Oxford English Dictionary: “the body of enacted or customary rules

recognised by a community as binding”

Justice Donaldson of English court: “without the rule of law and courts
to enforce it, each one of us would be free to push and bully our fellow
citizens, and which may be thought more important, our fellow citizens
would be free to push and bulls us”.
 MALAYSIAN LEGAL HISTORY

Historically, Malaysia was once a British colony. It is important to

understand that much of Malaysia’s history is related to Great Britain,
which was established amongst the early colonies on the Malay
Peninsula. The legal history of Malaysia begins with the acquisition of
Penang in 1786.

On 31 August 1957, Malaya gained independence, and in 1963,

Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore merged with Malaya to form Malaysia.

Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965.

 THE FEDERAL SYSTEM
Malaysia is a federation consisting of thirteen (13) states (Negeri) and
three (3) federal territories (Wilayah Persekutuan).

In a federal system, there are two levels of government: the federal

government and the state government.
Article 4(1) of the Federal Constitution states:

- This Constitution (the Federal Constitution) is the

supreme law of the Federation, and any law
passed after Independence Day which is inconsistent
with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the
inconsistency, be VOID.
Article 75 of the Federal Constitution:

- If any State law is inconsistent with a Federal law, the

Federal law shall prevail and the State law shall, to the
extent of the inconsistency, be void.
LEGISLATION/STATUTE/ACT

The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature or lawmaker of the country.

Legislation is laws enacted by Parliament. .
STATE CONSTITUTION

Each state in Malaysia has its OWN constitution, which provides the
regulation of the State Government at the state level.
 HIERARCHY OF LAW

Federal Constitution

Parliament

State Constitution
 Classification of law
PUBLIC LAW
Public law is that branch of the law which governs the relationship between
individuals and the state. Eg: Criminal Law

PRIVATE LAW / CIVIL LAW

Private law/civil law is the branch of law that is concerned with the legal relations
between private individuals. Eg: Contract Law

INTERNATIONAL LAW
Governs relations between two countries.
 PARLIAMENT, THE EXECUTIVE AND THE JUDICIARY
PARLIAMENT
Parliament is the supreme legislature or law-maker of the country. Parliament
consists of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Senate (Dewan Negara ), and the
House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat ).

THE EXECUTIVE
The executive is the government of the day. The function of a government is to
implement the laws as enacted by Parliament and to act in the interests of the
people.

THE JUDICIARY
The main function of the judiciary is to decide cases based on existing law.
Judges sometimes come up with new interpretations that effectively create new
laws.
a) The Federal Constitution
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia (Malay: Perlembagaan Persekutuan
Malaysia), which came into force in 1957 as the Constitution of the Federation of
Malaya and was amended in 1963 to form the Constitution of Malaysia, is the
supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 articles.

b) Legislation / Statute/Act
Legislation is laws enacted by Parliament. Laws are legislated by Parliament at
the federal level.

c) Subsidiary Legislation / Delegated Legislation

Subsidiary Legislation is legislation made by other lawmakers than Parliament,
usually government ministers or public bodies, through the powers given to them
by Acts of Parliament. It is also known as delegated legislation.

d) The State Constitution

A set of laws that a state develops regulating the government of the state.
a) Common Law / Case Law/English Law
Unwritten laws are laws which are not contained in any statutes and can be
found in case decisions. This is known as the common law or case law. In
situations where there is no law governing a particular circumstance,
Malaysian case law may apply. If there is no Malaysian case law, English
case law can be applied.

b) Judicial Decisions
Judicial decisions are one of the sources of law in Malaysia. It is the
decisions given by the judges in higher courts and followed by lower courts
for guidance in future cases. Judicial precedent is a binding principle
created when the facts of a latter case are sufficiently similar to the facts of
a previous case (Judicial precedent).

c) Customary Law
Customary law can be said as a personal laws which are applicable to
certain racial, religious or ethnic groups. Every race has its own customs.
Hindu and Chinese customary law applied to the Hindus and Chinese
respectively.
Hierarchy of Courts/Court Structure

Superior Court
• High Court
• Court of Appeal
• Federal Court

Subordinate Court
• Magistrates Court
• Sessions Court
 Jurisdiction of Courts: Powers of a Court.

Subordinate Courts: The Magistrates Courts and Sessions Courts in

Malaysia have the power in both criminal and civil matters.

Magistrates’ Courts
Civil matter:
• First Class Magistrates’ Court- try all actions and suit (value not exceeding
RM100,000.00)
• Second Class Magistrates’ Court- try original actions or suits (value not
exceeding RM10,000.00)
Criminal matter:
• First Class Magistrates’ Court- try offences punishable with imprisonment
not exceeding 10 years or punishable with fine only.
• Second Class Magistrates’ Court- try offences punishable with
imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or punishable with fine only.
Sessions Courts
Civil matter:
• Unlimited jurisdiction to try all actions of a civil matter.
• Jurisdiction to try all other actions of a civil nature (not exceeding
RM1,000,000.)
Criminal matter:
• Try all offences other than those punishable with death.
• Pass any sentence other than the death sentence.
Superior Courts: The superior courts consist of The High Court (The High
Court of Malaya and the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak), The Court of
Appeal and The Federal Court.

High Court
• Two Chief Judges – Chief Judge of Malaya and Chief Judge of Sabah and
Sarawak.
• The High Court can try all criminal cases. In civil matters, the High Court
generally hears cases where the claim exceeds RM 1,000,000 must be
heard by the High Court.
• The High Courts also hear civil and criminal appeals against decisions of the
subordinate courts.
Court of Appeal
• Members- President of the Court of Appeal and up to ten Court of Appeal
judges.
• Hear and determine civil appeals for cases (above RM 250,000.00)
from the High Court
• Hear and determine any appeal against any High Court decision on a
criminal matter.
Federal Court
• Members- Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief
Judge of Malaya, the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak and six
Federal Court judges.
• Highest court in Malaysia and the final court of appeal.
• Hears civil and criminal appeals from the Court of Appeal.
• Decisions bind all the courts below.
Special Court
• Established under Article 182 of the Federal Constitution
• Hears any civil or criminal action against the Yang Di- Pertuan
Agong or any of the nine Malay Rulers.

Court for Children (Juvenile Court)

• Hears and determines any charge against a child (under 18 years old)
• Exercises jurisdiction under the Child Act 2001 or any other written law.
Other Courts and Tribunals:

i. Syariah Court: The Syariah Court exercises jurisdiction over matters

relating to Islamic law where the parties are Muslims.
ii. Native Court: The Native Court only exists in Sabah and Sarawak. It
deals with matters relating to ‘native customs’ where the parties are
natives.
iii. Industrial Court: The Industrial Court hears matters relating to trade
disputes and dismissal of employees. It is not strictly a civil court; thus,
its procedures are less formal. The decision of the Court is final;
however, reference may be made to the High Court on questions of
law.
iv. Consumer Claims Tribunal: The Consumer Claims Tribunals is
established under the Consumer Protection Act 1999. The Tribunal
deals with claims arising from alleged contravention of the Act. The Act
only deals with consumer transaction, which means the Tribunals
jurisdiction is quite limited. The monetary limit of a claim is RM 50,000.