Legal Research and Information Processing Skills (LAW038) is one of the subjects that is mandatory for UiTM's Foundations in Law students throughout Semester 1. All notes are packed in 19 pages only for easier yet effective revision. Best efforts were made to ensure that everything you need to know to score your final exam is included in here (except for APA & MLA citation guide -- I provide other slides especially for those two topics, please look for them on my profile page). However, if there's any missing important information (apart from APA & MLA), do let me know in the comments section. Thank you and hope this helps you with your studies. Good luck!

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2. DEFINITIONS (LAW038)
Library
 Information skills: information literacy
 Information literacy: a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information
is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed
information
 Library: a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes
films and recorded music for use of borrowing by the public or the members of an
institution
 National library: a library established and funded by the national government of a country
to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that country
 Public library: designed to serve the community and to provide lending and reference
services to a broad range of professional and non-professional users
 Special library: a library maintained by an organization to collect materials and provide
information of special relevance to the work of the organization
 Academic library: attached to a higher education institution which supports the research
of the university, faculty and the students
 School library: serve the needs of secondary and elementary school students and to
some degree, their teachers
 Digital library: a set of electronic resources and associated technical capabilities for
creating, searching and using information
 Acquisitions: responsible for procuring reading materials and media except for serial
materials
 Cataloging: process of listing something for inclusion in a catalog
 Circulation: responsible in activities related to book reservation, lending, counter
services, inter-library loans, and membership registration (the basic processes in a
library)
 Inter-library loan: service where library borrow materials unavailable in the library from
other libraries nationally and internationally
 Serials: responsible for the selection, ordering, receipt and cataloging for all journals,
annuals, business services, electronic indexes and full text journals

3.  Reference: responsible in giving reference services and assistance to users in getting
the right information either for study or research
 Reference librarians: intermediaries between information sources and users
 Administration: responsible for the maintenance and safety for all buildings of a library
 Automation: plan, implement, manage and maintain the library’s technology-related
initiatives
 Integrated Library Management Utility (ILMU): library information and knowledge
management software developed by UiTM to enable librarians to process users’
requests, create orders, generate claims and cancellations
 Library catalog: a systematic listing of the books and materials in a library with
descriptive information about the author, title, edition, publisher, date, physical
appearance, subject matter, special features and location
 Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC): an online database of materials held by library
 Classification systems: organization of books on the shelves of a library

4. Types of Information
 Format: the way information is packaged in the library
 Primary sources: raw material, firsthand information or original thinking relevant to an
event // original materials which have not been filtered through interpretation or
evaluation
 Secondary sources: discussions or comment, usually about the primary sources
 Tertiary sources: compilation or digest of information in primary and secondary sources
in order to provide background on a topic, idea or event
 Reference: someone or something which is a source of information about a subject
 Reference sources: provide background information, access to factual and statistical
information, and also references to other sources of information
 Encyclopedia: a book or a set of books containing information on various subjects from
any branches of knowledge // an alphabetic and comprehensive summary of a subject
 Almanac: a publication with statistics and a compilation of specific facts often arranged
according to the calendar
 Textbook: a commentary on a specific subject or branch of study
 Practitioners’ books: provide a very detailed description of an object, and are designed
for the legal profession
 Students’ textbooks: describe the general principles of law, with an emphasis on the
present state of the law
 Casebooks: reprint or summarizes key cases and other law materials on a topic
 Yearbook: annual publication presenting the events or aspects of the previous year
 Handbook: a small book that gives brief and useful information about a particular
subject, which is intended to provide ready reference
 Dictionary: a linguistic work which primarily focuses on alphabetical listing of words and
their definitions
 Biographical dictionary: contains concise biographical information about the lives of the
people
 Atlas: a book of maps or charts, with or without explanatory texts such as geography
information
 Bibliography: a list of books or other publications referred to in a scholarly work, typically
printed as an appendix

5.  Directory: a book or website listing individuals or organizations alphabetically,
geographically, or by specialization with details such as names, addresses, and
telephone numbers
 Gazetteer: a dictionary which provides geographical information about places, normally
used in conjunction with a map or atlas
 Bookness of a book: the qualities which have to do with a book (binded,
paper/electronic, words/image, distributed)
 Indexes: locate articles in periodicals
 Abstract: short summary of an article, book or other sources
 CD-ROM: plastic disk, on which can be stored up to 250,000 pages of text

