Malaysia

Legal tradition

Malaysia belongs to the mixed common law and islamic law tradition. An English common-law system operating alongside a constitutionally protected Syariah jurisdiction. The Contracts Act 1950, Evidence Act 1950 and Penal Code descend from the Indian codes; the Civil Law Act 1956 governs the reception of English law. Article 121(1A), inserted in 1988, removes from the civil courts any jurisdiction over matters within the Syariah courts' competence, which creates a real and frequently litigated boundary problem — conversion, custody and inheritance cases where the parties are of different religions have repeatedly reached the Federal Court.

How power is divided

Federal, with 13 states and three federal territories. The Ninth Schedule sets out Federal, State and Concurrent Lists: land, Islamic law, Malay custom and local government are state matters, while trade, finance, defence and civil and criminal law are federal. Sabah and Sarawak hold additional competences — immigration, native customary land, and their own High Court — reflecting the terms on which they joined.

Where law comes from

The Federal Constitution

Supreme; Article 4(1) voids inconsistent law.

Federal and State legislation

Divided by the Ninth Schedule lists.

Judicial precedent

Federal Court decisions bind all lower courts.

Islamic law

State-enacted; applied by Syariah courts to Muslims only.

Native customary law (adat)

Recognised for indigenous communities, especially in Sabah and Sarawak.

The legal profession

A fused profession of advocates and solicitors, but regulated separately by territory: the Malaysian Bar under the Legal Profession Act 1976 for Peninsular Malaysia, the Sabah Law Society, and the Advocates Association of Sarawak. Admission requires a recognised law degree or the Certificate in Legal Practice, pupillage of nine months, and admission by the High Court. Syariah practitioners are separately admitted by state Syariah authorities and require Syariah law qualifications.