Q.
State the civil jurisdiction of the lower and higher courts in Malaysia.
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, which is the highest level.
The High Court, Court of Appeal and the Federal Court are superior courts, while the Magistrates Court, the Court for Children and the Sessions Court are subordinate courts. A Magistrate's Court and a Court for Children are presided by magistrates.
There are also various other courts outside of the hierarchy. There are the Penghulu's Courts, the Syariah Courts and the Native Courts. A court, which is paralleled in jurisdiction with the Magistrates' Court, is the Juvenile Court.
CIVIL JURISDICTION
Federal Court
The Federal Court hears appeals from the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal hears appeals from the High Court relating to both civil and criminal matters.
The High Court has jurisdiction to try all civil matters but generally confines itself to matters on which the Magistrates and Sessions Courts have no jurisdiction. These include matters relating to divorce and matrimonial cases, appointment of guardians of infants, the granting of probate of wills and testaments and letters of administration of the estate of deceased persons, bankruptcy and other civil claims where the amount in dispute exceeds RM1,000,000 from 1st March, 2013.
The civil jurisdiction limit of the Sessions Court has been increased significantly under Subordinate Courts (Amendment) Act 2010 (Act A1382) from the previous RM250,000 (1st March, 2013).
The Amendment Act also conferred the Sessions Court with jurisdiction to try all actions and suits of a civil nature for the specific performance or rescission of contracts or for cancellation or rectification of instruments.
Further, the Amendment Act empowers the Sessions Court to grant an injunction and to make a declaration, whether or not any other relief, redress or remedy is or could be claimed.
How does the court system of Malaysia work? From: