Court Structure

Study Guide

1. Explain the structure and operation of the courts.

Past Year Questions

Dec 2003 Q3 , Dec 2005 Q1, Dec 2008 Q1, June 2011 Q1

a. Describe the structure of Malaysian Court System explaining the judicial composition of each court (the hierarchy of the Malaysian courts)  and

b. Explain the advantages of having a hierarchy of courts.

Suggested Model Answer

This question tests the candidates’ knowledge on the structure of the court system in Malaysia and the advantages of having a hierarchy of courts.

a) The court system in Malaysia, was last restructured by the Constitution (Amendment) Act 1994. The present court structure, which has been in force since then, is as follows:

• The Federal Court stands at the apex of the Malaysian court system. It is headed by the Chief Justice.

• Below the Federal Court is the Court of Appeal. This court is headed by the President of the Court of Appeal.

• Below the Court of Appeal are two High Courts with co-ordinate jurisdiction. One is the High Court of Malaya which serves Peninsula Malaysia, while the other is the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak, which serves East Malaysia, i.e. Sabah and Sarawak. Each of the High Courts is headed by a Chief Judge.

• Below the High Courts are the Subordinate Courts, the highest of which are the Sessions Courts, each of which is headed by a Sessions Court Judge. 

• Below the Sessions Courts are the Magistrates’ Courts, each of which is presided over by a magistrate. Parallel to the Magistrates’ Court is the Juvenile Court (Court For Children) which is also presided over by a magistrate.

• In Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) there are provisions for Penghulu’s Courts below the Magistrates’ Courts. These are headed by a penghulu or village headman. He has very limited jurisdiction and usually deals with local disputes in an informal manner. However, in practice, these courts hardly function.

• There are also the Native Courts and the Syariah Courts. These courts operate only at the State level. The Native Courts exist only in Sabah and Sarawak and they deal with native rights while the Syariah Courts deal with matters pertaining to Islamic law in the respective states.

b) Having a court system with a hierarchy of courts has various advantages. These may be summarized as follows:

• It facilitates a system of appeals. The court hierarchy distinguishes between higher and lower courts so that persons who are dissatisfied with the decision of a lower court have an avenue to have the decision reviewed by a higher court.

• It facilitates the application of the doctrine of binding judicial precedent which requires the lower courts to follow the decisions of the higher courts, thus achieving greater uniformity in the application of the law.

• It facilitates specialization in the judicial process. The higher courts which are presided by more senior and experienced judges handle the more serious criminal offences such as murder, and kidnapping and more serious civil matters where larger sums of money are involved. The lower courts are left to handle the less serious offences and civil disputes involving smaller amounts of money.

• It results in greater administrative convenience, efficiency and cost effectiveness. The practical effect of a court hierarchy is that it provides for an extensive system of lower courts dispensing justice inexpensively in local areas and superior courts in the main centres.