INTRODUCTION TO

MALAYSIAN LEGAL
SYSTEM
BT20403 COMMERCIAL LAW

TOPIC 1
 OUTLINE
 Introduction
 What is ‘Law’?
 Law as Rules
 Legal Concepts
 Classification of Law
 Settling Disputes
 Sources of Malaysian Law
 Courts and the Administration of Justice

BT20403/Topic1 2
 INTRODUCTION
 Malaysian laws shaped by local history & culture.

 Malaysian legal system derives many traditions from

English legal system.

 A legal system is the framework of rules &

regulations within a nation regulating
individuals’ relations with each other & with
government.

BT20403/Topic1 3
 CONT.
 Most important areas of social organizations in a
legal system:

 Political system: the way society is governed

 Economic system: ownership, production &
distribution of society’s resources
 Moral standards: what constitutes acceptable &
unacceptable behaviours
 Social interactions: relationships between
people.

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 WHAT IS LAW?
 So, what is Law?

 Law means different things to different people

depending on their experience of it.

 Eg. Throughout history, many people have given

their opinion on what law is.

 According to Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, law

represents nature or natural law.

BT20403/Topic1 5
 CONT.
 According to Karl Marx, a German socialist, law is
an instrument used by capitalists to control
the working class.

 Emile Durkheim, a sociologist, on the other hand,

commented that society is held together by
law.

 While Lord Devlin, a famous English judge, stated

that law is based on morality and religion.

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 CONT.
 From the above views, it seems that law means many
things to different people.

 However, law does have the following characteristics,

namely:

1. Law is normative in character;

2. Law is capable of change over time;
3. Law carries a sanction or punishment for
disobedience.

BT20403/Topic1 7
 CONT.
(1) Law is normative in character
 This means law regulates our behaviour in society.
 The most basic way of doing this is through legal
rules.
 Rules tell us what to do and what not to do.

(2) Law is capable of change over time

 Law does not remain the same year in year out.
 As society changes due to advances in knowledge,
like science and technology, the law too must
change so that it can regulate the new activities.

BT20403/Topic1 8
 CONT.
(3) Law carries a sanction or punishment for
disobedience
 In order for people to obey the law , sanction or
punishment is given if there is a breach of law .
 Punishment ensures that the law is followed or
obeyed.
 There are many types of punishment and these
depend on the type of wrongdoing committed.
 Such punishment include death penalty, fine,
imprisonment etc.

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 LAW AS RULES
 According to the Oxford dictionary, law is a
system of rules that everyone in a country or
society must obey.

 This means that the law is made up of rules. These

rules tell us what we can or cannot do.

 Eg. Criminal law tells us that we cannot steal or kill.

So, if we commit these crimes, we will be punished
by a punishment or sanction such as prison
sentence or even death.

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 LEGAL CONCEPTS
 Besides looking at law as a set of rules which tell
us how to behave, we also have to ask ourselves
what law is made of.

 For people to respect law and obey it, law must

satisfy certain basic requirements, namely, it must
contain concepts such as justice, equality,
freedom and morality.

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 (1) Justice
 A good law is law that is just and fair. It means
that the law should include justice as an important
element.

 Legal justice refers to the way in which the law is

just and fair. It has been said that justice is the
ultimate aim of the law.

 2 ways for law to achieve justice:

1. The rule of law
2. Natural justice

BT20403/Topic1 12
 (1) Justice (cont.)
(1) The rule of law
 This legal principle says that nobody is above the
law and that everyone is subject to the law.
 Thus, every citizen in a country knows that if he
does anything wrong, he will be punished and
that if he is wronged, the law will protect him
and his rights.

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 (1) Justice (cont.)
(2) Natural justice
 This legal principle consists of 2 legal rules
namely:
 The rule against bias or nemo judex in res
sua, which says that when a decision maker
makes a decision, he must not be biased .
 The right to a hearing or audi alteram
partem, which states that when a person is
accused of any wrongdoing, he must be given
an opportunity to give his side of the story .

