...MALAYSIAN COURT SYSTEM The purpose of this is to provide a brief overview of the Malaysian Court System. Whilst its intention is to familiarise readers with the function of Malaysian Courts, it is no substitute for professional legal advice which you should obtain whenever you are involved with the Courts. Such advice can be obtained from the numerous legal firms in the country or from the various Legal Aid Centres. MAGISTRATES COURT The Magistrates Courts deal with the vast majority of cases, both civil and criminal, and sit in almost all major towns in Malaysia. A) CIVIL JURISDICTION A Magistrates Court may hear a civil case when the amount in dispute does not exceed RM 25,000. Where the amount claimed does not exceed RM 5,000 you may wish to file your claim in the “Small Claims” division of the Magistrates Court. If you do so, however, you must be prepared to conduct the case yourself, as legal representation is not permitted. B) CRIMINAL JURISDICTION A Magistrates Court may hear criminal matters of the following nature: i. Where the offence is punishable by a fine only – this would cover the majority of the traffic offences. ii. Where the offence provides for a term of an imprisonment not exceeding (10) years. A Magistrate may not, however, impose a term of imprisonment exceeding (5) years. SESSIONS COURT A) CIVIL JURISDICTION A Sessions Court may hear any civil matter involving motor vehicle accidents, disputes between landlord and tenant, and distress actions. The Sessions...
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...law system originated in England use the doctrine of stare decisis in the jurisdictions. Doctrine of stare decisis is a Latin legal term, used in common law to express the notion that prior court decisions must be recognized as precedents, according to case law. Doctrine of stare decisis uses evolving bodies of case precedents and judicial decisions in jurisdictions. More fully, the legal term is "stare decisis et non quieta movere" meaning "stand by decisions and do not move that which is quiet. Stand by the decisions means to stand by what have been decided and the lower court are bound to followed the example of previous cases and judicial decisions of higher court where the material facts of the cases are the same and lower court are not allowed to overruled the decisions or make its own decision. Do not move means the doctrine of stare decisis is rigid and strict application. Lower court must follow the prior decisions of a higher court and lower courts are bound to do so, whether or not the judge in the subsequent case agrees with the precedents in questions. Application of doctrine stare decisis in Malaysia In Malaysia legal system, hierarchy of the court are divided into two; superior court and subordinate court. Federal court, court of appeal and high courts are the superior court and session’s courts, magistrate court, and penghulu’s court are the subordinate court. This hierarchy of courts apply the doctrine of stare decisis. Doctrine of stare decisis has two ways...
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...Introduction Malaysia consists of a federation of fourteen states. Article 4(1) of the Malaysian Constitution states that the supreme law of the federation is the Constitution. Malaysia follows the Westminster model of government. The Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister exercises executive power. Both the prime minister and Cabinet answers to the parliament. The Monarch appoints the Prime Minister. He is the leader of the ruling party in the lower house (House of Representative) of the Parliament. Members of the lower house are elected for fiveyear terms. Members of the upper house (Senate) consist of two senators elected by each state legislative assembly and the Monarch appoints the rest. Senators serve for six years. The House of Representatives is the main legislative body. The Senate only has delaying powers over legislation. Members of the executive are also members of the legislature. The executive practically makes law. The executive and legislative branch in Malaysia could be conveniently be categorised together. The term executive and legislature in the Malaysian context actually refers to the same entity exercising different functions. This is coupled by the fact that the ruling government has been able to maintain a two-third majority in Parliament ever since independence. Several significant legislations such as the regular use of Emergency powers under Article 150 of the Constitution and the Internal Security Act 1960 has led to the erosion of civil liberties...
