1. Talk about classification of law in their broad divisions.

There are various ways in which the law may be classified. The most common used is
public and private law.
Public law, is concerned with the relationship between the state and its citizens. This
comprises several specialist areas such as:
a. Constitutional law. Constitutional law is concerned with the workings of the
British constitution. It covers such matters as the position of the Crown, the
composition and procedures of Parliament, the functioning of central and local
government, citizenship and the civil liberties of individual citizens.
b. Administrative law. There has been a dramatic increase in the activities of
government during the last hundred years. Schemes have been introduced to help
ensure a minimum standard of living for everybody. Government agencies are
involved, for example, in the provision of a state retirement pension, income
support and child benefit. A large number of disputes arise from the
administration of these schemes and a body of law, administrative law, has
developed to deal with complaints of individuals against the decisions of the
administering agency.
c. Criminal law. Certain kinds of wrongdoing pose such a serious threat to the good
order of society that they are considered crimes against the whole community. The
criminal law makes such anti-social behavior offence against the state and
offenders are liable to punishment. The state accepts responsibility for the
detection, prosecution and punishment of offenders.
d. Municipal law. Municipal law is the law specific to a particular city or county
(known legally as a municipality), and the government bodies within those
cities or countries. This can cover a wide range of issues, including everything
from police power, zoning, education policies, and a property taxes.
e. International law. International law is the set of rules generally regarded and
accepted as binding in relations between states and between nations. It serves as a
framework for the practice of stable and organized international relations. Much
of international law is consent-based governance. This means that a state member
is not obliged to abide by this type of international law, unless it has expressly
consented to a particular course of conduct. This is an issue of state sovereignty.
However, other aspects of international law are not consent-based but still are
obligatory upon state and non-state actors such as customary international law and
peremptory norms (jus cogens).
i. Public international law. Concerns the treaty relationships between the
actions and persons which are considered the subjects of international law.
Norms of international law have their source in either:

1. Custom, or customary international law (consistent state practice

accompanied by opinio juris);
2. Globally accepted standard of behavior (peremptory norms known
as jus cogens or ius cogens); or
3. Codifications contained in conventional agreements, generally
terms treaties.
ii. Private international law. Governs conflicts between private persons
rather than states (or other international bodies with standing). It concerns
the questions of which jurisdiction should be permitted to hear a legal
dispute between private parties, and which jurisdictions law should be
applied, therefore raising issues of international law.
Private law, is primarily concerned with the rights and duties of individuals towards each
other. The states involvement in this area of law is confined providing a civilized method
of resolving the dispute that has arisen. Thus, the legal process is begun by the aggrieved
citizen and not by the state. Private law is also called civil law and is often contrasted
with criminal law.
In civil proceedings, a claimant sues a defendant in the civil courts. The claimant will be
successful if he can prove his case on the balance of probabilities, i.e. the evidence
weights more in favor of the claimant than the defendant. If the claimant wins his action,
the defendant is said to be liable and the court will order an appropriate remedy, such as
damages (financial compensation) or an injunction (an order to do or not to do
something). If the claimant is not successful, the defendant is found not liable.
Private laws scope is more specific than public law and covers:
a. Contract law. A body of law that governs oral and written agreements associated
with exchange of goods and services, money, and properties. It includes topics
such as the nature of contractual obligations, limitation of actions, freedom of
contract, privity of contract, termination of contract, and covers also agency
relationships, commercial paper, and contracts of employment.
b. Tort law. A body of rights, obligations and remedies that is applied by courts in
civil proceedings to provide relief for persons who have suffered harm from the
wrongful acts of the others. The person who sustains injury or suffers pecuniary
damage as the result of tortious conduct is known as the plaintiff, and the person
who is responsible for inflicting the injury and incurs liability for the damage is
known as the defendant or tortfeasor.
c. Property law. The area of law that governs the various forms of ownership and
tenancy in real property (land and ordinarily anything erected on, growing on, or
affixed to it, including buildings or crops) and in personal property, also referred
to as movable property (anything other than land that can be the subject of

