...a) Sources of law is the authority from which the law derives their forces. It also can define as legal rules that make up the laws in Malaysia. The sources of law in Malaysia can be divided into two types, which are written laws and unwritten laws. Written law is the law that has been enacted by the legislature or constitutions while unwritten law is the law that has not been enacted by any legislature or constitutions. Written law consists of three sources, which is Federal and State Constitution, Federal and State Legislation, and Subsidiary Legislation. Firstly, Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land of the country by virtue of Article 4 of said constitution; any laws passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent...
Words: 1263 - Pages: 6
...[Please do not circulate or cite without permission] Written Constitutions and Unwritten Constitutionalism Mark D. Walters Faculty of Law Queen’s University February 2007 To Be Published In: Grant Huscroft (ed.), Expounding the Constitution: Essays in Constitutional Theory (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming) I. Introduction Defending the idea of ‘unwritten law’ has never been easy. Jeremy Bentham thought the very expression to be a ‘paradoxical and unmeaning epithet’.[1] In his view, social reform required ‘fixed and accurate’ laws—laws that ‘[w]e see, we hear, we touch; in short we handle…’[2] This empirical concept of law follows from the ideal of law as something produced by conscious acts of sovereign will. Central to this concept are, to use H.L.A. Hart’s expression, ‘rules of change’ that permit societies to escape the confines of ‘primitive’ custom.[3] The progressive march of legal theory, it may be said, has been away from medieval notions of law as customs practiced time out of mind or as the immutable dictates of natural law, away from the fiction that judges discover rather than make law, and towards modern notions of law as creative political acts recorded in writing. In terms of constitutional law, this march leads to the idea of written constitutionalism, a destination that the rebelling American colonists are often said to have reached first.[4] It was a task especially ‘reserved’ to the American people, wrote...
Words: 14138 - Pages: 57
...legal system. Nowadays, there are few types of legal systems such as civil law, common law, customary law, and mixed law systems. Some country practices one type of legal system and practices the mixed legal system. Malaysia for example, practices the mixed legal system which includes the Common Law, Customary Law and Islamic law. The sources of Malaysian Law can be separated into two different laws which are written and unwritten. Written law refers to the law that is contained in a formal document and which has been passed by a person or body that is authorised to do so. In Malaysia, written law consists of the Federal Constitutions, State Constitutions, Legislation and Subsidiary legislation. Unwritten law, refers to the law that has not been formally enacted. The unwritten law consists of Judicial precedents, Islamic law, Customary law and English common law. Written law, the Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It is a written constitution. It stipulates the powers of the Federal and State level and provides for a democratic system of government. It also establishes a constitutional monarchy and entrenches fundamental liberties of the individual. To ensure that the Federal Constitution is not easily amended, a special majority of two-thirds of the total number of members of the legislature is required for an amendment. State Constitution is own by each of the 13 states of Malaysia. These contain provisions which are counted in the Eighth Schedule to the Federal...
Words: 958 - Pages: 4
...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 and...
Words: 773 - Pages: 4
...net/administrative-law/essays/sources-of-the-malaysian-legal-system-administrative-law-essay.php Sources Of The Malaysian Legal System These essays have been written by students for you to use to help you with your studies. If you need your own custom law essay then we can help.... Get a quote for your own law essay... Share & Download Malaysia practices the mixed legal system which includes the Common Law, Islamic law and Customary Law. Malaysia’s legal system comprises laws which have arise from three significant periods in Malaysian history dating from the Malacca Sultanate, to the spread of Islam to Southeast Asia, and following the absorption into the indigenous culture of British colonial rule which introduced a constitutional government and the common law. The Malaysian Legal System is based on English common law. The sources of Malaysian law means the legal rules that make the laws in Malaysia, which can be classified into written and unwritten law. Written law is the most important source of law. It refers to the laws contained in the Federal and State Constitutions and in a code or a statute. The written laws are much influenced by English laws as the Malaysian legal system retains many characteristics of the English legal system. The Written law includes the Federal Constitution, State Constitutions, Legislation and Subsidiary legislation. Malaysia is a Federation of thirteen States with a written constitution, the Federal Constitution, which is the supreme law of the country...