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...NUISANCE BY ASSOCIATION OF THE MALAYSIAN RETAILERS & STREET VENDORS AT CENTRAL MARKET, OF VIOLATING THE RAILWAY LAWS AT KL SENTRAL TERMINAL, OF DILUTING THE MINDS OF YOUNG MALAYSIANS BY PERFORMING FOREIGN MUSIC, OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT VIOLATION AND CAUSING NEGLIGENT WHICH CAUSED SEVERAL INJURIES. We had received your massage via the Facebook Message System dated on 14 December 2014, at 2.00 p.m. After reviewing the document attached and further research, we are now prepared with our opinion on the above matters. 2.0 THE MATERIAL FACTS 2.1. You had been performed in Central Market for a few days. Nonetheless, during the final night of your performance, a DBKL officer named Boo Nalaf approached you and slapped you with a document which stated that the Association of the Malaysian Retailers & Street Vendors at Railway Terminals alleged you to cause Nuisance in the despite performing outside the Central Market. 2.2. You had performed in KL Sentral for a few days. Despite so, a man named Mat Syafiq who works at the train station demanded you to leave the area under the allegation that you have violated the railway laws of Malaysia. He was then being aid by a group of thugs to chase you out from the premise. 2.3. Being a Jazz performer, a group named Purity alleged you of violation of the local cultural norm, as the genre is not of local origin. Similarly, the group also further alleged you contaminate the minds of young Malaysians as Jazz being unstructured music...
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...The laws of Malaysia can be classified into two types of laws, which are written law and unwritten law. Written laws are the Malaysia’s most important source of law. These written laws are made up of Federal Constitution, Acts of Parliament and Enactments, and subsidiary/delegated legislation. Unwritten laws are laws which are not enacted by the legislature (Parliament and State Assemblies) and not found in the constitution, both federal and state. This is known as the English common law and the rules of equity. In case, if 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 in accordance with the Civil Law Act 1956 (Revised 1972) only in the absence of local statues on the particular subject matter. It is mean that the common law and the rules of equity can be modified and should not follow the same law as administered in England. Common law and the rules of equity can be developed and amended according to the local needs. S3(1) of the Civil Law Act 1956 statutorily provides that only the part of the English Law that is suited to the local circumstances are to be applied : I. West Malaysia - the English common law and the rules of equity and statues of general application in England as 1 December 1951. II. Sabah – the English common law and the rules of equity and statues of general application in England as at 1 December 1951. III. Sarawak – the English common law...
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...LAW 3235 SEM 2 2013/2014 QUESTION ‘’ Syariah court has no legitimacy for non-muslim’’ Discuss the jurisdiction of Syariah court and civil court in Malaysia. INTRODUCTION Position of syariah court in Malaysia Syariah refers to Sharia law in Islamic religious law and deals with exclusively Islamic laws, having jurisdiction upon every Muslim in Malaysia. The dual-system of law in Malaysia is provided for in Article 121(1A) of the Constitution of Malaysia.The Syariah Court system is one of the two separate system of courts which exists in Malaysian legal system. There is a parallel system of state Syariah Court, which has limited jurisdiction over matters of state Islamic law (Shariah). The Syariah Courts have jurisdictions only over matters involving Muslim, and can generally only pass sentences of not more than three years imprisonment, a fine of up to RM5,000, and/or up to six strokes of the cane. Article 145 of the constitution says the Attorney General of Malaysia has no power over matters related to the Sharia courts. There are three levels of the courts: Appeal, High and Subordinate. Unlike the civil courts in Malaysia, which is a federalised court system, the Syariah Court is primarily established out of state law. Similarly syariah or Islamic law is a matter of state law, with the exception of theFederal Territories of Malaysia, as provided in Article 3 of the Constitution. Thus syariah law in one state might differ to that of another state. There are 13...
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...INTRODUCTION State government is a form of government that rules a state in each of 13 states in the federation of Malaysia. It is also the second level of government in Malaysian government hierarchy. Just like federal government, state government too, does adopt the Westminster Parliamentary system from the United Kingdom. It is also further divided into three branches of government bodies or machineries. Namely executive, legislative, and judiciary. These components are the ones that are responsible in governing and administrating the state. As been stated in the Federal Constitution, the state government has certain powers over some matters related to the state that the federal government has no authority over those matters at all. 1 THE ROLES OF STATE GOVERNMENT State government practices the similar system to the federal government. Consists of three bodies, each of them carries different functions and roles towards implementing the state’s policies and serving the people. For example, the executive components of state of Sarawak consists of TYT (Tuan Yang Terutama) or also known as the Governor of Sarawak as the head of state. The role of the Governor is similar to the states that have Sultans. It is mainly ceremonial. The governor has the power to appoint the chief minister and to give consent to dissolve...