ownership, including stocks, money, notes, patents, and copyrights, as well as

intangible property), within the common law legal system.
d. Trust law and Succession law. The legal relationship created when a person (the
settlor) places assets under the control of a person (the trustee) for the
benefit of some other person of people (the beneficiaries) or for a specified
purpose. Both are useful estate planning devices that serve different purposes, and
both can work together to create a complete estate plan. One main difference
between a will and a trust is that a will goes into effect only after you die, while a
trust takes effect as soon as you create it.
e. Family law. A body of statues and case precedents that govern the legal
responsibilities between individuals who share a domestic connection. These
cases usually involve parties who are related by blood or marriage, but family law
can affect those in more distant or casual relationships as well. Due to the
emotionally-charged nature of most family law cases, litigants are strongly
advised to retain legal counsel.
References
1. Ms Sarah Riches, Ms Vida Allen. (2013). Keenan and Riches Business Law. United
Kingdom: Peason Education Limited.
http://catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk/assets/hip/gb/hip_gb_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/14
08278839.pdf
2. Kat Kadian-Baumeyer. Business 103: Introductory Business Law. Chapter 4 American
Legal Systems: Public Law vs. Private Law: Definitions and Differences.
http://study.com/academy/lesson/public-law-vs-private-law-definitions-anddifferences.html

2. Historically, the life of people during early societies was not without rules. Explain their
law and implementation.
Historically, the life of people during early societies was not without rules. In the absence
of formally codified or written laws, they were ruled by local beliefs, religious practices,
customs and the opinions of jurists.

Such rules played a major role in forming the foundation of the Malaysian legal system
particularly personal law. M.B. Hooker viewed that the development of Malaysian
personal laws to their present state is essentially the creation of the judiciary with due
regard given to the manners, customs and religions of the inhabitants. As such, those are
said to be the historical sources of Malaysian law and have had a role in shaping the
society in the early period. They received gradual recognition to be the law-governing
people, thus being enforced by the heads or leaders of the district. In relation thereto,
R.H. Hickling noted that custom owes its great value among people in its early vitality as
living law, becoming a part of society and changing as necessary to meet their needs.
The existence of a social structure regulated their lives and subjected it to legal
enforcement - when disputes arose among people in a tribe, the chief of the tribes alone
possessed full civil and criminal jurisdictions to impose penalties and punishments. When
it involved inter tribe disputes, the chiefs of the tribes assisted by advisers who would
judge the dispute. Occasionally, in some cases a tribunal whose members consist of the
chief and the elders of the tribe would judge the dispute. The tribunal would normally
come into formation when a dispute involved a capital offence like murder. The common
crimes committed at that time were theft, abduction of married woman, cheating, intertribal disputes and murders. For that, the penalties and punishments imposed were fines
or banishment from the tribe, flogging with rattan and death sentence. The food supply by
the offender to the victims family was also a kind of punishment, and its length would
vary for the type of offence committed.
Much account was given to the preservation of the tribes interest and self-preservation
as the foundation of laws at that time. With the variety of penalties and punishments
among tribes, the concern was not to educate, deter and protect the public common
interest as a whole, rather the protection of a small group of specific tribe and individual
person. Although little is known about their law and enforcement, the existence of the
head of the tribe and some respected people among them acting as advisers, tribunal or in
some cases the chief as a judge or a sole decision maker indicated that they did have a
law enforcement agency and personnel to control the society.

3. Do you agree that customary law is part of our law? To what extent?
Today, other than native land rights of indigenous peoples in Malaysia and native
customary law in Sabah and Sarawak, the influence of customary law is waning.
Of Malay adat law, only adat perpatih is still practiced in Negeri Sembilan and the adat
areas of Naning in Melaka. Chinese and Hindu customary laws on marriage and divorce

