of God, that is, it is in agreement with the divine law.

The concept of divine law is totally fit within John Austin’s Command Theory. The sovereign in divine
law is referring to the God. The laws established by God to his adherents are the commands. The most
evident example was given in the Hebrew Bible, where Prophet Moses was given the Ten Commandments
from God (YHWH), written on stone tablets. The commandments include instructions to worship only
God, to honour one’s parents, and to keep the Sabbath, as well as prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy,
murder, adultery, theft, dishonesty and coveting. The divine law provides also the sanction when the
follower disobeys the God’s command. For example in Islam, Surah 4:14 of the Qur’an states that “But
those who disobey Allah and His Messenger and transgress His limits will be admitted to a Fire, to abide
therein; and they shall have a humiliating punishment.” 2 The action of casting the disobeyer into fire
indicates a sanction set out by God upon non-compliance to His commands.

Divine laws refer to the laws revealed by the Divine authority, God to govern the people He has created.
Divine laws are what believed by religious believers of most religions that it was given directly from the
“will of God”, which means it is independent of any human beings. The God’s Messenger acted only as a
messenger who spreads the God’s commands to people and a human narrator who interprets how those
commands given by God should be conducted. Generally the divine laws are what being contained in the
holy religious texts such as the Qur’an, the Christian Bible, and the Hebrew Bible, Torah.

1
Shobhit Mishra, ‘John Austin’ (2012) RJHSS
<http://rjhssonline.com/HTMLPaper.aspx?Journal=Research%20Journal%20of%20Humanities%20and%
20Social%20Sciences;PID=2012-3-2-24> accessed 21 September 2017
2
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Meaning of The Holy Qur’an (Islamic Book Trust 2007) 58

2
 In Islam, it is believed that the Qur’an was revealed by Allah verbally to the Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) through angel Gabriel. The revelation was given to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) gradually over
the years, approximately twenty-three years from 609 CE until 632 CE when the Prophet died. The Qur’an
here is the proof that shows the Prophet was conveying the commands of Allah by assemble those
commands into different chapters and verses and make it into a complete holy book that is able to pass
down over generations. Other than the Qur’an, the Muslims also refer to the hadith or Sunnah which is the
saying of the Prophet Muhammad as the Prophet provided in one of the hadiths that “I have left among you
two matters by holding fast to which, you shall never be misguided: the Book of God and my Sunna.”.
Thus it is concluded that the sources of Islam is mainly the Qur’an that consists of the Allah’s commands
and the Sunnah that further explained the everyday application of the principles established in Qur’an by
looking at the sayings and conducts of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Divine laws are the laws of God created to encourage the good and prevent the evil. According to the
Bible, the primary purpose of the law as Paul points out in his first letter to Timothy (1 Tim 1: 9-103) is to
“restraint evil”, where the verses provided: “the law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are
lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers and immoral
men, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for
perjured persons, and for whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.” The French theologian, John Calvin
gives that: “the law is something like a tether to restrain the otherwise wild and destructive ragings of our
sinful nature… it is a mirror in which we contemplate our weakness… the iniquity arising from this… and
finally the curse coming from both – just as a mirror shows us the spots on our face”.4

Divine laws are inseparable with the faith towards the Almighty power and thus it is differ according to
the religion one embracing since there is more than one religious belief all over the world. Therefore, the
context of our submission only limited on the concept of divine laws because the religion everyone has
faith into may be different but the concepts of all religions are almost the same. The Shariah laws, the
Canon laws, the Hindu laws, etcetera, they are all governing the wellbeing of its believers, providing them
with guidelines and teaches them the standards of good and bad, thus a better community is produced.

It is clear that divine laws are undisputable included in the definition of “law” and that they are laws
which were given by the Creator to govern His human creatures in order to ensure the harmony and peace
of the society. Therefore, we submit that the divine laws are superior to man-made laws.

3
‘1 Timothy 1:9-10’ (Bible Gateway, n.d.)
<https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+1%3A9-10&version=KJV> accessed 20
September 2017
4
Dr. D. W. Ekstrand, ‘The Essence of Divine Law’ (n.d.)
<http://corecanvas.s3.amazonaws.com/thetransformedsoul-
0ecb7a56/media/original/51b128916d688_The%20Essence%20of%20Divine%20Law.pdf> accessed 20
September 2017

3
2.0 Submission

We oppose to the debate motion and submit that the divine laws are superior to man-made laws. Our
submission is basically stood on two grounds: 1) The concept of God is the only divine authority ensures
the consistency and equality of laws; and 2) Divine laws are a set of clear guidelines which covers all
aspects in life.

