1. It is said that the doctrine of judicial precedent is an important part of the law in Malaysia.

(a) Outline the current hierarchy of the Courts in Malaysia, with a brief description of their jurisdiction. (25 marks)

(b) Describe how this doctrine of judicial precedent operates, referring to case laws and examples. (25 marks)

(a)

The hierarchy of courts of Malaysia starts with the Magistrates Court as the first level followed by the Sessions Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and the Federal Court of Malaysia. The Federal Court of Malaysia in the highest court of the land.

The Magistrates Court, the Court for Children and the Sessions Court are subordinate courts. The High Court, Court of Appeal and the Federal Court are superior courts.

Outside the court hierarchy are the Syariah Courts, Penghulu’s Courts and the Native Courts. The Juvenile Court is paralleled in jurisdiction with the Magistrate’s Court.

(b)

The doctrine of stare decisis means that courts look to past, similar issues to guide their decisions. The past decisions are known as precedent. Precedent is a legal principle or rule that is created by a court decision. This decision becomes an example, or authority, for judges deciding similar issues late