Law of Malaysia

Module 4

Courts and the legal professions: the judiciary and its independence, the court system, the Federal Court, the Special Court, advocates and solicitors, Syariah lawyers, prosecutors and the path to practise

Malaysia’s civil courts form a clear hierarchy: magistrates’ and sessions courts, then the High Courts, the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court at the top. Beside them sit the Syariah courts, the native courts and specialised bodies such as the Industrial Court. Judicial independence has a troubled history, above all the 1988 crisis, and the courts have since reclaimed an important principle: that the judicial power belongs to the judiciary. The legal profession is fused: advocates and solicitors are one profession, admitted by the High Court and regulated by the Malaysian Bar, with separate admission in Sabah and Sarawak, and Syariah lawyers form a profession of their own. For a foreigner, the key facts are where a claim is heard, who may act as a lawyer and what a foreign lawyer may and may not do.

General education on the law of Malaysia, using invented people and businesses. It states laws and procedures in simplified form and is not legal advice. The law and its practice change, and every case turns on its facts, the state and the authority concerned. It does not offer legal representation or a legal opinion on any case. Consult a Malaysian advocate and solicitor for any real matter.

This course was written on 5 November 2026. To the best of our knowledge, it describes the law of Malaysia as it stood on that date. Laws change, and we may have missed or misunderstood something. If you notice a change, or have other information, please do not hesitate to contact us: we will review it and update the course. We do not claim to be the final source of the law.