A prominent Muslim jurist has been nominated to the Supreme Court.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Mujiv Hataman nominated Court of Appeals Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao to the Supreme Court.

One of the seats in the Supreme Court will be vacant with the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Jose Perez on December 14, 2016.

Hataman has sent his nomination letter to the Judicial Bar Council, citing Dimaampao's achievements and track record as a law practitioner.

"Justice Dimaampao is publicly known as a highly respected justice especially in the Muslim community. As a Bangsamoro himself, Justice Dimaampao carries with him the aspiration to uplift the lives and pursue the rights of his fellow Muslims,” Hataman wrote.

Dimaampao, who was sworn in at the Court of Appeals in 2004, is the youngest magistrate to be appointed to the appellate court at the age of 40.

He also holds the distinction of being the first and only Muslim senior state prosecutor. An expert in Shari'a Law, Dimaampao is a professional lecturer of the Department of Shari'a Law and Jurisprudence of the Philippine Judicial Academy of the Supreme Court.

Dimaampao, likewise, teaches several law subjects in different law schools in Metro Manila, as well as conducts bar review classes all over the country.

He has also been nominated to the Supreme Court in 2010, in accordance with the Organic Law for the ARMM, also known as Republic Act No. 9054, which states that “it shall be the policy of the central government or national government that, whenever feasible, at least one (1) justice in the Supreme Court and two (2) justices in the Court of Appeals shall come from qualified jurists of the autonomous region.

Should he be appointed as a member of the Supreme Court, Dimaampao will only be the second Filipino Muslim to be part of the country's highest court, next only to Abdulwahid Bidin, who was appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1987.