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    109 views6 pages

    Legal Research Facilities in Malaysia

    Uploaded by

    Shaikh Mohamed Noordin

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 6
    5) Communication — underseanding and exceeding tasers’ expectation of the library service. 6) Management ~ self managersent + ability to prioritise and manage time effectively * ability to build 2 eredible personal profi, 7) Managemene ~ library management + ability to plan and formulate objectives /erack Fecord of achieving their objectives, + ability to manage others + ability to manage finances and budgees + ability co initiate and manage change {In all cases, you should seek examples so as to ensure ‘hat the candidate fully understands your questions and can actually support her answers with hard evidence, Legeltnformarian Mangement, 5 (2005), pp. 115-120 | BIALL Printed in the United Kingdom Legal Research Facilities in Malaysia After the interview Make sure you stick co dhe agreed Ginetable for inform: ing the applicant whether she has been successful or not, There is nothing harder for an applicane than wait ing ¢© know if she has gor the job or not. Always be prepared to give feedback wo unsuccessful applicants if invited to do s0, It should be constructive and given with care, Effective feedback is balanced and readily action: able. If given well and expressed clearly it is not only helpful for the applicant's future development but also shows you and your organisation in a positive and constructive light. «doi: 10.1017'51472669605000605 Legal Research Facilities in Malaysia This article by Shaikh Mohamed Noordin gives a comprehensive overview of the types of law library in Malaysia, plus details of the various electronic sources of legal information ayailable to information professionals and the general publi Introduction - where can you _ find legal materials in Malaysia? If the above question was asked of a layman, you will most probably be met with a blank look. Legal research activities in Malaysia are mostly confined within legal circles and would undoubtedly be an unfamiliar task for the majority of the public at large, whose level of legal avaareness is comparatively lower than that of those in many developed countries. There is a certain sense of elitism within che ranks of the legal profession, so although che general consensus is that legal materials, should be made available ¢o all, many are of the view that. only lawyers are qualified to interpret them and render legal advice. This flawed view has led many public libraries and librarians to avoid the purchase of legal tives and intimidated them in to not handling legal materials for fear that they could be professionally or personally Hable for giving incomplete or incorrect “legal advice”. As with the medical field, people are discouraged from self diagnosis and encouraged co seek a professionals help. Most of the law libraries in Malaysia are reserved only. for their own designated users, usually legal professionals. ‘The bulk of these libraries are cencralised in the Klang, Valley, either in Kuala Lumpur or Putrajaya, the new administrative capital of Malaysia, which are traditionally the oo places known to be the hub of dhe legal industry. ‘Thus, if you are nota legal practitioner and living outside tho Klang Valley, legal research facilities available to you will be quite lived The various types of law Rbraries in Malaysia can be distinguished by the cavegory of legal professionals they serve. For example, lw libraries belonging to the law firms for corporations only serve lawyers in their firms oF corporate legal departments. There are those that serve practising lawyers in the cornmunity ie. the Bar Council Library, and the ones serving judges and members of the iudicial department ie. the Federal Court Library. Other government libraries are, for example, the library of the Auomey General's Chambers ("AG's Chambers"), the library of the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Ministor’s Department and the library ofthe judicial & Legal Training, Institute (ILKAP), Academic law libraries such as the University of Malaya Law Library, National University of Malaysia Law Library, International Iskmic University. Faculty of Law library and University Technology of Malaysia Law Library mainly eater for their own students and faculty members, but do. allow limited access. ¢o outsiders for a fee. Library usage is mostly restricked to reference purposes only The categorical breakdown of these law libraries allows for a comparison to be made between thoi ‘operations and illustrates the variety of responsibilities involved us Shaikh Mohamed Noordin ‘Types of Malaysian Lay Libraries Private Law Libraries ‘The private faw library is generally a department within a law firm or private law practice, The fargest law firms in Malaysia now have more than 100 lawyers, with legal practices in nearly ll fields of law and some with branch ‘offices in other states. The libraries that exist co meet the needs of these mega-firms may be quite large, with annial budgets greater than half 2 million ringgit and a staff of three to six trained law resource professionals. Some older law firms, although medium in size, have excellent and more comprehensive library collections due to their tong history. Perhaps more common isthe one-person or ‘one-professional library, serving 2 small to mid-sized law firm, Many private ‘aw libraries stil exist. without a librarian due to the size of the collection and resources. Also within this category of private kiw libraries are corporate law libraries which support the: in-house legal department within a company or corporation. In Malaysia, some good examples are the libraries of major cil companies, banking and regulatory bodies such as PETRONAS, the Securities Commission, Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, the