2.1 Submission of First Speaker

Divine laws recognise only God as the divine authority, which means that God is the only one to give
commands for people to obey and to follow. In other words, no one has the capacity to make any
amendments or changes the laws given by the God, thus the laws will be stable and consistent as time
passes. Even when there is a change of ruler in a state, the laws to be applied to the people of that particular
state would not be affected. As such, divine laws ensure the consistency of laws.

On the other hand, the man-made laws are unpredictable. Man-made laws are very dependent on the law
makers, rulers, or executives, these people with powers vested on them have every necessary power to
decide how the country can turn out to be. In short, the man-made laws are wide open to changes or
amendments. The rational of changes-friendly concept may be to make improvement to the laws, however
it must be noted that changes may be able to bring in the good but open to changes could also bring chances
and opportunity for destruction. For example Hitler in the Nazi era and Kim Jung Un of North Korea in the
modern era, they change or set up the laws to fit how they want to control the country and the people in the
country, the results, were and are terrible.

Some may argue that the middle-east countries which applying divine laws are also in a mess. But, a
middle-east country like Saudi Arabia which is truly applying the Islamic laws is stable, peaceful and much
more developed than many other countries in the World. If you look at the current situation of Syria,
particularly al-Raqqah located in northern Syria, is nothing else but a result of man-made laws. There is
nothing about Islam. The leader, specifically the leader of ISIS namely Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi uses only the
cover of Islam and change it to man-made laws for the purpose he wants to achieve. Women are prohibited
to go out from the house alone without a guardian; 30 lashes will be punished upon a woman and the taxi
driver if she takes taxi alone; women faces printed on hair products packaging must be covered by any
means (most shops used marker pen ink to cover); and any person who are found to be gay will be brought
to the top of building and thrown off from it.

Therefore, under the concept of man-made laws, the result of laws is unpredictable, unstable and
inconsistent. Could you imagine the Malaysia after 50 years? As the laws are not as rigid as the divine
laws, it could change into another North Korea if the subsequent leader wishes to do so. It is not impossible
since most leaders, rulers, politicians, or executives are more concern to their powers rather than the
interest of their people in the states. Even in Malaysia there is already some sense of dictatorship slowly
arising, what to mention if more countries in the World starting to do the same?

As God is the only divine authority, divine laws also ensure the equality of law. Divine laws are free
from corruption and abuse of powers as God is the only source of laws and God is the only one to judge.
No one is exempted to obey the God’s commands, even the ruler or the head of state is abound by the laws
as a regular person.

Under divine laws concept, one cannot escape from his liability through corruption. For instance, the
Qur’an prohibits its followers to commit zina and if a Muslim failed to obey the command of God, the
punishment would be 100 lashes for the non-married or stoning to death for the one who married. One
cannot escape from the punishment by corrupting the God, even if he is the most powerful person in the
state.

In contrast, under man-made laws it is easier to escape one’s liability. There are many ways to get
exemption of criminal liabilities or get special treatment. In Malaysia, we have a Special Court just to hear
the disputes of Sultans; and under international laws, the laws have given immunity to diplomats and make

4
them free from any charges including criminal charges. Such immunity may even be provided to their
family members.

These man-made laws provide privileges to certain class or category of people and such privileges are
often very easily being misused. For example the diplomatic immunity which was established under the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of
1963. Such immunity was created to allow the diplomats carry out their mission without fear of any legal
harassment and to give them freedom to conduct their jobs in foreign countries without the need of fully
understood the laws and customs of that particular country. In United States, such abuse can be found from
parking violations to more profound crimes such as domestic abuse and rape. It was recorded in the year
1995, the Mayor of New York City at the time forgave an amount of $800,000 in parking tickets
accumulated by the foreign diplomats. There is also a case of the US Marine attached to the American
embassy in Bucharest, where a Mr. Christopher Van Goethem was not prosecuted even a veteran Romanian
rock musician was killed in an accident he caused, merely because of the diplomatic immunity he has.5
Abuse of diplomatic immunity clearly shows how one’s liability can be easily escaped under man-made
laws.

