2.  Adjudication of civil and criminal cases,
interpretation of statutes, etc.
EXECUTIVE JUDICIARY LEGISLATURE

3. ORDINARY COURTS OF LAW/
CIVIL COURTS
SYARIAH COURTS

4. FEDERALCOURT
COURT OF APPEAL
HIGH COURT OF MALAYA
HIGH COURT OF
SABAHAND SARAWAK
SESSIONS COURT
MAGISTRATECOURT
PENGHULU’S COURT
SESSIONS COURT
MAGISTRATECOURT

5. SUPERIOR COURTS
 Federal Court
 Court of Appeal
 High Courts
SUBORDINATE COURTS
 Sessions Court
 Magistrates Court

6.  Courts of Judicature Act 1964
 15. (1)The place in which any Court is held for
the purpose of trying any cause or matter,
civil or criminal, shall be deemed an open and
public court to which the public generally
may have access:

7.  Provided that the Court shall have power to
hear any cause or matter or any part thereof
in camera if the Court is satisfied that it is
expedient in the interests of justice, public
safety, public security or propriety, or for
other sufficient reason so to do.
 E.g. Judge can adjourn proceedings in
chambers e.g. so as not to cause
embarrassment to the victim.

8.  Court for children  closed court
 Child Act 2001
 12.
 (1) a Court for Children shall, if practicable, sit—
 (a) either in a different building or room from that in which sittings of
Courts other thanCourts for Children are held; or
 (b) on different days from those on which sittings of those other
Courts are held.
 (2) if a Court for Children sits in the same building as other Courts,
the Court for Children shall have a different entrance and exit
from those of the other Courts to enable children to be brought to
and from the Court for Children with privacy.

9.  (3) no person shall be present at any sitting of
a Court for Children except—
 (a) members and officers of the Court;
 (b) the children who are parties to the case
before the Court, their parents, guardians,
advocates and witnesses, and other persons
directly concerned in that case; and
 (c) such other responsible persons as may be
determined by the Court.

12.  Chief Justice of the Federal Court
 President of the Court of Appeal
 Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya
 Chief Judge of the High Court of Sabah and
Sarawak

13.  FC Articles 121 – 131A
 Hold office up to age of 65
 Cannot be removed save on grounds of
misconduct or inability arising from infirmity of
body or mind
 Salary paid from a special fund
 Conduct of judges may only be discussed in
Parliament under certain circumstances (A 127
FC).
 Art 122B: Appointment is byYDPA.

14. Article 123 FC:
(a) he is a citizen; and
(b) for the ten years preceding his appointment
he has been an advocate of those courts or any
of them or a member of the judicial and legal
service of the Federation or of the legal service
of a State.

15.  To assist judges in easing the backlog of cases
 Tenure is for 3 years – A 122AB
 Possesses the same power and immunities as
a High Court judge.

16.  Appointed by theYang di-PertuanAgong on
the recommendation of the respective Chief
Judges (section 59 of the Subordinate Courts
Act 1948)..
 They are members of the Judicial and Legal
Service i.e. public servant – A 132 FC

18.  Court of Judicature Act 1964 -- CJA
 Subordinate Courts Act 1948 -- SCA
 Rules of the Court 2012

19. Refer to the Subordinate Courts Act 1948 (SCA)

20.  S90. SCA
 Subject to the limitations contained in this
Act, a First Class Magistrate shall have
jurisdiction to try all actions and suits of a civil
nature where the amount in dispute or value
of the subject matter does not exceed one
hundred thousand ringgit.

21.  S 92 SCA. A Second Class Magistrate shall
only have jurisdiction to try original actions or
suits of a civil nature where the plaintiff seeks
to recover a debt or liquidated demand in
money payable by the defendant, with or
without interest, not exceeding ten thousand
ringgit.

22.  S 65
 A Sessions Court has–
 (a) unlimited jurisdiction to try all actions and
suits of a civil nature in respect of motor
vehicle accidents, landlord and tenant and
distress; and
 (b) jurisdiction to try all other actions and
suits of a civil nature where the subject
matter does not exceed RM1, 000,000.00.

