• WRITTEN LAW CONTAINED IN THE FEDERAL AND STATE CONSTITUTION, CODE OR STATU

• NFLUENCED BY ENGLISH LAWS OF WHICH THE MALAYSIAN LEGAL SYSTEM RETAINS MANY CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ENGLISH

• WRITTEN LAWS INCLUDE THE FEDERAL AND STATE CONSTITUTION, LEGISLATION AND SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION

• SOME FEDERAL ACTS OF PARLIAMENT APPLY TO SABAH & SARAWAK DIFFERENTLY ON A NUMBER OF MATTERS, PARTICULARLY ON ISSUES RELATED TO IMMIGRATION, LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

• SABAH - LOCAL GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE 1961
  (OUTLINE THE RESPONSIBILITY AND FUNCTION OF LOCAL COUNCILS IN SABAH
  
  
  

• SARAWAK - LOCAL AUTHORITIES ORDINANCE 1996
  

• BRING TOGETHER SIMPLE ACT OR MORE ON SPECIFIC MATTERS SUCH AS INTERPRETATION ACTS 1948 AND 1989

• CIVIL LAW ACT 1956

  
  

  (REVISED 1972)

  
  

• CENTRAL BANK OF MALAYSIA ACT 1958 (ACT 519) (REVISED 1994) (REVISED 1974)

• ENGLISH LAW CAN BE FOUND IN THE ENGLISH COMMON LAW & RULES OF EQUITY
  
  
  

• ENGLISH LAW IS PART OF MALAYSIAN LAW. REFER TO ARTICLE 160 OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION: DEFINITION OF LAW INCLUDES " THE COMMON LAW IN SO FAR AS IT IS IN OPERATION IN THE FEDERATION OR ANY PART THEREOF"
  
  
  

• TO WHAT EXTEND THE ENGLISH LAW IS APPLICABLE - REFER TO SECTION 3 AND SECTION 5 OF THE CIVIL LAW ACT 1956

• BODY OF RULES OR JUDICIAL DECISION DEVELOPED BY THE OLD COMMON LAW COURTS- COURT OF EXCHEQUER, COURT OF COMMON PLEA AND COURT OF KING'S BENCH
  
  
  

• THE RULES LAID DOWN ARE BASED ON CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES COMMON THROUGHOUT ENGLAND
  
  
  

• IN GENERAL, COMMON LAW IS THE UNWRITTEN OR ENACTED LAW OF ENGLAND WHICH ARE SOLELY BASED ON THE DECISION OF THE COURTS

• EQUITY IS A BRANCH OF ENGLISH LAW WHICH DEVELOPED HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO WHEN LITIGANTS WOULD GO TO THE KING AND COMPLAIN OF HARSH OR INFLEXIBLE RULES OF COMMON LAW WHICH PREVENTED "JUSTICE" FROM PREVAILING
  
  
  

• IT WAS AFTER BIRTH OF THE COMMON LAW SYSTEM TO RESOLVE DISPUTES WHERE DAMAGES WERE AN UNSUITABLE REMEDY AND TO INTRODUCE FAIRNESS INTO THE LEGAL SYSTEM
  
  
  

• EQUITY IS BASED ON A JUDICIAL ASSESSMENT OF FAIRNESS AS OPPOSED TO THE STRICT AND RIGID RULE OF COMMON LAW
  
  
  

• THE RULES OF EQUITY GREW UP FOR THE LITIGANTS WHO WERE DISSATISFIED WITH THE JUSTICE ADMINISTERED BY THE COMMON LAW COURTS

• CUSTOMARY LAW ARE PERSONAL LAWS WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO PARTICULAR RACIAL, RELIGIOUS OR ETHNIC GROUPS
• IT CAN BE DEFINE AS A REGULAR PATTERN OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR WHICH HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE BULK OF A GIVEN SOCIETY AS BINDING UPON ITS MEMBERS

MATTERS OF POLYGAMOUS MARRIAGE AND JOINT FAMILY PROPERTY HAD BEEN DISCUSSED BY THE JIDICIARY

• THE CHINESE IN PERAK AND SELANGOR & STRAITS SETTLEMENT WERE SUBJECT TO CHINESE OFFICIALS OR "KAPITAN CHINA"

  
  

• THE CHINESE WERE ALLOWED TO FOLLOW CHINESE CUSTOM IN FAMILY MATTERS

• THE COURT'S ACTUAL DETERMINATION OF DISPUTE BETWEEN THE PARTIES (INTER PARTE)
  
  
  

• IMPORTANT DECISION & BINDING TO THE PARTIES ONLY
  
  
  

• ONCE THE COURT DECIDES ON THE CASE, THE MATTER BECOMES SETTLE TO DISPUTE ONCE AND FOR ALL ( RES JUDICATA)

• IT IS THE STATEMENT OF LAW THAT HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THE ISSUE OF THAT PARTICULAR CASE.
  
  
  

• IT IS BASICALLY THE LEGAL PRINCIPAL OF THE CASE.
  

• STATEMENT OF LAW MADE BY JUDGE AS AN ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATION TO THE CASE.
  
