Topic 3 : CLASSIFICATION OF LAW

3.1 Common Law and Equity

3.2 National and International Law
3.3 Criminal and Civil Law
3.4 Private and Public Law
3.5 Written and Unwritten Law
3.6 Substantive and Procedural Law

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 Classification of law

LAW

INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE LAW

PUBLIC LAW
LAW (Civil Law)

Constitutional
Law
Criminal Law
CONTRACT TRUST

PUBLIC PRIVATE TORT

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3.1 COMMON LAW AND EQUITY
 Common Law refers to body of law based on
custom and general principles and that,
embodied in case law, serves as precedent or
is applied to situations not covered by
statute.

 Judges are not free to decide cases on the

basis of fairness but only on the basis of the
established laws/cases. Sometimes the
proper application of the law can lead to an
unfair or harsh result.

 The common law became rigid and

unresponsive to the needs of certain
situation.
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 Equity is the name given to the set of legal
principles, in countries following the English
common law tradition, which supplement
strict rules of law where their application
would operate harshly, so as to achieve what
is sometimes referred to as "natural justice.”
 Literally mean “fairness”.
 Equity has been described as “ a gloss
[meaning a supplement] on the Common Law,
filling in the gaps and making the English
legal system more complete.
 In English law, equity means that body of
rules originally enforced only by the Court of
Chancery.
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3.2 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

National Law

 National Law is also known as municipal law/state law

i.e. law operative within a particular state.
 All laws passed and practised in Malaysia are national
laws
 It governs the relationship between the citizens in a
country.
 It can be divided into two categories:
(i) Public law, and
(ii) Private law.

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International Law

 Body of law which is composed of the

principles and rules of conduct which States
feel themselves bound to observe

 It may be subdivided into 2 categories:

(i) Public International Law
(ii) Private International Law

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 Public International Law
◦ the law that prevails between States and governs mutual
relationship of States i.e. governs the relations of states inter se,
particularly rules of war.
◦ Dealt with in the International Court of Justice in Hague, Holland
◦ Examples of disputes: Dispute revolving Sipadan and Ligitan
Islands in Sabah

 Private International Law

◦ Also called “conflict of laws”
◦ Its rules are primarily concerned with determining what system
of state law should properly be applied by our courts in cases
which contain some “foreign” element.
◦ Example: family matters-parents of different nationalities claims
custody of their children.
◦ Illustration: A, in England, makes a contract by correspondence
with B, a Frenchman, in France and that by the terms of his
contract B is to perform services for A in America. Suppose that B
breaks his contract and that A sues him in England. It will be
clear that English law is not necessarily the correct law to be
applied to all, at any rate, of the facets of this case.
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3.3 CRIMINAL LAW AND CIVIL LAW

Criminal Law
 Law which characterizes certain kinds of
wrongdoings as offences against the State, not
necessarily violating any private right, and
punishable by the State.

 Crime is defined as an act of disobedience of the

law forbidden under pain of punishment.

 Function of criminal law is to punish the offender

by way of imprisonment, fine and/or caning.

 The police are the public servants whose duty is the

prevention and detection of crime and prosecution
of offenders before the courts of law.

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Civil Law
 Concerns with the rights and duties of

individuals towards each other.

 It includes law of contract, law of tort, law

of property, law of succession and family
law.

 Function is to provide remedies to the

aggrieved party, in the form of damages,
specific performance, injunction and
quantum meruit.

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3.4 PUBLIC LAW AND PRIVATE LAW

Public Law
◦ Law that governs the relationship between
individuals and the State
◦ Two categories of public law:
(i) Constitutional Law – lays down the rights of
individuals in the State. Regulates the functioning of
organs of the central government.

(ii) Criminal Law – codifies the various offences

committed by individuals against the State.

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Private Law

◦ Concerned with matters that affect the rights and

duties of individuals amongst themselves.
◦ Also known as civil law
◦ The branches of law which govern private
obligations – such as the law of contract and torts,
law of property

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3.5 Written Law AND Unwritten Law

Written Law

 Refers to law enacted by the Parliament or

State Assemblies.
 It is the most important source of law in

Malaysia, which includes

(i) Federal Constitution
(ii) State Constitution
(iii) Legislation
(iv) Subsidiary Legislation

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Unwritten Law

 Law which is not being enacted by the Parliament

or State Assemblies and which is not found in the
written Federal and State Constitutions

 Unwritten law is found in cases decided by the

courts, local customs etc.

 The unwritten law comprises of the following:

(i) Principles of English law applicable to the local
circumstances
(ii) Judicial Decisions on Malaysian law
(iii) Customs of the local inhabitants, which have been
accepted as law by the courts.
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3.6 SUBSTANTIVE AND PROCEDURAL LAW

Substantive Law

 Concerns with the rights, duties, liberties

and powers of individuals

 It is the legal rules and principles, which

guide the courts in decision-makings.

 E.g. Murder is an offence.

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Procedural Law

 Concerns with the procedures and evidences

in the enforcement or rights and duties.

 Lays down the rules governing the manner in

which a right is enforced under civil law, or a
crime prosecuted under the criminal law.

 Procedural law governs the steps in the

progress of the civil legal action or criminal
prosecution.

 Example : the Criminal Procedure Code and

the Civil Procedure Code
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 Example of question on Classifications of law:

Johan and his wife, Mira, were driving out one night in Johan’s
car when they were stopped by two policemen in uniform. The
officers claimed that Johan had exceeded the speed limit,
ordered Johan and Mira out of the car, forced them into the
police car and said that they would take them to the police
station.

On the way to the police station, they stopped the car, dragged
Johan and Mira into the bushes, beat Johan and raped Mira. The
police officers then ran back to their car and drove off leaving
Johan and Mira by the side of the road. After several months,
Mira who was still unable to forget the incident, suffered
depression and as a result, started to neglect Johan. Johan
pronounced Talaq and claimed custody of their two children.

Not willing to accept that Johan had divorced her, Mira became
abusive and started to make phone calls threatening Johan.

Based on the circumstances above, describe the classifications of

law involved. (30 marks)
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