BT20403/Topic1
ismk/BT20403/Topic1 14
 (2) Morality
 A good law must have some moral element in it.

 E.g. we say that stealing is a crime because we

recognize that it is immoral to steal.

 Morality is a value concept which states that some

things are right or wrong, good or bad based on our
religious beliefs.

 In this way, we can say that the law reflects

morality.

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 (3) Freedom
 A good law protects the rights and freedoms of
people.

 Freedom refers to a person’s right to do what he

wishes. However, under the law, we are not totally
free to do whatever we wish.

 Legal freedom, therefore, refers to the idea of

limited freedom, not absolute freedom.

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 CLASSIFICATIONS OF LAW
Law

Public Law Private Law

Constitutional Criminal Property Company Family

Law Contract Tort Trust
Law Law Law Law
(undg2
Perlembangaan)

Administrative Sale of Hire

Law Partnership Insurance Agency
Goods Purchase

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Comparison between Criminal Law
and Civil Law
CRIMINAL LAW CIVIL LAW
Sources Statute-based Penal Case law or judicial
Code decisions
Aims Protect persons or property Control or regulate dealings
Suppress anti-social between private individuals
behavior Compensate injured party
Punish offenders who has suffered loss or harm
to person or property
Who takes The State represented by Individual / company or
action the Public Prosecutor or organization
Attorney General
Litigants/parties PP/AG v Defendant Plaintiff v Defendant
Pleadings Defendant plead guilty or Defendant defends against
not guilty (bersalah @ x) claim against him
Court Criminal jurisdiction (kuasa) Civil jurisdiction

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 Comparison between Criminal Law
and Civil Law (cont.)
CRIMINAL LAW CIVIL LAW
Sources Statute-based Penal Code Case law or judicial
decisions
Burden and Burden of proof is on the state Burden of proof is on the
standard of proof or PP. plaintiff.
The State has responsibility to The plaintiff who has brought
prove that the defendant the complaint or suit must
committed the crime. prove that the defendant is
The standard or amount of liable or responsible for the
proof required is beyond plaintiff’ s harm or loss.
reasonable doubt. The standard of proof is on a
balance of probabilities.
Decision of the Verdict – guilty or not guilty Decision – liable or not liable
court
Outcome of trial Punishment – imprisonment, Remedy – compensation for
death sentence, fine, whipping loss or harm suffered.
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 SETTLING DISPUTES
 There are many ways of settling disputes (pertikaian)
which can either involve the law or not, including:
 Self help – this method involves a person
settling a dispute on his own initiative using
whatever resources available .
 Use of force – in the past, this was a common
way to settle a dispute based on the belief that
“might is right”.
 Negotiations – sometimes called “table-talk”, is
an effective way for parties to clear up a dispute.
By negotiation on agreed facts, parties are free to
give and take on issues they disagree on until
they can reach a consensus or middle ground.

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 CONT.
 Mediation (pengantaraan, menjadi pengantara) – a
3rd party (mediator) helps the parties to the dispute
to negotiate an agreement. Ultimately, it is the
parties to the dispute who will make the decision to
settle and the terms of the settlement.
 Conciliation (pendamaian, berdamai) – is similar to
mediation but here, the 3rd party (conciliator) takes
a more active role in suggesting the terms of
settlement or even gives opinion on the dispute.
 Arbitration (penimbangtaraan, ditimbang tara) – a
3rd party called an arbitrator settles the dispute by
making a decision which binds the parties. It is a
formal process and the arbitrator is a person who
has special knowledge of the dispute.

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 CONT.
 Litigation (litigasi ) involves going to court,
which can cost a lot of money and takes time.
The judge will hear both sides of the disputes
and make a binding decision based on the
evidence presented in court and according to the
rules of procedure. Any party unhappy with the
decision may appeal to a higher court.
 Ombudsman – are independent, impartial
adjudicators of complaints about bad or
maladministration in government departments
and particular services in the public and private
sectors. They do fact-finding, mediation and
adjudication in various levels through which
complaints by consumers are settled.