23.  S 69 SCA: SessionsCourts shall have no jurisdiction in actions, suits or
 proceedings of a civil nature—
 (a) relating to immovable property except as provided in
 sections 70 and 71;
 (b) for the specific performance or rescission of contracts;
 (c) for an injunction;
 (d) for the cancellation or rectification of instruments;
 (e) to enforce trusts;
 (f) for accounts;
 (g) for declaratory decrees except in interpleader proceedings
 under section 73;
 (h) for the issue or revocation of grants of representation of
 the estates of deceased persons or the administration or
 distribution thereof;
 (i) wherein the legitimacy of any person is in question;
 *(j) wherein the guardianship or custody of infants is in question;
 and
 (k) except as specifically provided in any written law for the
 time being in force, wherein the validity or dissolution
 of any marriage is in question.

25.  Civil jurisdiction—general
S23 CJA: (1) Subject to the limitations contained in
Article 128 of the Constitution the High Court shall have
jurisdiction to try all civil proceedings where—
 (a) the cause of action arose;
 (b) the defendant or one of several defendants resides
or has his place of business;
 (c) the facts on which the proceedings are based exist
or are alleged to have occurred; or
 (d) any land the ownership of which is disputed is
situated,
within the local jurisdiction of the Court…

26.  S 3 CJA:
 “local jurisdiction” means—
 (a) in the case of the High Court in Malaya, the
territory comprised in the States of Malaya, namely,
Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan,
Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor,Terengganu
and the FederalTerritory* of Kuala Lumpur; and
 (b) in the case of the High Court in Sabah and
Sarawak, the territory comprised in the States of
Sabah, Sarawak and the FederalTerritory of Labuan,

27.  Civil jurisdiction—specific
 S 24 CJA .Without prejudice to the generality of section 23 the civil
jurisdiction of the High Court shall include—
 (a) jurisdiction under any written law relating to divorce and matrimonial causes;
 (b) the same jurisdiction and authority in relation to matters of admiralty as is had by
the High Court of Justice in England under the United Kingdom Supreme Court Act
1981;
 (c) jurisdiction under any written law relating to bankruptcy or to companies;
 (d) jurisdiction to appoint and control guardians of infants and generally over the
person and property of infants;
 (e) jurisdiction to appoint and control guardians and keepers of the person and
estates of idiots, mentally disordered persons and persons of unsound mind; and
 (f) jurisdiction to grant probates of wills and testaments and letters of administration
of the estates of deceased persons leaving property within the territorial jurisdiction of
the Court and to alter or revoke such grants.

28.  S 25 CJA
 (2)Without prejudice to the generality of
subsection (1) the
 High Court shall have the additional powers
set out in the Schedule

30.  Appellate civil jurisdiction
 27.The appellate civil jurisdiction of the High
Court shall consist of the hearing of appeals
from subordinate courts…

31.  Civil appeals from subordinate courts
 28. (1) Subject to any other written law, no appeal
shall lie to the High Court from a decision of a
subordinate court in any civil cause or matter where
the amount in dispute or the value of the subject-
matter is ten thousand ringgit or less except on a
question of law.
 (2) An appeal shall lie from any decision of a
subordinate court in any proceedings relating to
maintenance of wives or children, irrespective of the
amount involved.

32.  Power of High Court to call for records of civil
proceedings in subordinate courts
 32.The High Court may call for and examine
the record of any civil proceedings before any
subordinate court for the purpose of
satisfying itself as to the correctness, legality
or propriety of any decision recorded or
passed, and as to the regularity of any
proceedings of any such subordinate court.

33.  Powers of High Court on revision of civil
proceedings
 33. In the case of any civil proceedings in
subordinate court the record of which has
been called for, or which otherwise comes to
its knowledge, the High Court may give such
orders thereon, either by directing a new trial
or otherwise, as seems necessary to secure
that substantial justice is done.