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...Islam by one parent who has embraced Islam and the subsequent tussle over the custody of the child between the disputing parents in the civil court and the Syariah Court has of late ignited controversy in Malaysia. This article seeks to examine the extent of the non-Muslim parent’s right to determine the child’s religion, the impact of the unilateral conversion of the child to Islam on the parents’ custodial right in a family dispute and how the existing legal and judicial systems in Malaysia can be strategically used to achieve one’s aim. KUEK Chee Ying LLB (Hons) (University of Malaya), LLM (University of Malaya); Lecturer, Faculty of Business and Law, Multimedia University. TAY Eng Siang LLB (Hons) (University of Malaya), LLM (Distinction) (University of Malaya); Lecturer, Faculty of Business and Law, Multimedia University. I. Introduction 1 1 Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. The Federal Constitution of Malaysia guarantees freedom of religion where every person is granted the right to profess and practise, and, subject to 2 3 certain restrictions, to propagate his or her religion. Though not 1 2 According to the Population and Housing Census 2010, the total population of Malaysia was 28.3 million, of which about 91.8% were Malaysian citizens. Of the total Malaysian citizens, Bumiputera (Malays and other indigenous people) comprised 67.4%, Chinese 24.6%. Indians 7.3% and others 0.7%. The same census also revealed...
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...INTRODUCTION After Malaysia achieved its independence on 31st August 1957, it adopted federal system of government. A federal government is formed by a combination of states or provinces in a federation, give some of their powers to the federal government and some of them are remained. Thus, this lead to the existence of more than one level of government; federal level, state level and local level have formed the federal system of government. Malaysia has 13 states and three federal territories. As Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, Federal Constitution (FC) becomes the most supreme law of Malaysia and everyone must adhere to it. The concept of separation of power divided the power of government into three branches as stated in the FC; Executive (Part IV Chapter 3, Articles 39-43), Legislature (Part IV, Chapter 4, Articles 44-65) and Judiciary (Part IX Articles 121-131). Basically, the Executive body will formulate policy and ensures it is properly implemented, the Legislative will make law and the Judiciary will apply the law and settle dispute. In order of superiority, executive body is being the first, followed by legislature and lastly the judiciary. Here, the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary will be discussed and elaborated further to gain more understanding about the body of government respectively. THE EXECUTIVE. Executive generally defined as a body of government that is responsible for executing the laws, determine the general rules, appoint...
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...once the agreement has been signed. The reason contract law exists is to form a mutual understanding between the parties who are involved to avoid future problems and changes by either property without both ends agreement. Without contract law, all the agreements established between the parties will become impractical and meaningless and both sides would try to change the agreements along the way making it harder and difficult for them to execute their plans properly. UK Law: The United Kingdom’s constitution is in unwritten form. Body of UK law is purely based on statue, traditional rights and common law. Alteration comes about as time changes due to modified parliament acts. Some of the Malaysian laws are from the English law act. Common law and equity law form part of Malaysian law. Parliament made the UK law and they have total control on regarding it, meaning they can alter the act in any manner they like. Even though monarch is the one in charge for the executive government but still the powers is utilized a committee of ministers chosen directly from the House of Commons. The longest term of a parliament is 5 years, but still the PM...
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...Malaysia, settle here, probably the pioneers of a general movement from China and Tibet. They were followed by the Malays, who brought with them skills in farming and the use of metals. As the beginning of Ancient Malaysia, the- Negrito aborigines are considered to be one of the first groups of people to inhabit the Malaysian peninsula. When the Proto-Malays, made up of seafarers and farmers, came to the peninsula they sent the Negritos into the jungles and hills. The Proto-Malays came from China and were technologically advanced, especially in comparison to the Negritos. After the Proto-Malays came the Deuteron-Malays, which were made up of many different people - Arabs, Chinese, Indians, Proto-Malays, and Siamese. The Deuteron-Malays were proficient in their use of iron and when they united with Indonesians, they combined to make up the people known today as the Malay. Around the first century BC, strong trading links were established with China and India, and these had a major impact on the culture, language and social customs of the country. During this period, Malaysia's culture changed dramatically with the arrival of Indians. Indians initially went to the Malaysian peninsula in search of a mystical place known as the "Land of Gold." Although the places in Malaysia may not have been what they were looking for, they didn't leave, but continued to arrive in search of gold, spices and aromatic wood. In addition to trade (with goods), the...
