Law

Law

1. Historical

2. Legal

   • Written
     • Formal documents made by
       • Federal Parliament
       • State legislature
     • Types of Written Law
       • Federal Constitution
         • Supreme law of Malaysia
       • State Constitution
         • Principal law of the State
       • Legislation (made by federal/state)
         • Act: Law enacted by Federal Parliament
         • Enactment: Law enacted by State
         • Ordinance: Law enacted by State of Sabah & Sarawak
         • Enacted by Parliament/State Legislature through parliamentary process
       • Subsidiary Legislation (made by federal/state)
         • Made by
           • Person: Minister
           • Body: City Hall
         • Referred as
           • Regulation
           • Rule
           • By-Law
           • Order
         • Advantages
           • Eases Parliament of its time to make detailed laws
           • Enable legislation of law to meet emergency/social & technological changes
           • Less time consuming
           • More flexible & informal
           • Enable input from expertise
           • Easy to amend
         • Disadvantages
           • Executive has encroached on fuction of legislature
           • Absent of separation of power
           • Can result in abuse of power
           • Lack Publicity
           • Can become complex and bulky
         • Made by person / body empowered under the law made by parliament/state legislature under the provision of Federal/State Constitution .Does NOT go through parliamentary process.
   • Unwritten
     • Law that are not enacted by Parliament but recognized as law & affects people involved by such law
     • Type of Unwritten Law
       • Judicial Precedent (Jude Made Law / Case Law)
         • Following the decision of the judge in a similar case
           • Precedent made by superior court must be followed by lower court in a similar situation
           • Precedent a.k.k Stare Decisis / Let the decision stand
         • Advantages
           • Ease parliament of its burden & time
           • Similar cases treated alike, creates uniformity
           • Provides flexiblity
             • new decision can be developed with new cases
           • legal cost minimized
           • cases resolved faster
           • Judges are bound to follow previous similar fact case decision
           • richer in legal principle because based on real cases
         • Disadvantages
           • Creates rigidity & restriction to development of law because bound by previous fact case decision
           • Legal system is slow, expensive and complex
           • Cases often involve much time in research because of huge volumes of law report
           • slow rigidity cannot be wholly replied because judge may distinguish the case and the previous similiar fact case
       • English Common Law
         • Under Civil Law Act 1956
           • Subject to cases that happend before 1957
             • where no local case law is available and appropriate to local situation
       • Customary Law
         • custom practiced by various local communities
           • affects only a particular community