Stock Exchange and the Central Bank. As with law firm libraries, cheir sizes vary greatly, although their collections of fegal macerials rarely reach the size and varley of those in the major lw firm libraries. A feacure of the private law library Is the emphasis on ‘obtaining obscure or massive amounts of information, often in a hurry and without proper consideration of the cost Most law firm libraries have smal collections of primary and secondary sources focusing on their areas of practice, At least one or two ticles of general law reports such as Malayan Law Journal (*Ml") or Current Law Journal 6 (°CL)") and selected legislation are riormally available on their shelves. Another feature is the collection’s current relevance. Few private collections contain much historical law materiat with emphasis on che practical cools needed to practise law today. Historical and development materials are rarely found in abundance in private law collections, and the actual collections will vary tremendously from library to library, ‘Thereare no minimum standards for the private law firm oF corporate legat department library Ir Malaysia, since they exist solely to support the needs of the parent organisation, | The Bar Council Library ‘The Malaysian Bar Council Library was established in 1979 as a private collection library supported by membership contributions or subseriptions, The Bar Council Library ‘oday is only open to practising lhwyers who are admicted to the Bar, and prosontly houses more than 20,000 volumes. The Library combines an excellent historical lgislation and law reports collection from private donations as well as from its own collection development scheme with vast reference collections for practitioners. le hhas perhaps one of the largest collections of human-rights materials among the law libraries in Malaysia. The Bar Council Library serves only mambers of the Malaysian Bar “hetp:imaw.mnalaysianbar-org.mylresourcesflibeary asp: Academic Law Libra Al public universities with a law faculty have a law libeary 10 support the research needs of the faculty and ies students. One significant feature of academic law libraries is their emphasis on resoarch, both historical and theoretical. These collections include many ancient and colonial documents which form the basis of the Malaysian Constitution and laws today. For example, comparative legal macerials describing similar laws and legal systems of various countries abound in law schoo! libraries, although they are less frequently found elsewhere. ‘The first academic law library in Makysia is the University of Malaya Law Library which is now named after Tan Sri Professor Ahmad Ibrahim, a well known figure in che Malaysian legal profession, It is also probably the largest law library in Malaysia with a collection exceeding 100,000 volumes. This collection was developed from 1959 as part of the main library until it was separated in 1972 to support the law faculty which was established in the same year. The library is also known for having the largest collection in Malaysia of law reports of the ‘Commonwealth countries and for its efficient updating of legislative material. The second largest academic law library is the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Law Library In 1985, this collection was part of the University’s Main Library collection before it was moved to its own building in 1996, Pare of its special collection are che books of Professor M.B, Hooker, a well-known customary law ‘expert. ‘Two more notable law collections of public univer- sities are those in the International Islamic University and MARA University of Technology, The law collections are still placed in the main library. The: International Islamic University law collection is known for its Syariah law (slamic law) materials. The newest Faculty of Public Management and Law of the Universiti Utara Malaysia in the state of Kedah also has ies own legal resources as part of fts main library and the collection is relatively small but developing, Other private colleges which include law courses as part of the college syllabus also maintain legal collections in their main libraries, but their usage Is strictly limited to their own students and members of acadernic staff only Most academic law libraries coday face tremendous collection development problems. The proliferation of published law reports and textbooks has made selection particularly dificult for Malaysian libraries, who are still heavily dependent on foreign titles, This calls for a huge budget allocation due to often unfavourable exchange rates, making resource sharing a necessity. While major law libraries used to take pride in dheir exhaustive collections, these research institutions have become more selective in recent times with their foreign ttle purchases but local fegal publishing continues to flourish, _ Government law libraries Government law libraries are widely varied in size and purpose and are usually only open to civil servants and government officials. They exist primarily to meet the needs of judges and government lawyers. Legal Research Facilities in Malaysia There are a few government law libraries of which wo are most prominent. First is the Federal Court Library, established before 1949 with a current collection ‘of more than 40,000 volumes, The library was the first law library in Malaysia co be equipped with TINLAW (The Information Navigator for Law) a specially designed rary automation system. The library is also a depository library for all judgments of superior courts with the current core collection numbering 20,000 judgments. Ie was moved to the stylish Palace of Justice building in Putrajaya in 2003 from its last location at the famous Sultan Abdul Samad Building in Kuala. Lumpur. ‘The second is the Attorney General's Chambers Library

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