6. Legal Research
 Legal research: the search for authority that can be applied to a given set of facts and
issues // the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal
decision-making
Sources of Law
 Written law: law that has been enacted by the legislature (FC, SC, Legislation,
Subsidiary Legislation)
 Unwritten law: law that has not been enacted by the legislature (judicial precedent,
customs, English/Common law)
 Federal constitution: supreme law of the country
 Legislation: laws made by a person or body which has power to make law // laws passed
by the legislature (Parliament, State Legislative Council)
 Subsidiary legislation/delegated/subordinate: made by persons or bodies under powers
conferred on them by acts of parliament or enactments of state assemblies
 English Law/Common Law: principles of English law applicable to local circumstances
 Judicial precedent: decisions of the higher courts in previous cases must be followed by
the lower courts in similar cases/situations
 Customs: regular pattern of social behavior accepted by a particular society
 Islamic Law: applies to Muslims and is administered at state levels by a separate system
of courts called the Shariah Courts
 Al Quran: words of Allah revealed to and transmitted by the Prophet Muhammad
(fundamental source of Islamic knowledge, and all sources of Islamic law must be in
essential agreement with Al Quran)
 Sunnah: the utterance, action or indirect approval by the Prophet Muhammad (recorded
in the collections of Hadith)
 Ijma: the unanimous agreement of the mujtahidun of the Muslim community of any
period following the demise of the Prophet Muhammad on any matter (persepakatan)
 Qiyas: cases when something needs a legal ruling, but has not been clearly addressed
in any sources, judges may use analogy, reasoning and legal precedent to decide new
case law (often the case when a general principle can be applied to new situations)
 Maslahah: benefit or interest
 Maslahah mursalah: unrestricted public interest

7.  Urf: customs
 Ijitihad: personal effort made by a jurist in order to infer or interpret the Islamic law from
the Quran or Sunnah, for the purpose of addressing issues not specifically dealt within
the sources // careful opinion formed by somebody learned in the law // individual
reasoning by a jurist that could be used in order to find legal solutions to legal questions
that are not directly covered by the Quran and Sunnah
 Istihsan: juristic preference // deciding in favour of public interest in order to dispel
hardship and to bring ease in a matter that is not otherwise prohibited by the shariah
(right to use private property as the owner wishes is modified by the need to protect the
natural environment)

8. Law Reports
 Doctrine of stare decisis: stand by the decision (cases must be decided the same way
when their material facts are the same, as justice requires similar treatment of similar
cases, requires decisions of higher courts to be followed by lower courts)
 Ratio decidendi: the reason or rationale for the decision // the decisions of higher courts
are binding on the courts below them
 Obiter dicta: “by the way” comments made by the judges // opinions or other matters
expressed by the judge which are not directly relevant to the case before him (not
binding but persuasive)
 Law report: a serial compilation of cases which normally contain facts, issues, decisions
and legal principles of cases // published judgements of cases (Malaysia: general law
reports, socialist law reports)
 Case citatory: table of reported cases which have been referred, followed, distinguished
or overruled by later cases
 Followed: a decision is followed by a court of lower or co-ordinate jurisdiction
 Distinguished: a subsequent court chooses not to follow the original decision by
demonstrating that there are significant differences between the two cases, even though
the subsequent court is bound by the doctrine of stare decisis
 Overruled: a superior court subsequently declares that the decision in the original case
is wrong
 Referred: a subsequent court deals with the point of law in the original case without
comment on any correctness or otherwise of the original case
 Case citation: a reference to a case in the law reports which generally includes names,
year, volume, abbreviation, first page
 Digests of cases: provide the case law on a given topic in a highly compressed form and
summary of the legal principles which may be inferred from the cases

9. LEGAL RESEARCH
Purpose
 Basic rules for efficient use of the
law library
 Basic legal approach which will be
useful in conducting effective legal
research
Importance
 To ascertain laws on a given topic or
subject
 To identify gaps and ambiguities in
law
 To critically examine legal provisions
and principles
 To undertake social audit of law with
a view to highlighting its pre-
legislative forces and post-legislative
impacts
 To suggest reforms/developments in
law
Basic stages
 Research Planning
 Research Implementation
 Research Presentation
Research Planning
1. Fact collection (WHO? WHAT?
WHEN? WHERE? WHY? HOW?)
2. Fact analysis (West System,
Brainstorming, Mind-mapping)***
3. Identification of factual and legal
issues (causes of action, special
facts, defences, relief, threshold
issues)
4. Formulation of research plan
(2)
West System
 Parties
 Objects
 Places
 Basis
 Defences
 Relief
Brainstorming
 the process of recording all of the
words or possibilities that come to
mind without first evaluating them,
that are in any way related to the
subject
 a discussion to get ideas or opinions
on a subject
 matters which are relevant to the
facts of the case
Mind-mapping
 a kind of diagram constructed based
on the central theme or main idea of
the facts
(4)