34.  No revision at instance of party who could
have appealed
 34.Where an appeal lies from any decision in
any civil matter, and no appeal is brought, no
proceeding by way of revision shall be
entertained at the instance of a party who
could have appealed

35.  Armed robbery at 3:45 cm
 Accused pleaded guilty. Magistrate imposed
imprisonment 30 month and one stroke
rotan.

36.  Abdull Hamid Embong H:
 “Kes ini telah dipanggil oleh saya setelah
membaca siaran berita tentangnya dalam
akhbar tempatan minggu lepas (12 Julai 2006).
Selepas mengkaji latar belakang dan fakta kes
daripada rekod perbicaraan, saya telah
memutuskan untuk membuat semakan
terhadap hukuman yang dijatuhkan oleh
majistret terhadap tertuduh dalam kes ini,
mengikut kuasa mahkamah ini di bawah Kanun
Acara Jenayah ss 323 dan 325.”

37.  Held:
 (1)The facts of this case shows that the armed robbery by the
accused was committed at 3.45am in the complainant's own
house. It was clear that this was a heinous and horrid crime. It was
made worse because the incident happened in the complainant's
own house, ie a place where one should assume as the safest
place.This country practises a liberal and friendly policy towards
foreign workers who come to find work here legally. Nevertheless,
there are also foreigners who enter here illegally and involve
themselves with crimes such as in this case.The public should be
protected against such people.The court should be blamed for not
performing its role if it is not aware of the public's desire to be
protected by criminals such as the accused. Justice to the victim in
this robbery ought to be reflected in a heavy sentence on the
accused (see paras 9–10, 12–13).

38.  (2)The 30 month imprisonment on the accused did not
reflect this heinous and horrid crime.The sentence was
too lenient, light, and could be regarded as an insult to
justice. On principle, the sentence was worng and this
court should exercise its powers of revision against it (see
para 15).
 (3)The High Court had imposed a sentence of seven years
imprisonment and five strokes of rotan.This sentence
should start after the accused had gone through detention
under the detention order of the Minister of Internal
Security.6 MLJ 465 at 467
 After completing his sentence the accused should refer to
the Malaysian Immigration Department to manage his
exile out of Malaysia (see para 22).

40.  S 38 CJA
 “…every proceeding in the Court of Appeal
shall be heard and disposed of by three
Judges or such greater uneven number of
Judges as the President may in any particular
case determine.”

41.  S 41 CJA
 “Proceedings shall be decided in accordance
with the opinion of the majority of the Judges
composing the Court.”

42.  S 67(1) CJA
 “The Court of Appeal shall have jurisdiction to
hear and determine appeals from any
judgment or order of any HighCourt in any
civil cause or matter, whether made in the
exercise of its original or of its appellate
jurisdiction…”
 However…

43.  S 68(1) CJA: No appeal shall be brought to the Court
of Appeal in any of the following cases:
 (a) when the amount or value of the subject-matter of the
claim (exclusive of interest) is less than two hundred and
fifty thousand ringgit*, except with the leave of the Court
of Appeal
 (b) where the judgment or order is made by consent of
parties;
 (c) where the judgment or order relates to costs only
which by law are left to the discretion of the Court, except
with the leave of the Court of Appeal; and
 (d) where, by any written law for the time being in force,
the judgment or order of the High Court, is expressly
declared to be final.

45.  S 74(1) CJA
 “…every proceeding in the FederalCourt shall
be heard and disposed of by three Judges or
such greater uneven number of Judges as
the Chief Justice may in any particular case
determine.”

46.  S 75(1) CJA
 “The Court shall sit on such dates and at such
places as the Chief Justice may from time to
time appoint:
 Provided that the Chief Justice may, when he
deems it expedient, direct that any appeal be
heard at any time and in any place in
Malaysia.”

47.  S 96 CJA
 “…in respect of appeals from the Court of
Appeal, an appeal shall lie from the Court of
Appeal to the FederalCourt with the leave of
the Federal Court…”

48.  S 97(3) CJA
 “…an application for leave to appeal to the
Federal Court may be heard by a Judge of the
Court, and any direction or order that could
be given or made by theCourt on such
application may be given or made by such
Judge.”