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 SOURCES OF MALAYSIAN
LAW
 The Malaysian legal system reflects its social and political
history. Local and foreign influences like the English,
Dutch, Portugese, Indians, Chinese and Arabs have
effects on the Malaysian legal system.

 The main sources of Malaysian law are as follows:

 Historical sources
 Legal sources
 Writings and books

 These sources can be classified into:

 Written sources
 Unwritten sources

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 SOURCES OF MALAYSIAN
LAW
SOURCES OF MALAYSIAN LAW

Written Law Unwritten Law Islamic Law

Federal State
Constitution Constitution

Custom English Law

Legislation and Subsidiary

Legislation Judicial Precedents

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 (1) Written Sources
 Written sources refer to law created by bodies
that are authorized to pass laws, namely:

 The Federal Constitution

 The State Constitutions
 Legislations i.e. Federal laws passed by the
Parliament and State laws passed by the State
Legislative Assemblies
 Federal & state subsidiary / delegated legislations
made by persons or bodies under powers
conferred by Acts of Parliaments or Enactments
of State Assemblies, respectively.

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 (a) Federal Constitution
 A Constitution can be described as the backbone of
a country’s legal system.

 It is the framework from which laws are made.

 A Constitution does a number of things, including:

 It establishes the form of Government
 It details the power to make laws
 It divides power between the State and Federal
Governments
 It separates powers between different bodies

BT20403/Topic1 26
 Cont..
 The doctrine of Separation of Powers reflects the
view “absolute power corrupts absolutely” by Lord
John Acton in 1887. Separation of powers allows a
system of checks and balances to take place so that
one arm or body of power can check the other in such
a way that there is a balance or peace in society.

 3 arms or bodies of power:

 Legislative power _ the power to make laws
 Executive power – the power to govern and
enforce the law to ensure that it is implemented and
followed
 Judicial power – the power to interpret the law
made by the Parliament and to settle any disputes
about the law.
BT20403/Topic1 27
 Cont..
 Article 4(1) of the Malaysian Federal
Constitution provides that:

This Constitution is the supreme law of the

Federation and any law passed after Merdeka
Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution
shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

 R Rethana v The Government of Malaysia and

Anor [1988] 1 MLJ 133

BT20403/Topic1 28
 Cont..
 Repco Holdings Bhd v Public Prosecutor [1997]
3 MLJ 681

 The court declared both section 126(2) of the

Securities Industry Act and section 39(2) of the
Securities Commission Act to be unconstitutional,
null and void as they wholly contravene Article
145 (3) of the Federal Constitution.

BT20403/Topic1 29
 (b) Legislation
 The most common source of laws today.

 Legislation refers to statutes or acts made or

enacted by Parliament as the law-making
body. Legislation can also be called enactments or
ordinances. Enactments refers to law enacted by
the State legislative assembly as the law-making
body.

 It is an important source of laws because it allows

law reform to take place; and that codification
and consolidation can easily be carried out .

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 (c) Delegated Legislation
 Delegated legislation refers to law made or
passed by a body or agency other than the
Parliament or state legislative assembly (e.g.
Ministers, statutory bodies, district councils, etc.)

 Delegated legislation sometimes is referred to as

by-laws.

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 (2) Unwritten Sources
 The unwritten sources of law refer to laws which are
not created by Parliament or found in the constitution.
 Thus, such laws may be in writing but are not enacted
by the legislature, e.g.:
 Judicial decisions by the highest court (“judge
made laws or common law”);
 English common law and rules of equity i.e.
principles of English law so far as they were
suitable to local conditions;
 Islamic laws / Syariah applicable to Muslims; and
 Customary law (customary
(c law practised in Sabah,
Sarawak, Adat Temenggung & Adat Perpatih in
West Malaysia.

