Malaysia

• The Federal Constitution of 1957, the highest law
• Federal and state legislation
• Case law (precedent), based on English common law and developed by Malaysian courts
• Islamic law, applied to Muslims by state Syariah courts in matters such as family law

• The Federal Court at the top, then the Court of Appeal
• Two High Courts: the High Court of Malaya and the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak, with Sessions Courts and Magistrates' Courts below
• Syariah courts in each state, which hear cases involving Muslims in matters such as family law

A law degree from an approved university (or a foreign law degree plus the Certificate in Legal Practice set by the Legal Profession Qualifying Board), a period of pupillage called chambering, and admission by the High Court as an advocate and solicitor.

• Malaysia does not use jury trials, unlike many other common-law countries.
• Islamic law and civil courts run in parallel, and the Constitution addresses how their jurisdictions are divided.
• Sabah and Sarawak have their own High Court and a special constitutional position.
• The legal profession is united: advocates and solicitors are one profession.

United Kingdom, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Pakistan

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Malaysia as: Muslim, Common law, Customary. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Egypt, Gambia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan.

• Malaysian Judiciary
• Malaysian Bar

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.