10.  Once factual and legal issues have
been identified, determine the
relevant jurisdiction and the source
of the applicable law—i.e. is it a
state or federal? If state, which
state?
 And source of law—is this issue
guided by case law only? Statute?
 List the tools you intend to use and
the initial search terms you will use.
Research Implementation
 identify problem(s) for resolution
 identify relevant source materials
 locate source materials
 use source materials effectively
 analyze research findings
 apply findings to problems
 identify further problems
Research Presentation
 identify the recipient’s needs or
requirements
 select an appropriate format, e.g.,
letter, memorandum, report
 use clear and simple language
 use appropriate language style such
as informatory, advisory, or
recommendation (depending on for
whom the research is being
conducted)

11. SOURCES OF LAW
Civil Law
 Primary sources: Written, Unwritten
Law
 Secondary sources
Primary Sources
Federal Constitution
 Lays down powers of Federal and
State Governments
 Fundamental rights of the individual
citizen
 Applies to all states in Malaysia
 Can only be amended by 2/3
majority of Parliament
State Constitution
 Contains provisions pertaining to
state matters as provided under the
Federal Constitution including land
matters, agriculture, forestry, and
Islamic Law
Legislation
 Parliament: Acts
 State Legislative Council (except
Sarawak): Enactments
 Sarawak: Ordinances
Not supreme, legislature must enact
according to the provisions of FC (and state
which one applies to the whole country,
state only)
Subsidiary Legislation
Authority other than Parliament and State
Legislative Council. It deals with the details
of every day matters which the legislature
has neither time nor expertise to enact laws.
English Law
Application of English law in Malaysia is
subject to 2 conditions:
 There is no local law governing the
matter
 The English law suits the local
circumstances
Judicial Precedent
 Federal Court
 Court of Appeal
 High Court
Categories: binding (all decisions of higher
courts bind the lower courts, the high courts
are bound by their own
decisions)/persuasive (high court judges are
not bound to follow the decisions of another
high court judges, decisions from outside
Malaysian courts such as English courts)
Customs
Customs of the local inhabitants which have
been accepted as law by courts in Malaysia
(Adat Perpatih, Adat Temenggung, Chinese

12. and Indian customary laws, native customs
in Sabah and Sarawak)
Secondary Sources
 Hansard
 Legal textbook
 Legal dictionary
 Legal digest
 Legal journal
 Legal encyclopedia
 Commentary
 Treaty
 Indexes
 Periodicals
Islamic Law
Administered by the states (FC).
Primary sources: Quran, Sunnah, ijma’,
qiyas
Secondary sources: Maslahah mursalah,
urf, ijtihad, istihsan
Primary Sources
Al Quran
Regulates the life of Muslims in all aspects:
duties towards Allah, relations with one
another and environment
Sunnah
 Embodies the entire pattern of the
life of Prophet including his acts,
sayings and silent approval of the
behavior of his companions
(qauliyyah, fiqliyyah, taqririyyah)
 Clarify details of Quran
Ijma
 Occurs in situations when Muslims
have not been able to find a specific
legal ruling in the Quran or Sunnah
and they seek a consensus on the
matter.
 The Prophet once said that his
community, Muslims, would never
agree on an error.
Qiyas
Extension of a shariah value from an
original case to a new case, for the latter
has the same effective cause as the former.
Secondary Sources
Maslahah Mursalah
 Imam Al-Ghazali: consists of
considerations which secure benefit
or prevent harm for the protection of
life, religion, intellect, lineage and
property.
 In all matters where the shariah has
not made an express prescription,
laws should be proposed with a view
to the general well-being of the

13. people and to safeguard them from
any potential harm.
Urf
 Muslim jurists placed a value on
preserving what is familiar to the
people in a certain place, based on
established tradition
 Accepted as long as it does not
violate the shariah principles.

14. LAW REPORTS
General Law Reports
Malayan Law Journal [MLJ] 1932-current
 General series of law reports
 Cases from Federal Court, Court of
Appeal and High Courts
 Oldest and the leading law report for
Malaysian and Singapore cases
 Contains cases as well as articles on
various aspects of law
 MLJ [2014] 11 volumes, 1-6 cover
current and landmark cases from
FC, CA, HC, 7-11 cover recent high
court cases
 Each volume has the following
indexes: general index, index of
cases reported in the volume, index
of cases judicially considered,
subject index, index of statutes
Current Law Journal [CLJ] 1981, digest of
cases, reporting full judgements from 1983-
current
 Monthly law report
 Contains case laws, legislations and
articles
 Index in annual volume: subject
index of reported judgements, index
of cases reported by various courts,
index of cases by legislation, index
of cases judicially considered
All Malaysia Reports [AMR] 1992-current
 Weekly law report
 Indexes in annual volume: table of
articles, table of cases reported,
table of cases judicially considered,
table of legislation judicially
considered, subject index, register of
terminology
Specialist Law Reports
Malaysian Labour Law Reports (MLLR)
1965-1982
 Specialized report that covers the
decisions of the industrial court and
contains cases concerning industrial
disputes reported in MLJ.
Industrial Law Reports (ILR) 1983-current
 Continuance on MLLR
 Contains awards of the industrial
court from january 1982 onwards
Jurnal Hukum 1980
 In malay
 Contains exclusive articles on
Islamic law as well as cases decided
in shariah courts
 Published by JAKIM
Laporan Shariah/Shariah Reports
[CLJ(Sya)] 2004
 In English and malay
 Contains shariah cases from
Malaysia and other Islamic
jurisdictions from around the world
Malaysian Tax Journal 1974
 Published twice a year
 By Inland Revenue Officers Union
Peninsular Malaya
 Contains latest cases and articles
relating to Malaysian tax laws