BT20403/Topic1 32
 (a) Judge-Made Law /Case-Law
 Judges play an important role in interpreting the law
and settling disputes. Therefore, when judges make
a decision in a case, the decision may add to the law
as found in legislation.
 The decision may explain the application of the
statutes in a clear way or it may even explain what
the words in the statute mean.
 The term ‘common law’ is also used to describe
judge-made law.
 Case law arises in 2 ways: judicial precedent and
statutory interpretation.

BT20403/Topic1 33
 Cont.
(i) Judicial precedent
 When a judge makes a decision, his decision will be
followed by other judges in similar cases later (this
is known as judicial precedent).
 However, judges may have to apply the law to a
new situation in a case. When they do this, they
may find that the law as it is does not cover this
particular situation. They will then have to create
new legal reasoning or principles to apply in this
case (this is known as ratio decidendi) and this
will then become the precedent for future cases
involving the same issues although the facts may be
different.

BT20403/Topic1 34
 Cont.
(ii) Statutory interpretation
 When judges interpret statutes, they may have to
give meaning to the words in a statute because it is
not clearly stated in the act itself.
 Sometimes, it may not be clear if the act applies to
a particular case.
 The judge will then interpret the act in question.
 The meaning given to the words in the statute adds
to the law. In this way, the judge is said to be
creating law.

BT20403/Topic1 35
 (b) Common Law /Principles of
English Law
 Common law refers to law which resulted from the
decisions of judges and legal rules and principles of
law which were applied in common throughout the
UK. Common law includes Rules of Equity which are
rules developed to counter harshness of the law –
based on principles of fairness and justice.

 This type of law as received and applied in the

Malaysian legal system because of the application of
the Civil Law Act 1956.

 S.3 – in Peninsular Malaysia, the court shall apply the

Common Law of England and Rules of Equity as
applied in England until 7 April 1956.
BT20403/Topic1 36
 Cont.
 As a result of the s.3 and s.5 of the Civil Law Act,
English principles continue to apply in Malaysia.

 The application of the law of England throughout

Malaysia is subject to 3 limitations:
 It is applied only in the absence of local
statutes on a particular subject, and the local
law takes precedence over English law (only
applicable whenever there is lacunae in the law);
 Only that part of English law which is suited to
local circumstances will be applied; and
 Judicial decisions of the higher courts ie. High
Court, Court of Appeal and the Federal Court.

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 (c) Customs
 A custom is a practice or a way of doing things
among a certain group of people which has
become accepted by the law and that is why it is
considered to be a source of law.

 Customs of the local people of a country or their

personal law usually concern family, land and
religious matters.

 Customary laws - Native laws in Sabah and

Sarawak, and Adat Temenggung & Adat Perpatih in
West Malaysia.

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 FEDERAL SYSTEM OF
GOVERNMENT
 As discussed before, the Federal Constitution is the
legal framework of the country which tells us what
type of government we have, its powers and the
rights of the citizens.

 The Federal Constitution has the following features,

namely:
 It lays down the powers of the Federal and State
Government.
 The Federal Constitution follows the principles of
the separation of powers.
 It outlines the fundamental rights of citizens
(known as fundamental liberties or human rights or
freedom of people).
BT20403/Topic1 39
 CONT.
 As the Federal Constitution is really a backbone of
our legal system, it cannot easily be changed or
amended.
 This is why in order to change or amend the Federal
Constitution, a two-third majority of the
members of the Parliament must agree to it.
 Acts or statutes, however, can be amended by a
simple majority.
 The Federal Constitution is divided into different
parts and each part of the Federal Constitution
contain articles.

BT20403/Topic1 40
 CONT.
 Each state has its own constitution regulating the
government of that State. The provisions of the
State Constitution have been clearly outlined and
enumerated in the 8th Schedule to the Federal
Constitution.

