Volume 4 Issue 11 (September 2022) PP. 10-19 DOI: 10.35631/IRJSMI.411002 Copyright © GLOBAL ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE (M) SDN BHD - All rights reserved 10 INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL OF SHARIAH, MUAMALAT AND ISLAM (IRJSMI) www.irjsmi.com EMOTIONAL DISORDER AS OBSTACLE TO SULH SETTLEMENT IN CHILD CUSTODY CASES IN MALAYSIA Norman Zakiyy 1* , Maizatul Farisah Mokhtar 2 , Hasnizam Hashim 3 1 Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Malaysia Email: zakiyy@usim.edu.my 2 Tamhidi Center, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Malaysia Email: maizatulfarisah @usim.edu.my 3 Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Malaysia Email: hasnizam@usim.edu.my * Corresponding Author Article Info: Abstract: Article history: Received date: 01.08.2022 Revised date: 20.08.2022 Accepted date: 28.08.2022 Published date: 05.09.2022 To cite this document: Zakiyy, N., Mokhtar, M. F., & Hashim, H. (2022). Emotional Disorder as Obstacle to Sulh Settlement in Child Custody Cases in Malaysia. International Research of Shariah, Muamalat and Islam, 4 (11), 10-19. DOI: 10.35631/IRJSMI.411002. This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 Sulh is renowned for resolving various types of disputes, including hadhanah (child custody) matters in the Syariah Court. However, its effectiveness in responding to hadhanah (child custody) cases that involve emotional disorders requires further investigation. The main objective of this study is to examine the obstacle brought forth by a party suffering from an emotional disorder in a sulh session of a child custody case in Malaysia. The study adopts a qualitative approach and builds on library resources. Data were analyzed descriptively from a literature review on sulh, emotional disorder, and court processes. This study finds that a party who suffers from emotional disorder in a child custody case may affect sulh settlement because it obstructs the sulh officer from carrying out his facilitative task effectively according to the rules mentioned in the sulh procedure and sulh work manual. Therefore, the implication of this study is to draw awareness of the incidence of emotional disorders and the need for the Syariah Court to conduct an early reality check on each party’s mental capacity prior to determining whether to place a particular child custody case for possible sulh settlement. Keywords: Sulh, Emotional Disorder, Child Custody, Court, Malaysia Introduction Malaysia records from health helplines revealed that there are more than 37,000 phone calls thus far relating to mental health (Lim, 2020). In 2019, 301 million individuals suffered from an anxiety disorder, 280 million individuals suffered from depression, and 40 million individuals suffered from bipolar disorder (Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation - Global