1.0Introduction
In Malaysia, the law is commonly derived from the English law which compromises of local law and laws of England which includes legislation, common law and rules of equity, and was applied in Malaysia through the doctrine of reception. It has England as its prototype and shares substantial heritage with the common law (Shamrahayu A Aziz, 2009). The common law is the body of rules emerged by the old common law courts which is the Court of Exchequer, Court of Common Pleas and Court of King’s Bench (Teacher, 2013). The common law was applied in England and is based on the customs throughout England. It is also the unwritten law of England based on the decisions of the courts. Likewise, Equity is the body of rules developed in
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In Article 160 of Federal Constitution, it implies the meaning of law where it states that ‘the common law in so far as it is in operation in the Federation or any part thereof’ which concerns on extent to which the English law is applicable in Malaysia (teacher, 2013). In Malaysia, English law can be found in the Civil Law Act 1956 (Act 67) (Revised 1972) (CLA 1956) under section 3 of the Act, where under the Act, English law is defined as 'the common law of England and the rules of equity' (Wan Arfah Hamzah, 2009). According to Farid Sufian Shuhaib (n.d.), in his journal ‘Towards Malaysian Common Law: Convergence between Indigenous Norms and Common Law Method’ emphasized that “The predecessors of the Civil Law Act 1956, namely the various Ordinances and enactments, had served well the British imperialist in Malaya and Borneo. They provide a semblance of legitimacy to things the British had done and continue to do, namely imposing their law on the colony. They also have served well a newly independent Malaya and Malaysia in providing continuity and stability to her fragile legal system that suffered' the onslaught of imperialist law and political might”. Common law and equity had left such a lasting bequest of legal system and laws due to the conflicting opinion in interpreting the First Charter of Justice granted to Penang in 1807 during the British colonization of
The roots of Australian laws are similar to traditional Aboriginal laws, dating back to before the Norman Conquest in 1066, where each separate village had their own laws developed to their own customs. This changed however, after a centralized legal system was established after 1066. A common law was formed, that applied to all of England. This was later combined with equity law and mercantile law, which is the basis of Australian law today, known as ‘statute law’.
Legislation and the Common law are not separate and independent sources of law. They exist in a symbiotic relationship. Symbiotic relationship refers to the two different sources of legal norms that provide the sum of rules establish system as a whole. (Brodie v Singleton Shire Council (2001) 206 CLR 512, 532 [31])
The system of crime and law enforcement had hardly changed in Britain since the medieval times. Justices of the Peace or JPs were appointed by the Crown since 1361. Before the night watchmen and parish constables were introduced a primitive police force was introduced and the JPs were assisted by constables who only worked part time and were very unreliable as the pay was really bad. The early stages of the force consisted of a night watchmen and parish constables, who were prior to the creation of the main police force. Watchmen were groups of men, usually authorised by a state, government, or society, to deter criminal activity and provide law enforcement. Constables were required to apprehend anyone accused of a felony and bring criminals to a justice of the peace. They also had a general responsibility to keep the peace. There was no expectation that they would investigate and prosecute crimes because of limited responsibility and training. Night watchmen patrolled the streets between 9 or 10pm until sunrise and were expected to examine all suspicious characters. In the City of London, the City Marshall and the Beadles (Parish wardens) conducted daytime patrols. Similar to the night watchmen, primary responsibilities were to patrol and deter, drunkenness, beggars, vagrants and prostitutes and to act as a deterrent against more serious offences. Over the course of this period, the arrangements by which men served as constables and watchmen changed significantly, to incorporate how felons were detected and apprehended.
Parliamentary sovereignty, a core principle of the UK's constitution, essentially states that the Parliament is the ultimate legal authority, which possesses the power to create, modify or end any law. The judiciary cannot question its legislative competence, and a Parliament is not bound by former legislative provisions of earlier Parliaments. The ‘rule of law’ on the other hand, is a constitutional doctrine which primarily governs the operation of the legal system and the manner in which the powers of the state are exercised. However, since the Parliament is capable of making any law whatsoever, the concept of the rule of law poses a contradiction to the principle of parliamentary supremacy, entailing that Parliament is not bound by the Rule of Law, and it can exercise power arbitrarily.
1-1. Statutory Law versus Common Law. How does statutory law come into existence? How does it differ from the common law? If statutory law conflicts with the common law, which law will govern?
The Australian Legal System has a rich and detailed history dating from 1066. Law is made in Parliament. We have four sources of law and three courts with different jurisdictions that interpret the law when giving out justice. Important doctrines act as the corner-stones of our legal system. There is a procedure in the courts for making appeals. Separation of powers exists between officials in the courts, the parliament and the Executive. Everyone in Australia is treated equally under the Rule of Law, no matter their office or status. The Law is always changing as society changes, but it can never be perfect and cannot please everyone.
-Common Law: the “law of the land”(Pool 127), which was built up over many centuries
Legal Pluralism is the presence of various legal systems within a single country or a geographical area. Legal Pluralism is omnipresent although it is generally assumed to exist in countries only with a colonial past. This is because in most countries with a colonial past, colonial laws co-exist alongside indigenous laws. However, if we look at the expansive definition of legal pluralism, it can be said that every society or country if legally plural. The modern definition of legal pluralism also deals with the issues of relation between state and non-state legal orders. It shows the dichotomy that exists between customary legal norms and state law. The judiciary of India has upheld this principle of pluralism in many cases by showing that
The rule of law, simply put, is a principle that no one is above the law. This means that there should be no leniency for a person because of peerage, sex, religion or financial standing. England and Wales do not have a written constitution therefore the Rule of Law, which along with the parliamentary Sovereignty was regarded by legal analyst A.C Dicey, as the pillars of the UK Constitution. The Rule of Law was said to be adopted as the “unwritten constitution of Great Britain”.
Part of the grounds for arguing in favor of the common law system over the codified system is its characteristically equitable qualities. Since antecedents are pursued in all cases, everyone gets the same treatment. This same legal procedure is administered to everyone in spite of their position or creed. Therefore, this system of going by antecedents which had hitherto been set usually leads to equity and fairness. This system of law also has the advantage over the codified system by offering protection to persons via the law of tort.
The Employment Act in Singapore is an act that covers every employee who is under the contract of service to their employer except employees engaged under managerial and executive levels or domestic workers. If either party intends to end the contract, they may do so with a notice of their motive of termination. Employees may need to serve a notice period before leaving, which ranges from 1 day to 1 month.
United Kingdom is a country with a distinctive set of legal system. It is fairly different from other countries having civil law based legal systems. The legal system in the United Kingdom consists of various sources of law, where other civil law based countries rely only on a written set of law. European influences on the English Legal System came much later in near decades. This essay will aim to examine the development of the English Legal System by reviewing applications of various sources of law in the English Legal System furthermore to discuss the recent European influences on the law of England.
In the mouth of a British constitutional lawyer, the term the rule of law seems to mean primarily a corpus of basic principles and values, which together lend some stability and coherence to the legal order.
Every nation has their own set of legal strategies they use to guide them in making important decisions. Each nation has its traditions and policies they follow. Through the world, there are two main types of legal systems that are used; most nations follow either common or civil law. Both the common law system and the civil law system share similarities in having courts, judges, and comparing cases to laws. While both systems share similarities, they also contain many differences, making them two very divergent legal systems.
Jali, N.H.M., M. Redzuan, A.A. Saman, and I.H.M. Rashid. 2010. Malaysian Studies: Nationhood and Citizenship. Petaling Jaya: Prentice Hall.