15. English Law Reports
Primary English Law Reports
Law Reports 1865-current
 Most authoritative reports
 Should always be cited in preference
where there is a choice
 Published by Incorporated Council of
Law Reporting
 Cases are reported in four different
parts of different courts: appeal
cases (A.C.) by court of appeal and
house of lords, chancery division
(Ch.) by chancery division of high
court, queen’s bench (Q.B.) by
queen’s bench division of high court,
court of appeal and divisional court,
family division (Fam.) by family
division of high court
Weekly Law Reports 1953
 By Incorporated Council of Law
Reporting
 Contains comprehensive and up to
date coverage of all important house
of lords and privy council cases
All England Law Reports 1936
 By Butterworths
 Contains cases worthy of reporting
including significant judgements
from court of appeal and high courts
since 1995

16. CASE CITATION
Mallal’s Digest 1808
- Summarizes decisions of Malaysian
and Singapore superior courts and
appeals to the privy council
- Arranged according to subject
headings and citations are provided
after each entry
- Older most significant digest is
Mallal’s Digest of Malaysian and
Singapore Case Law
- Newer digest is Mallal’s Digest
Fourth Edition (12 volumes)
Digest of Recent Malaysian Judgements –
until 1984
- Annual digest
- Contains judgements of high court,
federal court and privy council
- Cases arranged according to subject
headings in alphabetical order
- Brief notes on the subject matters
are provided
Malaysian Digest
- Covers all recent decisions of the
federal court, high court Malaya and
high court sabah and Sarawak
- Contains brief facts of the case,
issues involved and the decision of
the court
- Contains subject index for easy
reference

17. LEGAL PERIODICALS
Contains:
 Subject index
 Author index or title index
 Table of cases
 Table of statutes
 Index of book reviews
 Table of abbreviations
Index to Periodical Articles: Humanities and
Social Sciences
- Published by National University of
Singapore
- Covers periodical literature on social
sciences, humanities, law, and other
disciplines from Singapore,
Malaysia, Brunei and other ASEAN
countries
Indexes on CD-ROM
- Published by National Library of
Malaysia
- Produced in one CD-ROM which
covers Malaysiana Periodicals
Index, Index to Malaysiana
Conferences and Malaysiana
Newspaper Index
- Provides good reference to articles
published in Malaysia
Indeks Majalah DBP
- Published by DBP
- Covers references to all articles
published by DBP
Index to Legal Periodicals of Malaysia and
Singapore 1932-1995
- Published by MLJ
- Important source of tracing journal
articles published in Malaysia and
Singapore
- Includes articles in Malay language

18. How to read an act?
1. Series
2. Act number: series of number for
acts enacted since the coming into
force of the Revision of Laws Act
1969
3. Title: title of the act
4. Long title: brief description of the
nature and intention of the legislation
5. Commencement date: date when
the act comes into force
6. Enacting formula: standard form of
words used to indicate that a bill has
been properly passed by all
constituent parts of the legislature
7. Short title: index-heading which
identifies the formal name of the act
8. Section, subsections: paragraphs in
the act which contain a different rule
of law
9. Marginal notes: short explanations of
the contents
10. Schedule: matters of detail which
are appended to the act (forms, lists,
tables)
How to read a state enactment?
1. Enactment number: the series of
number for enactments passed each
year
2. Assenting statement: standard form
of words used to indicate that the
state ruler has granted assent to the
enactment
3. Long title
4. Commencement date
5. Enacting formula
6. Short title
7. Sections, subsections
8. Marginal notes
9. Schedule

19. Types of reference sources
- Encyclopedia (“encyclopedia”s,
Microsoft Encarta, Halsbury’s laws
of England)
- Almanac
- Textbook (Chitty on Contracts,
Introduction to Malaysian Legal
System, Casebook on Torts)
- Yearbook (The Annual Register of
World Events)
- Handbook (how-to’s, user guides)
- Dictionary (istilah)
- Biographical Dictionary (Dictionary
of American Biography, Who’s Who)
- Atlas (Atlapedia Online)
- Bibliography (citations- APA, MLA,
etc)
- Directory (Yellow Pages)
- Gazetteer (“geographical”,
Geographical Dictionary, Geography
of Malaysia)