  
  

• IT MAY ALSO BE MADE TO FURTHER EMPHASISE THE MAIN DECISION

• DECISION OF SUPERIOR COURT OF LAW CITED AS AN AUTHORITY, IN SUPPORT OF ONE'S ARGUMENT, TO BE ADOPTED BY A JUDGE IN MAKING HIS
  
  
  

• CASE DECIDED BASED ON THE DECISION MADE ON A SIMILAR CASE THAT HAS BEEN DECIDED BEFORE

• TO STANDARDISE THE LAW AND MAKE IT UNIFORM
  
  
  

• TO PREVENT UNCERTAINTY OF THE LAW
  
  
  

• TO ACHIEVE CONSISTENCY IN JUDICIAL DECISIONS

• CERTAIN COURTS ARE BOUND BY THEIR OWN PREVIOUS DECISION OR THE PREVIOUS DECISION OF A COURT OF THE SAME LEVEL OR BY A PREDECESSOR COURT

  
  

• THE COURTS ARE OF THE SAME STANDING SUCH AS THE HIGH COURT OF MALAYA AND THE HIGH COURT OF BORNEO. POSSESSED EQUAL JURISDICTION.

• THEY CAN ONLY FOLLOW WHAT HAS BEEN SET BY THE SUPERIOR COURTS.

  
  

• EACH COURT IN THE GROUP OF THE SUPERIOR COURTS IS BOUND BY THE DECISION MADE BY THE COURT HIGHER THAN IT

• ENGLISH LAW IN SABAH (1938) AND SARAWAK (1928) WAS MORE PROTECTIVE OF CUTOMARY THAN THE CHARTER TO STRAITS SETTLEMENT.

• SABAH & SARAWAK COURTS WERE MORE ORIENTED ON CUSTOMARY LAWS COMPARED TO COURT IN PENINSULA MALAYSIA

SARAWAK HAS A MECHANISM ESTABLISHED BY STATUTE TO CONTINUE, TO PRESERVE AND TO DEVELOP THE CUSTOMARY LAW

LEGISLATION IN NORTH BORNEO SUPPLEMENTS THE CODIFICATION TO PRESERVE AND DEVELOP CUSTOMARY LAWS ( MALAY, NATIVE AND CHINESE CUSTOMARY LAW)

• ORIGINATED BY DATO' KATUMANGGUNGAN

  
  

• RECOGNISES PARTRILINEAL SYSTEM INHERITS THE PROPERTY OF DECEASED BASED ON THE SYARIAH LAW WHERE THE SON IS ENTITLE TO INHERITS IN A RATIO OF 2:1 FROM DAUGHTER

• ORIGINATED BY DATO' PARAPATIH NAN SABATANG

  
  

• POWER IN THE FAMILY LIES IN THE HANDS OF THE MAMAK ( MOTHER'S ELDER BROTHER)

  
  

• RECOGNISES MATRILINEAL SYSTEM INHERITS THE CUSTOMARY LAND ONLY TO DAUGHTERS AS ONLY FEMALE LINEAGE HAVE THE RIGHT TO INHERIT THIER FAMILY'S ANCESTRAL LAND "TANAH PESAKA"

• KNOWN AS DELEGATED LEGISLATION, SECONDARY LEGISLATION OR SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION
  
  
  

• LAW MADE BY AN AUTHORITY OTHER THAN THE LEGISLATURE UNDER POWERS GIVEN/ DELEGATED BY LEGISLATURE VIA ENABLING OR PARENT STATUTE
  
  
  

• SECTION 3 OF INTERPRETATION ACT 1948 AND 1967 DEFINES SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION AS ' ANY PROCLAMATION, RULE, REGULATION, ORDER, NOTIFICATION, BY-LAW OR OTHER INSTRUMENT MADE UNDER ANY ACT, ORDINANCE OR OTHER LOWFUL AUTHORITY AND HAVING LEGAL EFFECT'

• JUDICIAL CONTROL
  COURT HAS POWER TO MAKE JUDICIAL REVIEW AND DECLARED THE SL WOULD BE ULTRA VIRES EITHER SUBSTANTIVE AND PROCEDURAL

• LEGISLATIVE CONTROL
  LEGISLATURE WILL DELEGATE POWER BY AN ENABLING STATUTE MAY REPEAL THE STATUTE OR EVOKE OR VARY THE DELEGATED POWER

• CONSULTATION
  REFERENCE IS MADE TO PROFESSIONAL BODIES OR EXPERTS

• THIS IS THE SUPREME LAW OF THE FEDERATION AND ANY LAW PASSED AFTER MERDEKA DAY.

• ARTICLE 159 OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
  1) DEALS WITH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT/ POWER TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION
  
  

2)IN GENERAL, THE PROVISION STATES THAT THE PARLIAMENT CAN AMEND THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION BY PASSING A LAW (FEDERAL LAW )

ARTICLE 71(4) SAYS THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION HAS THE POWER TO AMEND STATE CONSTITUTION IF THEY DO NOT CONTAIN THE ESSENTIAL PROVISION

ARTICLE 4 (1): CONSIDERED AS THE SUPREME IN MALAYSIA

THIRD READING

• REVIEW OF THE BILL
• SUBSTANTIVE AMENDMENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED EXCEPT WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE SPEAKER OF THE DEWAN RAKYAT
• IF AGREE, THE BILL WILL PASS TO DEWAN NEGARA

THE BILL IS READY TO INTRODUCE TO THE PARLIAMENT