LAW084 Assignment Brief – Introduction to Malaysia Legal System

The number of words should be between 2500 – 2700 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography).

Please refer to the Presentation styles below on details of your written assignment.

Question

Malaysia adheres broadly to the doctrine of judicial precedent (stare decisis) within a hierarchical court structure, where decisions of superior courts may bind inferior courts, promoting consistency and predictability in the law.

Discuss critically the operation and rationale of the doctrine of judicial precedent in Malaysia, with particular reference to:

• How the doctrine functions in practice within Malaysia’s court hierarchy.
• The shortcomings and limitations of the doctrine in the Malaysian context
• Whether, considering these shortcomings, Malaysia should abandon the doctrine of judicial precedent. If you argue yes, explain what would replace it, how coherence would be maintained, and whether this would improve justice and legal development. If you argue no, explain why the doctrine remains necessary, and discuss how its shortcomings can be managed.

Your answer should be analytical and evaluative, not merely descriptive. Where relevant, support your arguments with examples and, if useful, brief comparative references to other common law jurisdictions to illuminate why Malaysia might retain, reform, or move away from precedent.

• Students must conduct legal research on the question above and must cite minimum 7 scholarly legal journal articles available in Lexis Nexis, Westlaw, Google Scholar, Jstor or other reputable sources in the submitted Written Assignment.
• Students must include proper citation. Students can make reference to any type of source i.e. journal articles, Internet websites, newspaper articles, textbooks and others.
• Students must include a bibliography.

Experts Answer on Above Malaysian Legal System Questions

Doctrine function in Malaysia’s court hierarchy

The court system in Malaysia follows a hierarchical order whereby the courts from lower level are required to follow the decisions given by the higher court. The hierarchy of the court system in Malaysia follows federal court, court of appeal, high court, session court and magistrate court. Federal court follows its own decision and other courts follow the decision laid down in the hierarchy.

In respect to the case law on Dato’ Yap Peng v Public Prosecutor (1987), federal court has clearly indicated the importance of judicial Independence and constitutional interpretation, and this particular principle needs to be followed by the Lower courts when dealing with similar constitutional issues.
Practical Effect – the implication of the above hierarchical based ruling is the consistency in interpretation of statues through Malaysia, and also give opportunity to the lawyers to predict the likely court outcomes.

Limitations of judicial precedent in Malaysia

The major shortcoming of such judicial precedent is the over reliance on older decisions, as the Malaysian courts continue to rely on English common law principles that were inherited before independence. Another limitation is inconsistent decisions between the courts as different high court judges may interpret statutes differently. It also contributes towards slow legal development and increases case backlogs as during legal uncertainty, parties appeal to higher course for clarification which not only increases litigation cost but also contributes towards delays.

Should Malaysia abandon judicial precedent

No, Malaysia should retain the doctrine because Malaysia is a common law jurisdiction with a multiple level court structure which makes judicial precedent essential. It is important because it ensures legal certainty, provides equal treatment, and contributes towards judicial efficiency.

Managing the shortcomings

The shortcomings in the current law can be manage by supporting greater judicial flexibility such as federal court highly willing to depart from outdated precedents, faster federal court clarification, and stronger use of comparative jurisprudence, as Malaysian courts can pursue decisions from Singapore, United Kingdom etc while adapting them to local constitutional and cultural realities.

Want Detailed Answers with References?

The analysis above with respect to the doctrine of judicial precedent in Malaysia, its operations, limitations, court hierarchy and role in legal consistency and reform revealed significant findings about current Malaysian legal structure. To know more about the Malaysian hierarchical court system, get in touch with professional law assignment helpers by visiting our assignment help Malaysia page.