MALAYSIAN LEGAL

SYSTEM
TOPIC :
MEANING OF LAW,
NECESSITY &
CLASSIFICATION

ICE BREAKING SESSION

What is law ?
Why do you study law ?
Where can you find law ?
When should you know law ?
How should you study law ?

WHAT IS LAW ?
LITERALLY : Rules of conduct.
OXFORD DICT.: The body of enacted or
customary rules recognized by a community as
binding.
SIR JOHN SALMOND : The body of principles
recognized and applied by the State in the
administration of justice.
JOHN AUSTIN : A command set by superior
being to an interior being and enforced by
sanctions.
Article 160(2) of Federal Consti.& Item (43 C) of
Section 2(1) of Interpretation & General Clauses
Ordinance 1948 : Law includes written law,
common law (in so far as it is in operation in
federation / any part) and any custom/usage
having the force of law in the federation/any
part thereof.

PURPOSE OF LAW
To attain justice in society. Relates to
the concept of right and wrong,
fairness and equality.
To encourage the doing of what is
right/just in a particular situation.
Other purposes ?

 Other purposes

1. It stops or prevents people from doing evil

or immoral things
2. It resolves disputes among people in the
community
3. Law encourages people to do right things
4. Law promotes common good in the society
5. Law ensures protection of assets and
properties
6. Helps in maintaining or creating peace and
order in the society
7. Law reviews and puts government agencies
in check
8. Promotes equality, fairness and justice
9. Law governs affairs between different
nations

10.To protect you from outside aggression or

harm (robbery, assault, etc.)
11. To establish the rules needed for a
society to live and work together (traffic
laws, contract law, etc.)
12. To protect the fabric of society as agreed
upon by the voice of the people or their
representatives (pornagraphy laws,
marriage laws, drug laws, etc.).
13. To punish people who commit crimes.

LAW AND MORALITY

Basis of morality is the concept

of right & wrong.
Moral v religion.
i. Moral - relationship bet. man
& man.
Religion - relationship bet.
man & God.
ii. Moral wrong - harmful to
social. Religion wrong - a sin
(harmful to social & religion
itself).

LAW AND MORALITY

Morality v law.
i. Morality is perpetual but law is
amendable.
ii. Morality is optional in character but
law
makes
human
conduct
obligatory. Thus, consequence of
moral breaking is shame/guilt but
law breaking leads to punishment in
form of imprisonment, fines etc.
Examples ?
iii. Morality is general application &
emerges fr. particular groups but law
is specific ie relates to particular
situation & emerges fr. Government.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF
LAW
Variety of classification ways eg :
PRIVATE & PUBLIC LAW
CIVIL & CRIMINAL LAW
SUBSTANTIVE & PROCEDURAL LAW
COMMON LAW & RULES OF EQUITY
(English law)
INTERNATIONAL LAW

1. PRIVATE LAW
Concern with the rights & duties of
individuals towards each other.
Action may be brought by any individual
against another individual / a group of
individuals.
Aimed at giving compensation to persons
injured or to enable property to be
recovered or to enforce obligations like
contracts and trusts.
Contains several major branches of law :
Law of Contract, Law of Tort, Law of
Property, Law of Succession, Family Law etc.

2. PUBLIC LAW
Governs relationship between individuals and
government, structure of government and duties
& powers of officials.
Divided into 3 : Constitutional Law, Administrative
Law and Criminal Law.
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: Rules regulate structure of
principal organs of government & their relationship to
each other & their main functions.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW: Law relating to the organization,
powers and duties of administrative authorities.
CRIMINAL LAW: as discussed later

3. CIVIL LAW
Same as private law..

4. CRIMINAL LAW
It characterizes certain kinds of wrongdoings as
offences against the State/government and
punishable by the State/government.
Aims at punishing criminals & suppressing
crimes.
Proceeding brought by the Public Prosecutor on
behalf
of
State/government
against
the
wrongdoers.
Essential elements of a crime are actus reus
(wrongful act) and mens rea (guilty mind).
______
Differences between civil & criminal law ?

If you are a lawyer, would you defend this person ?

5. SUBSTANTIVE LAW
Body of rules of law in all branches as discussed
above. It is the actual/real rules of law.
It lays down peoples rights, duties, liberties &
powers.It lays down which behaviours are to be
followed and which are prohibited.
It defines the types of crimes and the severity
depending upon factors such as whether the
person is a repeat offender, whether it is a hate
crime, whether it was self-defense etc. It also
defines the responsibilities and rights of the
accused.
Example : That murder is a common law offence
or that theft is a crime under the Penal Code.

6. PROCEDURAL LAW
Rules on how substantive laws are to be
administered, enforced, changed, etc.
It lays down rules on the manner/methods in
which a right is enforced under civil law or in
which a crime is prosecuted under criminal
law. It gives a step by step action plan on
how the case is supposed to proceed in order
to achieve the desired goals.
Relates to procedures carried out in civil and
criminal case. The Civil Procedure and The
Criminal Procedure.
Civil Procedure is mainly governed by Rules
of High Court and Subordinate Court Rules.
Criminal procedure is governed by Criminal
Procedure Code (CPC).

6. PROCEDURAL LAW
Thus, a legal action is started by taking out a writ
in civil cases, or a summons / an arrest in criminal
cases and ends by the trial and judgment in court
followed by execution of judgment.
Example :
A legal action in civil matters is began by filing a
statement of claim.
Procedures on how to present evidence in court

7. COMMON LAW
It is part of the law in England formulated,
developed and administered by the old common
law courts, based on the common customs of the
country.
It developed through judicial decisions.
It is judge-made law and not enacted law.

8. RULES OF EQUITY
Inspired by the ideas of natural justice.
Originally, it is a body of rules formulated and
administered only by the Court of Chancery. Later
it is administered in all divisions of English court.
Described as a gloss to the Common Law ie.
filling in the gaps in making the English legal
system.
Nowadays equity + common law are oftenly
described together to mean judicial decisions of
the courts of England.
YAT BOON TIA v TENG SUN TONG
[2000] 6 CLJ 235

9. INTERNATIONAL
LAW
A body of law composed for the
principles + rules of conduct
which countries feel themselves
bound
to
observe
and
consequently
commonly
do
observe, in their relations with
each other. Eg. refugees and
human trafficking issues.

9. INTERNATIONAL
LAW

Divided into 2 :
PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW :
Law prevails between countries.
PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW: A
part of municipal law with
different versions according to
each country. Consists of rules
that guide a judge when the
laws of more than one country
affect a case.

THE END