have diminished relevance since the coming into force of the Law Reform (Marriage and
Divorce) Act 1976 (Act 164) on 1 March 1982.
That Act introduced a uniform law on marriage, divorce, and ancillary matters among
non-Muslims. Its provisions are based largely on English legislation. Polygamous
marriages among non-Muslims are abolished. A common system of solemnization of
marriage and compulsory registration of marriage has been imposed. The Act does not
abolish customary forms of marriage. A couple may celebrate their marriage according to
their customary laws provided such marriage is solemnized in accordance with the
provisions of the Act. The Act does not operate retrospectively. It does not affect the
legality of polygamous and customary law marriages contracted before the Act came into
force. The Act also does not apply to natives of Sabah and Sarawak and the Orang Asli of
Peninsular Malaysia unless they elect to marry under the Act.
The uniform law on marriage, divorce, and ancillary matters introduced by the Act
replaced the heterogeneous personal laws applicable previously to non-Muslims to
different ethnic origins. Malaysia had to choose between preserving plural legalism or
providing a unified of substantive laws. The Act leans towards the latter. Uniformity of
the law on family matters not only renders the law more certain but also minimizes the
problem of conflict of laws.
Native customary law continues to apply as the personal law of the non-Muslim
indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak. How long it will remain so depends on how
long these communities can maintain their beliefs, customs, traditions, and culture against
the onslaught of modern lifestyles brought about by economic and social development.
References
1. Wan Arfah Hamzah. (2009). A First Look at the Malaysian Legal System. Malaysia:
Oxford Hajar Sdn. Bhd.

4. Explain why English law is followed to such a large extent in Malaysia today?
The law of Malaysia is mainly based on the common law legal system that means that
English law forms part of the laws of Malaysia. In Article 160 of the Federal
Constitution states the definition of law which includes the common law in so far as it is
in operation in the Federation or any part thereof that concerns the extent to which the
English law is applicable in Malaysia. The Civil Law Act 1956 (Act 67) (Revised 1972)
are the statutory authority for the application of English law in todays Malaysia. The

extent of the application of English law is prescribed in the following three sections
which are Section 3, Section 5 and Section 6.
In Section 3(1), it provides for the general application of English law. It states that:
Save so far as other provision has been made or may hereafter be made by any
written law in force in Malaysia, the Court shall:
In West Malaysia or any part thereof, apply the common law of England and the
rules of equity as administered in England on the 7th day of April, 1956;
In Sabah, apply the common law of England and the rules of equity, together with
statutes of general application, as administered or in force in England on the 1st
day of December, 1951;
In Sarawak, apply the common law of England and the rules of equity, together
with statutes of general application, as administered or in force in England on the
12th day of December, 1949, subject however to sub-section 3(ii):
Provided always that the said common law, rules of equity and statutes of general
application shall be applied so far only as the circumstances of the States of
Malaysia and their respective inhabitants permit and subject to such qualifications
as local circumstances render necessary.
Common law and rules of equity as well as in Sabah and Sarawak, English statues of
general application apply under section 3(1) subject to the following qualifications which
are absence of local legislation, cut-off dates and local circumstances.
First of all, under the absence of local legislation, it is contained in the opening proviso.
The same qualification exists in section 3(1) CLO 1956 as well as section 2 Civil Law
Enactment 1937 - the antecedents of section 3(1) CLA 1956. The qualification is applied
only in the absence of local status on the particular subject. The statutory recognition of
judicial practice of resorting over English law to fill lacunae (gaps) in the local law
system.
The second qualifications for application of English law is cut-off dates as only common
law and rules of equity and in Sabah and Sarawak, English statutes of general application
existing in England on the dates specified which were 7th April 1956 for West Malaysia,
1st December 1951 for Sabah and 12th December 1949 for Sarawak.
However, despite the clear and categorical wording of section 3(1) to the effect that
Malaysian courts shall apply English law existing on the specified dates, in practice the
courts may follow developments in English common law after such dates. English
decision made after such dates, though not binding, are persuasive. The choice is left to

the wisdom of the Malaysian judiciary as that decision not only endorsed the judicial
practice, but leaves the door open to the continuing reception of principles of English
common law and equity in Malaysia.
The third qualification of general application in English law is local circumstances that
English law is applicable only to the extent permitted by local circumstances and
inhabitants, and subject to qualifications necessitated by local circumstances. English law
may be most suited in its home land but doesnt necessarily translate well into the local
environment which the imposition is totally an alien system on a socially and culturally
different from English society. This qualification is contained in the concluding provision
to section 3(1), is commonly referred to as the local circumstances proviso.
References
1. Essays, UK. (November, 2013). English Common Law and The Rules of Equity.
http://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/constitutional-law/english-common-law-lawessays.php