Undang-Undang Melaka

Undang-Undang Melaka (Malay for 'Law of Melaka', Jawi: اوندڠ٢ ملاک ), also known as Hukum Kanun Melaka, Undang-Undang Darat Melaka and Risalah Hukum Kanun, was the legal code of Melaka Sultanate (1400-1511). It contains significant provisions that reaffirmed the primacy of Malay customary law or adat, while at the same time accommodating and assimilating Islamic principles. The legal code is believed originally compiled during the reign of Muhammad Shah (1424-1444), before it was continuously expanded and improved by the succeeding sultans. The Melaka system of justice as enshrined in the Undang-Undang Melaka was the first digest of laws, compiled in the Malay world. It became a legal resource for other major regional sultanates like Johor, Perak, Brunei, Pattani and Aceh, and has been regarded as the most important of Malay legal digests.

According to Malay Annals, earliest form of justice system had been in existence since the early days of Melaka. Early Melakan rulers promulgated court traditions and enforced the existing adat and religious rules to maintain social order. All rules, prohibitions and customs that have been codified as laws, were in turn collected through oral traditions and memorized by senior ministers of the sultanate. During the reign of Muhammad Shah, laws were issued and recorded along with provisions for punishments of every offenses. Among notable rules mentioned in the Malay Annals, were the prohibition of using yellow clothes and wearing golden anklets. Under the order of the fifth Sultan, Muzaffar Shah (1445-1459), the legal digest of Muhammad Shah was further refined with the inclusion new laws and regulations. It was then continued to be expanded and improved until the reign of the last sultan, Mahmud Shah (1488-1511).

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