Law of Malaysia
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The law of Malaysia is mainly based on the common law legal system. This was a direct result of the colonisation of Malaya, Sarawak, and North Borneo by Britain between early 1800s to 1960s. The supreme law of the land—the Constitution of Malaysia—sets out the legal framework and rights Malaysian citizens. Federal laws enacted by the Parliament of Malaysia applies throughout the country. There are also state laws enacted by the State Legislative Assembly which applies in the particular state. The constitution of Malaysia also provides for a unique dual justice system—the secular laws (criminal and civil) and sharia laws. The operations and relationship between the two legal systems can be complicated and has caused uncertanties.
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[edit] History
Prior to the independence in 1957, most of the laws of United Kingdom were imported and either made into local legislations or simply applied as case laws. Malaysian law is also based on other jurisdictions namely Australia and India. The criminal law in Malaysia—the Criminal Procedure Code—was based on the Indian criminal code. Similarly, the Contracts Act is based on the Indian model. Malaysian land law is based on the Australian Torrens system.
[edit] Supreme law
The Constitution of Malaysia, or the Federal Constitution, is the supreme law of the land. It provides the legal framework for the laws, legislations, courts, and other administrative aspects of the law. It also defines the government and monarch, and their powers, as well as the rights of the citizens.
[edit] Dual justice system
The dual system of law is provided in Article 121(1A) of the Constitution of Malaysia. Article 3 also provides that Islamic law is a state law matter with the exception for the Federal Territories of Malaysia.[1] Islamic law refers to the sharia law, and in Malaysia it is known and spelled as syariah. The court is known as the Syariah Court. Looking at the Malaysian legal system as a whole, sharia law plays a relatively minimal role in defining the laws on the country. First and foremost, sharia law only applies to Muslims. With regards to civil law, the Syariah courts shall have jurisdiction in personal law matters, for example, marriage, inheritance, and apostasy. In some states, there is the sharia criminal laws, for example, the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment 1993. Their jurisdiction is however limited to imposing fines for an amount not more than RM 3000, and imprisonment to not more than 6 months.[2] In August 2007, the then Chief Justice of Malaysia proposed to replace the current common law application in Malaysia with sharia law.[3]
[edit] Complications
Complications have arisen with regard to the dual justice system. An example of this will be in the context of freedom of religion. Article 11 of the Constitution provides that "Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion". However in the case of Lina Joy—a Malay who converted to Christianity—the Federal Court of Malaysia refused to allow her to change her religion indicated in her identity card (MyKad). The judges held that they had no jurisdiction on the matter—that it was a matter of the Syariah Court, as indicated in Article 121(1A) of the Constitution.
- See also: Status of religious freedom in Malaysia
[edit] Federal law and state law
Federal laws are made by legislators (members of Parliament and senators) sitting in the Parliament of Malaysia and applies nationwide. State laws are made by assemblymen sitting in the State Legislative Assembly (Dewan Undangan Negeri) and only applies in the particular state. Article 75 of the Constitution states that a federal law shall prevail over any inconsistent state laws, including sharia laws.
[edit] East Malaysia
The states of Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaya and Singapore to form Malaysia in 1963, and there are special laws applicable only to these two states. An important area in this regard is the immigration law. Other areas of law peculiar to these two states is land law. Generally, land matters and natural resource management is a federal law matter. However, there are special provisions in the Constitution allowing for the states of Sabah and Sarawak to create separate legislations. For example, in the Peninsular, the National Land Code governs most of the laws relating to land. In Sabah, the main legislation is the Sabah Land Ordinance; and in Sarawak, the Sarawak Land Code.
[edit] Common law
The laws of Malaysia can be divided into two types of laws—written law and unwritten law. Written laws are laws which have been enacted in the constitution or in legislations. 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. There are instances where Australian, Indian, and Singaporean cases are used as persuasive authorities.
The application of English law or common law is specified in the statutes. Section 5 of the Criminal Procedure Code states that English law shall be applied in cases where no specific legislation has been enacted. Similarly, in the context of civil law, Sections 3 and 5 of the Civil Law Act allows for the application of English common law, equity rules, and statutes in Malaysian civil cases where no specific laws have been made. In 2007, the then Chief Justice of Malaysia, Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim questioned to need to resort to the English common law despite Malaysia having already been independent for 50 years[4] and proposed to replace it with Islamic law jurisprudence or sharia law.[3] However, the Malaysian Bar Council responded by saying that the common law is part of Malaysian legal system and that there is no basis to replace it.[5] Court appeals to the Privy Council in England have already been abolished in 1985.
The principle of stare decisis also applies in Malaysian law. This means that any decisions by a court higher in the hierarchy will be binding upon the lower courts.
[edit] Customary law
Another source of unwritten law are the customary laws. Most ethnic groups in Malaysia have their own customary law which they follow. Some have the force of law, while some has lost its force after being superseded by Parliament legislations. The Malays in Peninsular Malaysia adhere to the Adat which mainly deals with land tenure and inheritance. The two main forms of adat are Adat Perpatih and Adat Temenggong. Adat Perpatih has matrilineal characteristics and Adat Temenggong has patrilineal characteristics.[6]
In East Malaysia there are also customary laws which are still in force. These laws applies mainly in the rural areas, and they are enforced by the Native Court. In Sabah, an unconventional form of punishment that can be imposed by the Native Court is sogit, which is a form of compensation whereby a wrongdoer may be ordered to pay in the form of livestock or crops.[7] The Native Court is governed by the Native Court Enactment, and the decisions of the court can be appealed to the mainstream courts of Malaysia.[8] In Peninsular, a similar court is the Penghulu Court.
There are also Chinese and Hindu customary laws mainly relating to family law matters. However, following an enactment in 1976 these laws have lost their effects.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ "Malaysia Toward an Islamic State", Islamic World. Accessed August 19, 2007.
- ^ "How interfaith matters are decided within Malaysia’s dual court system", Radio Singapore International (Interview). Accessed August 19, 2007.
- ^ a b "Minister: Study proposal on switch to Syariah law thoroughly", The Star, August 24, 2007.
- ^ "Is common law still needed?", The Star, August 22, 2007. Accessed August 22, 2007.
- ^ "Call to replace common law 'baseless'", The Star, August 23, 2007.
- ^ a b Law from Malaysian Perspective
- ^ "Guilty of breach to marry his son to girl, 16", Daily Express. August 30, 2007. Accessed September 2, 2007.
- ^ Goh, Roy, "Native courts 'can hear sex cases but...'", New Straits Times, October 6, 2006.
[edit] See also
- Courts of Malaysia
- Law enforcement in Malaysia
- Full text of the Constitution of Malaysia from Wikisource
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[edit] External Links
- Malaysian Laws on the Internet from WWLegal.com – contains a list of Malaysian legal resources on the Internet (published 3 February 2006)