 Some of the matters, which State Constitutions deal

with, concern the Ruler, the Executive Council, the
Legislature, the Legislative Assembly, financial
provisions and the amendment of the Constitution.

 If any provision is missing in a State Constitution, or

if it is inconsistent with the Federal Constitution, then
only the Parliament can remove this inconsistency.

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 COURTS & THE
ADMINISTRATION OF
JUSTICE
 The Federal Constitution provides that power is
exercised by the legislative, the executive and the
judiciary.

 The judiciary has the power to hear and

determine civil and criminal maters. It can
interpret the Federal and State Constitutions.
It can even pronounce on the legality of
legislative or executive acts.

 The head of the judiciary is the Chief Justice.

BT20403/Topic1 42
 CONT.
 The judicial power of Malaysia is vested in the:
 Superior courts, namely the Federal Court, the
Court of Appeal, the High Courts, and
 Subordinate courts, namely the Sessions Court,
the Magistrate’s Court, the Penghulu’s Court, the
Syariah Court and the Native Court.

 The hierarchy of the courts is actually a description of

the court structure from the lowest court to the
highest court. It is part of the judicial system.

 The general rule about the doctrine of precedents

is that the decisions of the higher court bind the
lower courts and some courts are bound by their
own decisions.
BT20403/Topic1 43
 CONT.
 Thus the hierarchy of the courts would explain how
precedents work.

 The Federal Court, the Court of Appeal (COA) and

the High Court are the superior courts and are
therefore in the higher hierarchy than the
subordinate or lower courts.

 Lower courts, such as the Magistrate Court and

the Sessions Court, are bound by the decisions
of the superior courts.

BT20403/Topic1 44
 (1) SUPERIOR COURTS
 The Superior Courts of Malaysia comprises the
Federal Court, the Court of Appeal (COA), the 2 High
Courts – the High Court of Malaya and the High Court
in Sabah and Sarawak.

 Federal Court - This is the highest court of the land

and the highest court of appeal in Malaysia. It
consists of the Chief Justice, the President of the
Court of Appeal, the Chief Judge of Malaya and the
Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak. Proceeding of the
Federal Court must be heard by 3 or such greater
uneven umber number of judges. It has jurisdiction in
matters including:
1. To hear civil and criminal appeals from
decisions of the COA;

BT20403/Topic1 45
 CONT.
2. To exercise exclusive original jurisdiction
on those matters conferred to it under
At.128(1) and (2) of the Federal
Constitution;
3. To determine constitutional questions which
have arisen in the proceedings of the High Court
but referred to the Federal Court for a decision;
4. To give its opinion on any question referred
to it by the Yang Di Pertuan Agong ((YDPA)
concerning the effect of any provision of the
Constitution which has already arisen or appears
likely to arise – Government of Malaysia v.
Government of Kelantan [1968] 1 MLJ 129.

BT20403/Topic1 46
 CONT.
 The Court of Appeal – The COA constitutes the
President of the Court of Appeal and up to 10 COA
judges. It is heard by 3 judges or such greater uneven
number of judges. The COA main function is to hear
appeals from decisions of the High Court. It has
jurisdiction to hear and determine:
• Any appeal against a High Court decision on
criminal matters;
• Any civil appeal which involves at least
RM250,000.
Where an appeal has been heard and disposed of by
the COA, it has no power to review the case, i.e. it has
no power to re-open, re-hear nor to re-examine its
decision for whatever purpose – Lye Thai Sang &
Anor v. Faber Merlin (M) Sdn Bhd [1986] i MLJ 166
BT20403/Topic1 47
 CONT.
 The High Courts - The High Court has 2 Chief
Justices, one in Peninsular Malaysia and one in Sabah
and Sarawak. The High Court is the court of original,
appellate and supervisory jurisdiction.
1. In its original jurisdiction, it has unlimited civil
and criminal power. It can hear any matter
which can be heard by a lower court and where the
cause of action arose in Malaysia or where a party
has a place of business here. In criminal matters,
however, no case may be brought to the High Court
unless the offender has been committee for a trial
after the preliminary hearing in the Magistrate
Court.
2. In its appellate jurisdiction, the High Court can
hear appeals in civil and criminal matters from the
Subordinate Courts.
BT20403/Topic1 48
 CONT.
3. Under s.35(1) of the Courts of Judicature
Act 1964, the High Court has been conferred
general supervisory and revisionary
jurisdiction over all subordinate courts. In the
interest of justice and when it appears desirable,
the High Court may call for the records of any
proceedings of the subordinate courts. It may
also remove the case to the High Court or give
such directives to the subordinate courts as it
thinks necessary.