Words: 1390 - Pages: 6
...Unwritten law is simply that portion of Malaysian law which is not being enacted by Parliament or the State Assemblies and which is not found in the written Federal and State Constitutions. This category of law comes from cases decided by the Courts and the local customs, which is otherwise known as common law. The unwritten law mainly comprised of the English law, judicial decisions and custom law. English law forms part of the laws in Malaysia. English Law can be divided into two which are the English Commercial Law and English Land Law. In section 5(1) of the Civil Law Act 1956 provides that The English Commercial Law is applicable in Peninsular Malaysia except Penang and Malacca as it stood on 7 April 1956 in the absence of local legislation. On the other hand, Section 5(2) of the same act, applies in Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak as the law administered in these states will be the same as law administered in England, in the like case at corresponding period. As for the English Land Law, none of the English Land Law concerning the tenure, conveyance, assurance of or succession to any immovable property or any estate, right or interest therein applies in Malaysia. In Malaysia, National Land Code is the law that governs the land matters. There is no any allowance for English land law, except in so far the National Land Code might expressly provide. Approaching the judicial decision, judges do not decide arbitrarily. Instead, they are bound to follow certain accepted...
Words: 486 - Pages: 2
...SOURCES OF LAW 1.1 Classification of Law Law is a set of rules that control the human behaviours that is developed over a long period of time that regulates interaction that people have within one another. It is also a set of rules that humans have to follow and it set standards and conduct between *individual and individual* and *individual and the government* which is enforced by law through sanctioned. Public law Public law is a law which governs the relationship between individual and the state. Public law can be further divided into constitutional law and criminal law. - Constitutional law Body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. - Criminal Law It is a body of rules and statute that defines the conduct prohibited by the government. In Malaysia, the penal code is a main source of criminal law. It covers most criminal offenses and provides relevant penalties where relevant acts are breached .It actually codifies various acts committed by individual against the state such as murder, cheating, forgery , rape, and other criminal offenses. Common law A law that derive from case law (precedent) and statute. It is accusatorial with an emphasize remedies. It form a basic right of English law and it can be found in the U.S , other commonwealth nation including Australia, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, parts of Africa , India and Pakistan. Malaysia derives their legal...
Words: 1838 - Pages: 8
...------------------------------------------------- Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia | This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2010) | Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia defines various terms used in the Constitution. It has an important impact on Islam in Malaysia and the Malay people due to its definition of a Malay person under clause 2. It took effect after August 31, 1957 ("Merdeka Day" or "Independence Day") in West Malaysia, and took effect in Singapore and East Malaysia when they merged withMalaya in 1963. The article no longer applies to Singapore, as it declared independence from Malaysia in 1965 (Singapore is also a secular state); however, it does affect the legal status of Malay Singaporeans when they enter Malaysia. ------------------------------------------------- Definition of a Malay[edit] The article defines a Malay as a Malaysian citizen born to a Malaysian citizen who professes to be a Muslim, habitually speaks the Malay language, adheres to Malay customs, and is domiciled in Malaysia or Singapore. As a result, Malay citizens who convert out of Islam are no longer considered Malay under the law. Hence, the Bumiputra privileges afforded to Malays under Article 153 of the Constitution, the New Economic Policy (NEP), etc. are forfeit for such converts. Likewise...
Words: 4729 - Pages: 19
...Introduction History of Unwritten Law Objective of Unwriten Law General Principle of Unwritten Law Element of Unwritten Law The Different between a Unwritten Law and Written Law Example of Unwritten Case UNWRITTEN LAW It is simply that portion of Malaysian law which is not written, i.e., law which is not being enacted by Parliament or State Assemblies and which is not found in the written Federal and State Constitutions. Unwritten law is found in cases decided by the courts, local customs, etc. Unwritten law comprises of the following. * English law The common law of England does apply in Malaysia. However, not all of England’s common law forms part of Malaysian Law. Section 3 (1) of the Civil Law Act 1956 ( Revised 1972) provides that, in Peninsular Malaysia, the courts shall apply the common law of England as well as equity as administered in England on April 1956. In the states of Sabah and Sarawak, the common law of England and the rules of equity together with the statutes of general application shall be applied However, the application of the English law throughout Malaysia is subject to two limitations: a) It is applied only in the absence of local statutes on the particular subjects. Local law takes precedence over English law as the latter is meant to fill the gaps (lacuna) in the local system. b) Only that part of the English law is suited to local circumstances will be applied. The provision to Section 3(1) of the Civil Law Act, 1956 is authority for...