However, it is clear that the divine laws are equal to everyone, regardless of one’s position or class, either
one is the head of state, or a king, or a diplomat, one is mandatory to abide the laws. In 1 Kings 13 of Bible,
a “man of God” was sent by the Lord from Judah to prophesy against King Jeroboam of Israel. The man of
God declared: “ O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah
by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and
human bones shall be burned on you.’” 6 He also gave a sign: “Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the
ashes that are on it shall be poured out.”7 After hearing the saying of this man of God, King Jeroboam
sought to seize him but “his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it
again to him.”8 These verses in Bible clearly show that one will be punished by God even one is a King.

Therefore, as discussed above, it is evident that divine laws are superior to man-made laws because
divine laws guarantee the consistency of laws despite the change of rulers and divine laws provide equality
of laws which it treats everyone the same and no one will get special privilege from God and exempted
from the punishment set out by God upon non-compliance of God’s command.

5
‘Diplomatic Immunity’ (Law Teacher, November 2013) <https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-
essays/international-law/diplomatic-immunity.php> accessed 21 September 2017
6
Bible, 1 Kings 13: 2
7
Bible, 1 Kings 13: 3
8
Bible, 1 Kings 13: 4

5
2.2 Submission of Second Speaker

The second ground of our submission is that the divine laws are a complete set of rules which govern
every aspect in life. The God’s commands tell one what is right and what is wrong in one’s daily life, from
personal things such as do good to your neighbour, honour your parents, to prohibition to commit severe
crimes like murder. By complying with the divine laws, one is at the same time preserving the moral
values. This can be seen in the Ten Commandments given from God (YHWH) to Prophet Moses, written
on stone tablets. The Commandments consist of the instructions to worship only God, to honour one’s
parents and to keep the Sabbath, as well as prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, theft,
dishonesty and coveting. But man-made laws, it is more focuses to the state interest, safety of the people,
but not to govern the life of its subjects nor to preserve morality or humanity.

The divine laws not only provide clear guidelines to people but it also included the punishment upon
non-compliances, explicitly and specifically. Let’s take the Shariah law as example. In Qur’an, Surah 4:11
shows that the Almighty Allah commands His followers on how to distribute their properties, and in Surah
4:14, it says: “And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, and transgresses His limits, He will cast
him into Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment.” This Surah 4:14 clearly stated
that any non-compliance to Allah’s command, the person who failed to obey God’s command is to be
casted into fire by God. Some other clear specified punishments include the punishment for theft under
Surah 5:38: “As to the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hands: a punishment by way of example…”
and for intentional murder, death penalty is given by Surah 2:178.

Some may argue that the punishment given by the divine laws such as the Islamic laws are too harsh or
cruel. But we should look from a bigger picture of this issue and think about it for a longer term. Can a
light punishment prevent people from conducting crimes? If one does not commit crime, will he be
punished with such ‘cruel’ punishment? The answers are, no. These so-called cruel punishments are clearly
stated in the Qur’an. Just like Surah 5:38 indicates that the punishment of amputation is to be given to thief
as an example to the others, so that others will not do the same because they would be able to expect the
outcome of doing it. Therefore, by setting out a severe punishment for various offences, it can be expected
that the crimes rate will only be decreasing from time to time.

Contrary to the divine laws, man-made laws may result in different judgments based on different
perspectives. Under man-made laws, the punishments are not fixed in the statute, but they are to be passed
down by the judge of the particular case by his discretion. Thus in similar cases, the principles and
judgments laid out by the judge could be various, which means that there is a possibility where two people
committed the same offence were punished differently.

For example in the case of Adorna properties v Boonsom Boonyanit9, regarding the indefeasibility of
land title in Malaysia. The judge of High Court held that Malaysia is practising immediate indefeasibility,
which means that as long as the purchaser who bought the land is a bona fide purchaser then he gets a good
title and such title cannot be challenged. When the case reached the Court of Appeal, the judgment was that
the bona fide purchaser under section 340 (3) of the National Land Code refers to only subsequent
purchaser but not immediate purchaser and so the court held that the title obtained by Adona Property was
defeasible if tainted by any element in section 340 (2) of National Land Code. However, when the case
appealed to the Federal Court, the Federal Court judge again reversed the Court of Appeal’s decision and
uphold the High Court’s decision which bona fide purchaser can get a indefeasible title even the signature
was forged. Therefore in this case, even the signature of Boonsom Boonyanit was forged, she could not get
back her land title.