BT20403/Topic1 49
 CONT.
 The Industrial Courts – In addition to the ordinary
law courts, there are also other tribunals such as the
Industrial Court which exercise judicial or quasi-
judicial functions. The Industrial Court, constituted
under the Industrial Relations Act 1967, deals
primarily with trade disputes and therefore has
jurisdiction over matters concerning employers,
employees and trade unions. It consists of a President
appointed by the YDPA and a panel of persons
appointed by the Minister of Law. This panel consists of
a group representing employers and a group
representing workmen. In hearing any trade dispute,
the court to be constituted necessarily consists of the
President and 2 members drawn from the panel, one
from each group.

BT20403/Topic1 50
 (2) SUBORDINATE COURTS
 The subordinate courts in Malaysia consist of the
Sessions Courts, the Magistrate’s Courts and the
Penghulu’s Courts.

 A subordinate court is any one of those courts

established under s.3(2) of the Subordinate
Courts Act 1948 –
There shall be established the following subordinate
courts for the administration of civil and criminal
law:
(a) Sessions Courts;
(b) Magistrate’s Courts; and
(c) In West Malaysian only, Penghulu’s Court.

BT20403/Topic1 51
 CONT.
 Sessions Courts – The Sessions Court is the
highest of the subordinate courts, and is headed by
a Sessions Court judge.
 Its criminal jurisdiction includes all offences other
than those involving death sentences .
 It is also empowered to hear civil cases where
the amount or the subject matter in dispute
does not exceed RM250,000. Cases involving
sum larger than this must be tried in the High Court.
 Generally the following matters cannot be dealt with
by a Sessions Court – injunctions, specific
performance or rescission of contracts, probate,
divorce, bankruptcy etc.

BT20403/Topic1 52
 CONT.
 Magistrate’s Courts – The Magistrate’s Court is
presided over by a magistrate who can be either a 1 st-
class or 2nd-class magistrate.
 A 1st-class magistrate is legally qualified and must be a
member of the Judicial and Legal Service of the
Federation while a 2nd-class magistrate is usually a
civil servant and court official who is not legally
qualified.
 A 1st-class magistrate can hear matters in which the
maximum punishment is not more that 10 years
imprisonment or all offences punishable by fine
only. In civil matters, it can hear cases where the
amount or the subject matter in dispute does
not exceed RM25,000. A 1st-class magistrate has
jurisdiction to hear both criminal and civil appeals
from any decision of the Penghulu’s Court.
BT20403/Topic1 53
 CONT.
 A 2nd-class magistrate can hear criminal matters for
which the term of imprisonment is not more than 12
months or only a fine. For civil matters, it can hear
matters involving not more than RM3,000.

 Penghulu’s Court – In Peninsular Malaysia, this is

the lowest subordinate court. It is headed by a
Penghulu, appointed by a state government for a
particular mukim. The power of the Penghulu is
exercised informally. His jurisdiction to hear and
determine proceedings is limited to cases involving
amounts of up to RM50. The criminal jurisdiction of the
Penghulu Court is restricted t the trial of offences of a
minor nature, which are listed in “Penghulu’s Kuasa”
and are punishable with a fine of not more than RM25.