Words: 1120 - Pages: 5
...MARINE ENVIRONMENT LAWS IN MALAYSIA DEVELOPMENT AND COMPLIANCE Outline of Presentation • Introduction • Objectives of Study • Methodology • Development of Marine Environment Laws in Malaysia • Compliance with Marine Environment Laws in Malaysia • Conclusions Introduction – Environmental Law • Body of international convention, domestic statutes • • • or laws, state or provincial ordinances and local government bylaws that govern human activities which impact the environment. Established to: - avoid tragedy of the commons - eliminate free riders in environmental protection and control of pollution And in response to: - the growing development of environmental ethics - the changing requirement of international law Tool for implementing policies Objectives of Study • Examine marine environment laws in Malaysia in terms of its development and its coverage; • Assess the level of compliance with marine environment laws in Malaysia and what it means in terms of environmental management; and • Identify means to promote compliance with environmental laws. Research Questions • How has marine environmental law in Malaysia changed over the years? • Are our laws adequate in dealing with marine environment issues? • What is the level of compliance with our marine environment laws? • Can the compliance level be improved? • What are the factors which drive environmental law development in Malaysia? Methodology •...
Words: 1282 - Pages: 6
...Cybersecurity Standards: A Case Study on Malaysian Banking Sector Anwer Yusoff Head, Industry & Business Department CyberSecurity Malaysia Sept 18th 2013 Copyright © 2013 CyberSecurity Malaysia Internet use in Malaysia 17 ,723,000 internet users Sources: Internet World Stats (30 June 2012) Copyright © 2013 CyberSecurity Malaysia 2 Internet use in Malaysia The highest usage was recorded among people aged 20-24. almost 6 in 10 (57%) regularly use the internet. Malaysian internet users (aged 20-24) spend an average of 22.3 hours online per week 87.9% of Malaysians on the internet access Facebook Once online, Malaysian’s Top 3 activities 1. social networking sites 2. instant messaging 3. reading local news Source: The Nielsen Company (April 2011) Copyright © 2013 CyberSecurity Malaysia 3 HIGH LEVEL USAGE = HIGH RISK Copyright © 2013 CyberSecurity Malaysia 4 HIGH LEVEL USAGE = HIGH RISK Cyber Security Incidents (1997-2013) Reported to Cyber999 Help Centre 16,000 15,218 Type of incidents: 14,000 • • • • • • • • 12,000 10,000 8,000 As at 31st August 2013 Fraud and scams Intrusion and web defacement Destruction Denial-of-Service Virus / Malware Harassment Content-related Intrusion attempts 9,986 7753 8,090 6,000 3,566 4,000 2,123 2,000 81 196 1997 1998 527 347 1999 2000 860 625 2001 2002 ...
Words: 1957 - Pages: 8
...Malaysia Income Tax Act 1967 Up to January 1, 2006 This document was downloaded from ASEAN Briefing (www.aseanbriefing.com) and was compiled by the tax experts at Dezan Shira & Associates (www.dezshira.com). Dezan Shira & Associates is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in emerging Asia. 053e .FM Page 1 Thursday, April 6, 2006 12:07 PM LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT Act 53 INCOME TAX ACT 1967 Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION , MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 IN COLLABORATION WITH MALAYAN LAW JOURNAL SDN BHD AND PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD 2006 053e .FM Page 2 Thursday, April 6, 2006 12:07 PM 2 INCOME TAX ACT 1967 First enacted … … … … … 1967 (Act No. 47 of 1967) Revised … … … … … 1971 (Act 53 w.e.f. 21 October 1971) … PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint … … … … … 1980 Second Reprint … … … … 1993 Third Reprint … … … … … 2002 PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION BY MALAYAN LAW JOURNAL SDN BHD AND PRINTED BY PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BERHAD KUALA LUMPUR BRANCH 2006 053e .FM Page 3 Thursday, April 6, 2006 12:07 PM 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 53 INCOME TAX ACT 1967 ARRANGEMENT...
