'English common law still needed'

Govt to look into CJ's suggestion: Nazri Our judiciary may risk insulating itself: Ex-judgeCindy ThamPETALING JAYA (Aug 22, 2007): Is the English common law still relevant to Malaysia, 50 years after the nation attained independence from British rule?

A former law professor said the English common law has a role to play in the Malaysian legal system.

He said Sections 3 and 5 of the Civil Law Act provided for the use of English common law where there was no Malaysian statute to deal with the case.

"The English common law is particularly important for commercial law," he told theSun today.
He said that being a legal practice that was recognised internationally, the English common law would strengthen the credibility of Malaysia's legal system in the eyes of the world, such as among foreign investors.

He was responding to Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim's comment that there was no need for Malaysia to refer to the English common law as there were many legal experts here who could help to solve legal matters.

At the opening of the "Ahmad Ibrahim: Thoughts and Knowledge Contribution" seminar in Petaling Jaya yesterday, Ahmad Fairuz said despite being independent for 50 years, Malaysia had yet to be truly free from colonialism because of the provision in the Civil Law Act.

He suggested that the seminar participants discuss the common law issue to see if it should be retained or substituted.

According to Black's Law Dictionary, unlike laws enacted through the legislature, the common law comprises principles and rules of action that are derived from usages and customs, and court judgments which affirm and enforce these usages and customs.

These principles tend to have general or universal application.

As distinguished from ecclesiastical law, the common law system of jurisprudence is administered by secular tribunals.

The former law professor said any move to sever English common law from the Malaysian legal system would give rise to several questions.

"What should be used to replace the lacuna that would result from a removal of the English common law?" he asked.

He said Malaysia has several pieces of legislation, such as the Contracts Act, which resulted from the codification of English common law principles or statutes into Acts, passed by the Malaysian Parliament.

"In applying the Acts, some judges still go back to the principles of common law," he said.
"If you want to stop referring to common law, does that also apply to the Malaysian Acts that had originated from English common law statutes?"

He also asked: Has there been a high incidence of cases which Malaysian laws are unable to deal with?

"I don't know of any case in the past five years where there were no Malaysian laws to deal with the case," he said.

He added that the English common law has not had any negative effect on the process of justice in Malaysia, but served to strengthen its credibility in the international arena.

Copy From: http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=19075

Law Career Convention 2007

United Kingdom Malaysian Student Law Union, or the Kesatuan Penuntut Undang-
undang Malaysia di UK dan Eire (KPUM) and University of Malayas Law Society
would be co-organising a Law Career Convention 2007.

Event: Law Career Convention 2007
Date: 25th August 2007 (Saturday)
Venue: Faculty of Law, University of Malaya
Time: 9am - 5.30pm

Benefits:
- Students meet with future employers.
- Speak to partners of local top firms.
- Understand legal industry in Malaysia.
- Bring cv's and resume's for attachment programmes and chambering positions.
- Explore alternative career options for legal students.
- Non-legal students encouraged to attend as non-law firms will be present.

Following the success of the Law Career Convention 2006 with the participation of 20 prestigious law firms, and attendance of about 1500 law students, we seek to organise the
Law Career Convention 2007. For the first time since the law career convention has been organised, we have succeeded in broadening the scope of our convention by including non law
firms to provide an alternative career prospective for the law students.

Listed below are the firms taking part in the convention this year.

Albar & Partners
Bodipalar Ponnudurai Nathan
Cheang & Ariff
Cheah Teh & Su
Chooi & Company
Gideon Tan Razali Zaini
Jeff Leong Poon & Wong
Kadir, Andri & Partners
Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill
Logan Sabapathy & Co
Michael Chai & Co
Shook Lin & Bok
Sivananthan
Shearn Delamore
Skrine
Tay & Partners
Wong & Partners
Zaid Ibrahim & Co.
Zain & Co.
Zul Rafique & Partners
Non Law firms:

KPMG Tax Services
Securities Commission Malaysia
Shell Malaysia
Attorney Generals Chambers
SUHAKAM
SUARAM
Bar Council

Educational talks will be held throughout the day by esteemed lawyers which will enable students to find out more about the different sectors of law, current issues pertaining to the
legal world and giving students the oppurtunity to find out what it takes to be a lawyer.

Listed below are the topics of the talks given by top law firms.

10.30-11.15am - Talk by Shook Lin &
Bok- "Banking & Corporate Law"

11.20-12.05pm - Talk by Lee
Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill- "The
Lawyer's Role in Managing Client
Expectations and Legal Issues"

12.10-12.55pm - Talk by 'Bodipalar
Ponnudurai Nathan- "Employment Law"

1.302.15pm - Talk by Kadir, Andri &
Partners- "Becoming a Lawyer"

2.303.15pm - Talk by Shell Malaysia-
"What you did not know about oil and
gas Industry."

3.304.15pm - Talk by Zul Rafique &
Partners- "Current Issues on Cyberlaw"

To all students, do come and find out for yourself about your future pospects in the legal and non-legal industry! Bring along your CV's for inspection and you just might be hired there and then!

Memo

Memo to all employees:
In order to assure the highest levels of quality work and productivity from employees, it will be our policy to keep all employees well trained through our program of SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING (S.H.I.T).

We are trying to give our employees more S.H.I.T than anyone else. If you feel that you do not receive your share of S.H.I.T on the course, please see your supervisor. You will be immediately placed at the top of the S.H.I.T list and our supervisors are especially skilled at seeing you get all the S.H.I.T you can handle.

Employees who don't take their S.H.I.T will be placed in DEPARTMENTAL EMPLOYEE EVALUATION PROGRAMS (D.E.E.P.S.H.I.T).

Those who fail to take D.E.E.P.S.H.I.T seriously will have to go to EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE TRAINING (E.A.T.S.H.I.T).
Since our supervisors took S.H.I.T before they were promoted, they don't have to do S.H.I.T anymore, and are all full of S.H.I.T already. If you are full of S.H.I.T you may be interested in a job teaching others.
We can add your name to our BASIC UNDERSTANDING LIST of LEADERS (B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T).

For employees who are intending to pursue a career in management and consulting, we will refer you to the department of MANAGERIAL OPERATIONAL RESEARCH EDUCATION (M.O.R.E.S.H.I.T). This course emphasizes how to manage M.O.R.E.S.H.I.T

If you have further questions, please direct them to our HEAD OF TEACHING, SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING (H.O.T.S.H.I.T).

Thank you,

BOSS IN GENERAL, SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING
(B.I.G.S.H.I.T)

P.S. Now send this S.H.I.T to 5 people who need S.H.I.T in their life, just not the same person who sent you this S.H.I.T. They have already had their fill of S.H.I.T.

Thank you for your time. !
Sincerely,

The Director Under the Main Bureau of Super High Intensity Training.
(The D.U.M.B.S.H.I.T).