But in a later case Tang Ying Hong v Tan Sian San10, the court overruled the immediate indefeasibility
in Adorna’s case and held that Malaysia is practising deferred indefeasibility, thus the plaintiff in this case
was able to restore his title when there is a forgery found in the transaction. These two cases clearly show

9
Adorna Properties v Boonsom Boonyanit [2001] 2 CLJ 133
10
Tan Ying Hong v Tan Sian San [2010] 2 CLJ 269

6
that the interpretation of law may be different according to different judges’ perspectives and the
consequences of such are unjust and unfair.

In conclusion, we again submit that the divine laws are superior to man-made laws as divine laws are
more consistent, stable, complete, uniform in all senses. The divine laws can only passed down by the
divine sovereign, no one can change or amend the laws as he wishes and no one can escape his liability or
abuse the laws without being punished by God in the afterlife.

7
3.0 Rebuttal

3.1 Rebuttal of First Speaker of the Proposition

The submission of the first speaker from the proposition stated a few reasons why they think that man-
made laws are superior to divine laws: 1) the man-made laws are applicable to everybody despite their
religion; 2) divine laws are static and not suitable to be applied in current issues; and 3) The Euthypro
Problem.

As we mentioned in our introduction, the debate motion states that man-made laws are superior to divine
laws, the “divine laws” here refer to all kinds of divine laws as a whole, which means the discussion should
be focus on the concept of all divine laws and to determine whether such concept is better, superior than the
concept of man-made laws. Thus, in our opinion, it is not necessary to discuss about how many religions
existing in the world; how many types of divine laws in the world; or likewise. It is undeniable that divine
laws are differ in different religion but it must be noted that despite the difference of belief, all religions
and all divine laws are in fact serving for the same purpose, which is to produce a better human being and a
better society and a better world.

According to the proposition, “superior” meaning that one thing is stronger than another. Can
applicability of something indicate that it is stronger? Well, we strongly doubt it. Whether man-made laws
are superior to divine laws? Or divine laws are superior to man-made laws? This must be determined
through analysing the concept of these laws, the purpose of these laws and how these laws are being
executed towards the people and then only conclude whether one is better than another.

The applicability of man-made laws does not mean that man-made laws are better than divine laws in
any sense. This is because the applicability of man-made laws does not mean that it is equal to everybody.
Applicability, is only the surface of this issue. Every law is applicable to everybody, if a law was chose to
be applied, everybody will be abide by that particular law, and thus the law is applicable on everybody. But
the question is, is the law just? Is the law fair to everybody? This is the real issue that should be discussed.
As we submitted in the submission earlier, in the eyes of God, everyone is equal, no one will be granted
special treatments, privileges or immunity against criminal liabilities, regardless the position or the class or
the power of one possessed. God is the only almighty authority.

Man-made laws are contrary to divine laws. Man-made laws do not provide the real equality of laws.
Man-made laws are created to benefit the state, the government, the law makers, the ruler, or the power-
holder in the country. For example, the Malaysian Federal Constitution provides equality of law11. But,
such equality is in conflicts with the privileges 12 granted to only Malays and natives in Sabah and Sarawak.
Likewise, freedom of speech13 was explicitly provided under Article 10 of Federal Constitution. On the
other hand, the Sedition Act 1948 was created by law makers to restrict the freedom of speech that every
Malaysia should have, but the Parliament members are granted special parliamentary privileges. Therefore,
even the laws passed by Malaysian Parliament are applicable to every citizen, it is clear that the laws are
treating everyone in the country differently in many different senses. This shows how unfair man-made
laws could be.