BT20403/Topic1 54
 CONT.
 Juvenile Courts – Juvenile Courts have been set
up the to deal with criminal offender below the
age of 18. Under s.4(4) of the Juvenile Courts
Act 1947, the court is conferred jurisdiction to
try all offences except those punishable by
death. A juvenile Court consists of a 1st-class
magistrate who is assisted by 2 lay advisers, one of
whom shall, if practicable, be a woman ( s.4(2)).
The court is closed to members of the public in
order to protect the young offender from publicity.
If the offender is found guilty, he or she may be
sent to one of the approved institutions or schools
where he or she is given corrective education.

BT20403/Topic1 55
 CONT.
 Native Courts – The Native Court is peculiar only to
Sabah and Sarawak. It exercises jurisdiction over
matters affecting ‘native customs’ where the parties
are natives. Previously, the Native Court also
possessed jurisdiction over matters concerning
Muslim law. Muslim law in Sabah and Sarawak is now
administered by a separate system of Muslim courts,
the Syariah Courts.
Native Courts are empowered to try civil and criminal
matters including the following:
1. cases arising from breach of native law or custom,
e.g. those relating to religious or matrimonial
matters;
2. cases involving land where there is no titled
issued by the Land Office;
BT20403/Topic1 56
 CONT.
3. civil cases (excluding land) where the value of
the subject matter does not exceed RM50 and
all parties are subject to the same native system
of personal law.

 Syariah Courts – There is a parallel system of

state Syariah Courts which has limited jurisdiction
over matters of state Islamic (Syariah) law. The
Syariah Courts have jurisdiction only over matters
involving Muslims, and can generally only pass
sentences of not more than 3 years imprisonment, a
fine of up to RM5,000, and/or up to 6 strokes of the
cane.

BT20403/Topic1 57
 Hierarchy of the Courts
Federal Court
SUPERIOR
COURTS
Court of Appeal

High Court High Court

(Malaya) (Sabah & Sarawak)

Syariah Syariah
Court Court
Sessions Native
Court Sessions
Court Court

Juvenile Magistrate’s
Court Court Magistrate’s Juvenile
Court Court

Penghulu’s SUBORDINATE
Court COURTS
BT20403/Topic1 58
 Previous Court System :
Between 1 January 1985 and 23 June 1994
Supreme Court
SUPERIOR
COURTS

High Court High Court

(Malaya) (Sabah & Sarawak)

Syariah Syariah
Court Court
Sessions
Court Sessions Native
Court Court

Magistrate’s
Court Magistrate’s
Court

Small Claims SUBORDINATE

Court Small Claims
Court COURTS
Penghulu’s
Court
BT20403/Topic1 59
 Previous Court System :
Prior 1 January 1985
Privy Council

SUPERIOR
Federal Court COURTS

High Court High Court

(Malaya) (Sabah & Sarawak)

Syariah Syariah
Court Court
Sessions
Court Sessions Native
Court Court

Magistrate’s
Court Magistrate’s
Court SUBORDINATE
COURTS
Penghulu’s
Court
BT20403/Topic1 60
 CONT.
Privy Council
 During the colonial era, decisions of the Malayan
courts could be taken on appeal to the Queen-in-
Council, advised by the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council in London.

 Upon independence, by an Agreement between Her

Majesty The Queen and His Majesty The YDPA, and
by Art. 131 of the Federal Constitution, the
Privy Council continued to function as the highest
court in Malaysia, formally advising the YDPA on the
determination of appeals from the Federal Court.

BT20403/Topic1 61
 CONT.
 Privy Council appeals on criminal and constitutional
matters were abolished on 1 January 1978.

 Civil appeals were abolished on 1 January 1985,

whereupon the Federal Court was renamed the
"Supreme Court of Malaysia".

 The Supreme Court was renamed the Federal Court

of Malaysia effective from June 24, 1994, and is
now the final court of appeal for Malaysia.

BT20403/Topic1 62