Abstrak: Pengadilan Agama di tahun 2006 mendapatkan tambahan kewenangan yang strategis yaitu mengadili sengketa ekonomi syari’ah. Wewenang baru tersebut bisa dikatakan sebagai tantangan dan sekaligus peluang bagi lembaga peradilan agama utamanya Hakim Pengadilan Agama memikul tanggungjawab yang berat. Disamping sebagai peluang yang bagus, tetapi merupakan tantangan yang tidak mudah karena kuantitas dan kualitas hakim pengadilan agama yang berkompeten di bidang ekonomi syari’ah masih perlu ditingkatkan. Semakin luas otoritas peradilan ekonomi syari’ah yang dapat diperankan oleh pengadilan agama, dan didukung oleh hakim yang memiliki kompetensi yang tinggi, maka akan menghasilkan produk putusan sekaligus lembaga peradilan ekonomi syari’ah yang memadai. Hambatan dan upaya guna peningkatkan kompetensi hakim: Pertama, sumber daya hakim pengadilan agama; kedua, hukum materiil dan Acara Sengketa Ekonomi Syari’ah; ketiga, budaya “pandangan masyarakat” tentang kompetensi hakim pengadilan agama dalam mengadili sengketa ekonomi syari’ah juga menjadi tantangan para hakim untuk mewujudkannya, namun bukan hanya kompetensi  hakim yang harus dikembangkan namun juga harus bersama-sama mengembakan tiga unsur sistem hukum (three element of legal system) yakni: legal structure, legal substance, and legal culture untuk mewujudkan cita-cita perumus undang-undang menjadi Peradilan agama sebagai lembaga yang berwenang mengadili sengketa ekonomi syari’ah dengan menunjukkan kompetensi dan profesionalitas para hakimnya Abstract: Religious court got an additional strategic authority that is judging the disputes of islamic economy in 2006. The new authority can be regarded as a challenge and also an opportunity for religious court mainly religious court judges that have a heavy responsibility. Beside having a good opportunity, but it is not an easy challenge because the quantity and quality of the religious court judges who are competent in the field still need to be improved. The wider authority of islamic judical economy which can be played by the religious court, and supported by judges who have a high competence, will produce economic decision as well as islamic economy court. The barriers and efforts of judges competency enhancement are the first is the resource of religious court judges.  The second is both material laws and islamic economy disputes judicial procedure. The third is the culture of “ people views” about the competence of the religious court judges in judging islamic economy disputes becoming the challege of the judges to realize it, but not only the judge competence that has to be improved but the judges also have to cooperate in developing the three elements of legal system, namely, structure,substance, and culture legal to realize the ideals of drafting legislation to religious courts as an institution that has an authority to judge islamic  economy disputes by showing competence and professionalism of the judges.   Kata kunci: Hakim, pengadilan agama, kompetensi, sengketa, ekonomi syari’ah