Words: 153240 - Pages: 613
...IN MALAYSIA Local government is the grass-root in the government hierarchy of Malaysia. There are three branches of government in Malaysia, namely Federal, State and Local. The position of local government in Malaysia is stated in Federal Constitution. By virtue of items 4 and 5 of Ninth Schedule of Federal Constitution, local government outside the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya (latest) is a subject under the State List. All local authorities outside the Federal Territories directly under the exclusive jurisdiction of States Government. This mean local State Government have wide powers to control the local authorities and to ensure their effectiveness and efficient. 1.1 Definitions Local government can be defined as follows: Local Government is subsystem operating within or among a number of other subsystems. Higher government gave its one body handled on local issues that represent the power whether from federal government or state government, which has limited autonomy in terms of financial and administration, have power to sue and sued by others and have legal property1 Ministry of Housing and Local Government Local Government is infra. Sovereign, Geographic Sub-Division of a Sovereign nation or Quasi Sovereign Nation, exercising the power of jurisdiction in a particular area.2 Dilly M Hill 1 Government of Malaysia, 1970. Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry to Investigate into the Working of Local Authorities in West Malaysia Kuala...
Words: 22164 - Pages: 89
...Introduction Malaysia economic development strategy, since the introduction of New Economic Policy has hastened the development process in the following years especially 1980s - 90’s decade. Development was further speeded up in 2000s with the nation vision of achieving an industrialized status by year 2020. However, the rapid development process sometimes was carried out without really taking into consideration, that the possibility of such development will impacts on the environment, in this case, impacts towards the rivers. Table 1 below shows the number of polluted river (suspended solids) from year 1998 – 2008. Table [ 1 ]: Number of clean, slighly polluted and polluted basin in Malaysia (Suspended Solids) A) Economic Growth and Water Pollution As the country which moves towards the realization of its vision 2020 to becoming a developed nation through the implementation of its policy agenda for heavy industrialization, infrastructures, and urban-expansions, the water demands increase steeply. There is greater pressure to preserve the current water resources as well as to find alternative course of actions to improve the water quality. In other words, the consistent and rapid growth of urban-industries in Malaysia has undoubtedly resulted in an increase in economic well being of the citizens on the one hand. After all, for the first time in years, the external value of Malaysia’s currency, the ringgit, shrank by nearly 50 per cent while the stock market contracted...
Words: 4163 - Pages: 17
...Unwritten Law Unwritten laws are laws that are not enacted and not found in any constitution. It comprises of judicial decision of the superior courts, English law and customary law. Judicial decisions of the superior courts In Malaysia, judicial decisions of the superior courts are the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. It is based on the hierarchical system known as stare decisis or the doctrine of binding judicial precedent. There are two types of precedents. Mandatory precedent is applied when the decisions of superior court are binding on lower courts or the superior courts are bound by their own decisions previously. However, the decisions of lower courts are not binding over superior courts. The lower courts must refer to the mandatory precedents of superior courts. However, judge of superior court will distinguish a case before him and the cases lying down the precedents and can decide not to follow the mandatory precedent if he thinks that the mandatory precedent is not related to the case before him. From this, an original precedent is formed. Persuasive precedent is a precedent which is useful or relevant to a case. It is not mandatory for the judges to apply persuasive precedent. Persuasive precedent may be binding on lower courts if judges of superior court choose to apply persuasive precedent. Precedents are the decisions made by judges previously in similar circumstances. It is generally recognized that judges do make law though not in the...
Words: 1848 - Pages: 8