The proposition also submits that the divine laws are static, and so could not follow the rapid
development of legal system. In our opinion, the rigidity of divine laws makes it more stable than man-
made laws. What is static in the divine laws, are the primary principles which should never ever being
amended or disregarded. For example, robbery is a criminal offence under Shariah law14. The primary rule
of such law is that one must not commit robbery. However, the subsequent rules developed from this
primary rule are depending on circumstances. When one commits murder and robbery, he will be punished

11
Federal Constitution, Article 8.
12
Federal Constitution, Article 153.
13
Federal Constitution, Article 10 (1)(a).
14
Qur’an, Surah 5:33.

8
with death penalty; when one commits robbery and rape, he will be punished with cruxification; and
amputation or banishment will also be given in certain circumstances. This clearly shows that divine laws
although static but it does not disregard the situation which it will be applied to.

Regarding to the applicability of divine laws in current issues, the same justification applies here. The
divine laws provide a set of guidelines, of what is right and what is wrong; of what should be done and
what should not be done. Divine laws are static but it does not mean that divine laws cannot further
develop. For example, under Shariah law, intoxication is an offence 15. Muslims are prohibited to consume
anything that can harm their body, either directly or indirectly, immediately or gradually, lead to death or
damage to their body, cause dangerous illness or harm their mind. Initially the law was only interpreted to
prohibit alcoholic drinks, however the law now was being interpreted in a more detailed manner to address
current issue such as e-cigarettes and vaping products.16

Another issue raised by the proposition is generally known as The Euthypro Problem, which ask the
question “Are right actions right because God commands them? Or right actions commanded by God
because they are right?” In our opinion, it is immaterial to determine such question because the only thing
that we must know is when we follow the God’s commands, we are far away from the evil and closer to the
good. As long as those actions are right actions, why we need to waste our valuable time on thinking why
those actions are right? Wondering such question is no different with asking why the sky is blue or why the
grasses are green. Is ‘Honour your parents.’ a right action? Is ‘Do not murder.’ a right action? It is not a
hard question to answer since the God had given us a free mind that can think and make judgment by
ourselves, provided not against what He had commanded. All those right actions are right not because they
are commanded by God nor God commanded those actions because they are right. They are right actions
simply because they are morally right, which explains why we submitted earlier that when we follow divine
laws, we are at the same time preserving the moral values. Divine laws are inseparable with morality. So if
you still wondering why those actions commanded by God are right or how those actions are considered as
right actions? Our answer is that God had given us free mind to think and determine the right and wrong.
Divine laws do not compel one to follow blindly nor order one to do something morally wrong. Divine
laws were given so that a better society can be produced. The reasons or justifications are awaited to be
discovered since there is no free lunch in the world. The God had given us the final answer of all questions
- standards of good and bad, it is our duty to think of the equation of the answer by ourselves.

15
Qur’an, 2:219, 4:43, 5:90.
16
Sara Malm, ‘Islamic fatwa declared on e-cigs: Vaping id forbidden for Muslims, declares chief
Malaysian cleric’ (Dailymail, 22 December 2015) <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-
3370008/Islamic-fatwa-declared-e-cigs-Vaping-forbidden-Muslims-declares-chief-Malaysian-
cleric.html> accessed 21 September 2017

9
3.2 Rebuttal of Second Speaker of the Proposition

The submission of the second speaker of the proposition had further submitted their submission based on
several grounds: 1) divine laws are static and not suitable for current circumstances; 2) man-made laws are
easier to be interpreted than divine laws because divine laws are fixed; 3) man-made laws are easier to be
implemented; and 4) divine laws provide tougher punishments compared to the punishments given under
man-made laws.

The first ground raised by the second speaker was already mentioned in the submission of their first
speaker, which they are saying that divine laws are static and thus it is very hard to make divine laws to suit
in the current circumstances. However we must again emphasise that divine laws are providing the people a
set of guidelines, teaching us what is good and what is bad. The extent of how static it is only restricted to
the very primary principle of the laws set out in the Qur’an. By applying those primary principles, there is
absolutely no issue in addressing current issues arise in our society, such as the vaping issue in our country
was being addressed by using the verses in Qur’an which prohibiting intoxicants regardless how slight the
effect will be caused. Also, divine laws are static because they are hard to be amended or changed. We
agreed to this point but we could not agree that being static would make it inapplicable. However, by being
static divine laws provide a more stable and consistent legal framework which would not be affected when
there is a change of ruler. The changes-friendly concept of man-made laws, can be said as opening its arms
and welcoming dictatorship.

