Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 July 2016
The strong growth of Islamic capital markets internationally has seen the corresponding development of regulatory frameworks incorporating sharia law. Malaysia has been at the forefront of Islamic capital market regulatory development, merging corporate law drawn from its common-law heritage with sharia principles. This article examines the interaction of law with political economy and sociocultural influences in Malaysia which has underpinned the evolution of hybrid Islamic capital market regulation. It analyses the evolution of Malaysian Islamic capital market regulation against theories of legal origin and legal evolution. The analysis suggests that the sharia and common-law components of Islamic capital market regulation have evolved along two separate and seemingly inconsistent trajectories. While the secular corporate law component continues to evolve in tandem with its common-law tradition, development of the sharia component represents a distinct shift away from common-law traditions.
PhD Candidate, Monash Business School, Monash University, Australia. The author would like to thank Associate Professor Michelle Welsh and Professor Richard Mitchell of Monash Business School for their constant encouragement, guidance, and support throughout the author’s PhD candidature. The author is also grateful to Associate Professor Carolyn Sutherland for her helpful feedback on a draft of this article. Correspondence to Vivien Chen, Department of Business Law and Taxation, PO Box 197, Caulfield East, VIC 3145, Australia. E-mail address: [email protected].