page_title: Law of Malaysia
section_title: Common law
hierarchical_section_title: Law of Malaysia / Common law
context_page_description: 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 the early 19th century to 1960s. The supreme law of the land—the Constitution of Malaysia—sets out the legal framework and rights of Malaysian citizens.
  Federal laws enacted by Parliament of Malaysia that apply throughout the country. There are also state laws enacted by the State Legislative Assemblies which applies in the particular state. The constitution of Malaysia also provides for a unique dual justice system—the secular laws and sharia laws.
context_section_description: 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 legislation. 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 statutes. Section 5 of Criminal Procedure Code states that English law shall be applied in cases where no specific legislation has been enacted. Similarly, in context of civil law, Sections 3 and 5 of Civil Law Act allows for application of English common law, equity rules, and statutes in Malaysian civil cases where no specific laws have been made. In 2007, Chief Justice of Malaysia, Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim questioned need to resort to English common law despite Malaysia having already been independent for 50 years and proposed to replace it with Islamic law jurisprudence or sharia law. However, Malaysian Bar Council responded by saying that common law is part of Malaysian legal system and that is no basis to replace it. Court appeals to 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.
caption: The Sultan Abdul Samad Building used to house the apex courts of Malaysia.
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