The proposition also submitted that man-made laws are easier to be interpreted than divine laws because
when divine laws are not clear, it is merely impossible to ask the Creator for an explanation and cannot
question God. However, divine laws for example the Islamic laws, the Qur’an is not the only source that
Muslims can refer to, there are sunnah, ijma and also qiyas which Muslims can used to seek for a resolution
for their problems. On other hand, man-made laws are easier to be interpreted is because the interpretation
is mostly based on the discretion of judges. For example in land law, there is a question regarding the
applicability of English equitable principles in Malaysian land matters. English laws are applicable under
section 3 of the Civil Law Act 1956, however section 6 prohibits its application of English land tenure
laws. When refer to case law, the interpretation of these sections are different and resulted two approaches
on interpreting section 6. In Devi v Francis17, the court held that the rules of Equity is not excluded as
English land law is one thing and equity is another and thus equitable estoppel was invoked to esstop the
respondent from terminating the tenancy. But in UMBC v Pemungut Hasil Tanah Kota Tinggi18, the court
held that both English common law and equitable principles cannot be applied as there is no room for the
importation of English tenure laws unless the National Land Code expressly provide for it. These two cases
clearly show that interpretations of man-made laws are often in conflict and thus the laws are not efficient.

The third ground submitted by the second speaker of the proposition is that the man-made laws are
easier to be implemented. Such ground is because man-made laws can be enforced on everyone despite
different religion belief. As we mentioned earlier, a law that can be applied on everyone does not make it a
better law, but a fair and just law is a better law. Man-made laws, while being able to be applied to
everyone, it does not treat everyone equally and thus it cannot be regarded as a good law. Also, the
implementation of man-made laws is not as easy. Before a law being gazetted and put into force, it requires
all kinds of procedures like the First Reading, Second Reading, and etcetera. These processes may take
months or even years to be completed and finally made a law. However, divine laws are already provided
by God since the very beginning and its implementation is much easier because all you have to do is have
faith in God and obey the God’s commands. Although divine laws are vary in different religions but our
debate is about divine laws as a whole but not specifically pointing finger on any of the religion. Besides,
even the divine laws are different according to religion, they are all still serving the same purpose which is
to govern God’s creatures and thus create a better world for living.

17
Devi v Francis [1969] 2 MLJ 169
18
UMBC v Pemungut Hasil Tanah Kota Tinggi [1984] 2 MLJ 87

10
 Lastly, the proposition submitted that divine laws are not superior to man-made laws because of its
tough punishments such as hand amputation for thief and stoning to death for adultery. It must be noted that
the punishments prescribed under divine laws are all require very strong and solid evidence then only one
will be convicted and punished. For example, the offence of adultery can only valid if both parties of the
wrongful act confessed their guilt or when there are four eye witnesses19 who able to testimony. The
witnesses must be Muslims, adult and must be male. It also requires circumstantial evidence to collaborate
with the evidence such as semen or birth of a child from an unmarried woman. One’s guilt of adultery
could only be confirmed once all requirements of evidence were proved.

The proposition suggested that laws can be implemented without tough or harsh punishments. Yes, it is
for sure that laws can be implemented without any harsh or cruel punishment laid out for non-compliances.
But let me ask you a question, will such laws be effective? Will people have fear not to breach the laws? To
put it in a more relatable event, our university announced that any student whose attendance was below
80% will be barred from taking final exam. This is the main reason why students are keeping their
attendance on track. If students will not get barred when their attendance below 80%, we believe that there
will be a lot number of students which attendance will be less than 80%. Apply this logic back to our
discussion, by providing harsh and cruel punishment, it is helpful and effective in preventing more crimes
to be committed in future.

Therefore, we strongly disagree with the arguments submitted by the proposition and we must again
submit that the divine laws are superior to man-made laws.

19
Qur’an, Surah 4:15.

11
4.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, divine laws are a set of eternal law that are constant, unwavering and eternal. Divine laws
are equal to everyone despite the place and time and without prejudice. Eternal law, as per Thomas Aquinas
is the mind of God as seen by God himself and it is categorised as eternal because of its unchanging and
eternal nature. The divine law is derived from eternal law through revelation. The revelation of divine laws
appears to human as the divine commands from the almighty God. Thomas divided divine laws into the
Old Law and the New Law corresponding to the Old Testaments and New Testaments of Bible, which the
Old Law is mainly about the Ten Commandments and the New Law is about the teachings of Jesus. 20 The
same logic applies in Islam, where the fundamental source of Shariah laws is the Holy Qur’an and the
saying of Prophet, sunnah acts as a supplement to the Holy Book.