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...Malaysian Studies – Revision Notes The Japanese Occupation The Japanese occupied Malaya for only 3 ½ years (from 15 Feb 1942 to 15 August 1945) Had a great impact on the country – the conquest of the whole of Malaya was fast and effective The attack started from two directions, from the East and the West After landing in Kota Bharu, the Japanese soldiers rushed to Kuantan and then to Mersing. On 12 Dec 1941, Jitra was captured, followed by Penang Island and Slim River. In Jan 1942, the Japanese soldiers entered Kuala Lumpur, and both the Japanese military troops met in Johore Bahru On 15 Feb 1942, Singapore fell to the Japanese army. The main aim of the Japanese was to establish a New Great East Asia government. The Japanese promised to declare independence in certain South East Asian countries. The Japanese Victory The Japanese military conquered Malaya quite easily although the British military was equipped with better firearms and were greater in number than the Japanese There are a few lessons to be learnt from this. 1. The British were not prepared for the war. They did not anticipate the Japanese attack from the north. 2. The fact was the Japanese had a comprehensive plan in which they had a network of spies in Malaya. 3. In addition to that, the Japanese soldiers were in excellent form because of intensive training and were led by capable and experience leaders (such as Yamashita and Tsuji). 4. The Japanese were enthusiastic and inspired to fight...
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...with the coming of the British and their influence in the Malay States, English Law was introduced in the form of codes taken from those enacted in India, including the Penal Code. the Contract Act, the Evidence Act, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Civil Procedure Code: and in the field of land law legislation based on the Torrens System was introduced. The introduction of these laws meant that the Islamic Law was no Ionger applicable in the areas covered by those laws. More significantly still, courts were set up headed by British judges trained in the English Common Law and the judges of these Courts tended to apply the English Law whenever there was no legislation which could be applied. In this way the law of torts and the rules of equity were introduced in the Malay States. The attitude taken by the British judges was confirmed by the Civil Law enactments of 1937 and 1951 6 and finally the Civil Law Ordinance, 1956. 7 which stated that in the absense of any written law, the court shall apply in West Malaysia the Common Law...
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...the state as a punishment for a crime. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally “regarding the head”. Hence a capital crime was originally one punished by the severing the head from the body. Capital punishment in Malaysia applies to murder, drug trafficking, treason, and waging war against Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the King). Recently, the law has been extended to include acts of terrorism. Any terrorists, and anyone who aids terrorists, financially or otherwise, are liable to face the death penalty. Only High Courts have the jurisdiction to sentence someone to death. Juvenile cases involving the death penalty are heard in High Courts instead of the juvenile court where other juvenile cases are heard. Appeals to the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court are automatic. The last resort for the convicted is to plead pardon for clemency. Pardons or clemency are granted by the Ruler or Yang di-Pertua Negeri(Governor) of the state where the crime is committed or the Yang di-Pertuan Agong if the crime is committed in the Federal Territories or when involving members of the armed forces. Death sentences are carried out by hanging as provided in Section 281 of the Criminal...
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...Abstract This piece of work demonstrates, “admiralty and maritime law” covers a broad range of subjects. This field of law has its own rules relating to jurisdiction and procedure. Classically, maritime law was a species of commercial law, and in many countries it is still treated as such. Thus, this paper produce topics of a Maritime Liens In Singapore. This paper is designed to give an introductory survey of a Maritime lien in tha law of Singapore. Only an outline of the basic principle is attempted and, where necessary, the problem areas highlighted. No In-depth study is made that would be beyond the intended scope. Table of Contents Abstract 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Defination of Maritime Lien 3 Priority of Claims 5 Conclusion 6 References 7 Introduction The Maritime lien is an unique creature in maritime law. While its historical origin is shrouded in some obscurity, its juridical nature is fairly well settled. In essence, it is an encumbrance or change over a ship or other like cargo and freight, which accrues from the moment the under lying claims giving rise to it attaches, travels secretively with the res (except one brought about the judicial) and is carried into effect by an action in rem. A party entitled to a maritime lien is not only to utilise the action in rem to give effect to it, but is also accorded higher priority vis-à-vis other maritime claimant and so enjoys he better...
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