Divine laws are well recognised as a foundation of laws based on various opinions from jurists. Firstly,
divine laws are categorised as law proper by John Austin because divine laws totally fit into the Command
Theory established by Austin since it fulfilled all the three elements of law set out by Austin. A divine law
is a command given by the almighty God to His creatures and such command came along with a sanction
upon non-compliance.

Moreover, Thomas Aquinas provides that “Human law has the true nature of law only in so far as it
corresponds to right reason, and therefore is derived from the eternal law. In so far as it falls short of a right
reason, a law is said to be a wicked law…lacking the true nature of law”. It shows that man-made laws are
good laws when it was conformed to the eternal law, which are the divine laws.

Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian philosopher in the fifteen century, gives that “There never was any
remarkable lawgiver amongst any people who did not resort to divine authority, as otherwise his laws
would not have been accepted by the people”.

An English theologian in the sixteen century, Richard Hooker states that “Of law there can be no less
acknowledged, than that her seat is in the bosom of God”.

In addition, a French political writer in the sixteen century, Jean Bodin also wrote that “Law should be
modelled on the law of God”. 21

As such, we again submit that the divine laws are superior to man-made laws as divine laws are more
consistent, stable, complete, uniform in all senses. The divine laws can only passed down by the divine
sovereign, no one can change or amend the laws as he wishes and no one can escape his liability or abuse
the laws without being punished by God in the afterlife. Divine laws are also a complete set of guidance for
people which preserves moral values, encourages the good and expels the evil. Therefore, divine laws are
superior to man-made laws.

20
‘Aquinas On Law’ (n.d.) <https://people.wku.edu/jan.garrett/302/aquinlaw.htm> accessed 23 September
2017
21
Dr. D. W. Ekstrand, ‘The Essence of Divine Law’ (n.d.)
<http://corecanvas.s3.amazonaws.com/thetransformedsoul-
0ecb7a56/media/original/51b128916d688_The%20Essence%20of%20Divine%20Law.pdf> accessed 23
September 2017

12
5.0 Bibliography

Online References:

1. Shobhit Mishra, ‘John Austin’ (2012) RJHSS

<http://rjhssonline.com/HTMLPaper.aspx?Journal=Research%20Journal%20of%20Humanities%
20and%20Social%20Sciences;PID=2012-3-2-24>
2. ‘1 Timothy 1:9-10’ (Bible Gateway, n.d.)
<https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+1%3A9-10&version=KJV>
3. Dr. D. W. Ekstrand, ‘The Essence of Divine Law’ (n.d.)
<http://corecanvas.s3.amazonaws.com/thetransformedsoul-
0ecb7a56/media/original/51b128916d688_The%20Essence%20of%20Divine%20Law.pdf>
4. ‘Diplomatic Immunity’ (Law Teacher, November 2013) <https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-
essays/international-law/diplomatic-immunity.php>
5. Sara Malm, ‘Islamic fatwa declared on e-cigs: Vaping id forbidden for Muslims, declares chief
Malaysian cleric’ (Dailymail, 22 December 2015) <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-
3370008/Islamic-fatwa-declared-e-cigs-Vaping-forbidden-Muslims-declares-chief-Malaysian-
cleric.html>
6. ‘Aquinas On Law’ (n.d.) <https://people.wku.edu/jan.garrett/302/aquinlaw.htm>

Cases:

1. Adorna Properties v Boonsom Boonyanit [2001] 2 CLJ 133

2. Tan Ying Hong v Tan Sian San [2010] 2 CLJ 269
3. Devi v Francis [1969] 2 MLJ 169
4. UMBC v Pemungut Hasil Tanah Kota Tinggi [1984] 2 MLJ 87

Books and Statutes:

1. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Meaning of The Holy Qur’an (Islamic Book Trust 2007) 58
2. Bible
3. Qur’an
4. Federal Consitution

13