PREPARING TRIAL

BUNDLES, WITNESS
STATEMENT AND
CAUSE PAPERS
DR JURIAH ABD JALIL
28/4/2021
Trial Documentary evidence

Trial bundles

Massive
preparation
Preparing witness statement
For examination of witness
Oral submission/ closing submission
 • By deciding on two main
issues
How did the
• Liability
court determine
• Relates to the cause of
the dispute?
action
• Quantum
• Relates to the remedy
sought
 How does the procedural law assist the court
PTCM allows the court to give directions on how the case
can be economically, expeditiously and fairly disposed off.

Directions includes

To list down your

To file trial witness and to To file the cause
bundles file witness papers
statement
 Common Trial Bundles

• BUNDLE OF PLEADINGS
• BUNDLE OF DOCUMENTS
TRIAL • CAUSE PAPERS
• Statement of the main issue(s) to be
BUNDLES tried
• Statement of agreed facts
& CAUSE • Summary of fact by parties or
chronology of facts based on pleadings.
PAPERS
Parties own Bundle

• Plaintiff/Defendant Witness Statement

• Plaintiff/Defendant Bundle of Authorities
 Bundle of
•Facts
pleadings

Importance Bundle of
documents
•Evidence
of trial & Witness
statements
bundles

Bundle of
•Law
authorities
 • While a good trial bundle may not win a
case, a bad one may damage it.
• A trial bundle containing the wrong
ingredients may be a recipe for disaster.
• A poorly assembled bundle may
Comments prejudice the court’s view of the case.
made on The judge’s reading time is limited, and
Trial Bundle they will not have time to deal with a
poorly assembled, unstructured and
unfocused bundle.
• About 90% of the documents in the
bundle were entirely redundant.
The Key question is
what should go in the
bundles and what can
be left out?

Reference should be
made to O.34 rule 2
of the ROC 2012
 • O.34 r 2 (2) ROC 2012 inter alia states that the
court may give direction as to:
• “(b) the period within which the plaintiff is to
file a bundle of pleadings consisting of one
copy of each of the following documents,
Bundle of bound up in proper chronological order and
endorsed thereon the names, addresses and
pleadings telephone numbers of the solicitors for the
parties….:
• i) the writ; and
• ii) the pleadings [including any affidavit
ordered to stand as pleadings], any notice or
order for particulars and the particular given.
 The bundle must have:
• The front cover with the
Proper title of action, name of the
Arrangement bundle and the name and
Bundle of address of both solicitor
• Writ & SOC as filed in
pleadings court
stated on the page.
• It must have index and
• SOD and any relevant pages
-reference pleadings as filed in • A number must be clearly
court
for facts of • SHOULD NOT include
stamp on each page of the
document in the bundle
the case memorandum of and the page must tally
appearance and with the pages in the index
affidavit (except
affidavit to support
OS)
Front cover
TITLE OF ACTION
_____________________
BUNDLE OF PLEADINGS
_____________________
Index
• Name of the Pleadings Page
1. Writ of summons…………..1-4
2. Statement of claim ……….5-9
3. Statement of defence …..10-16

PLAINTIFF SOL DEFENDANT SOL

NAME & ADDRESS NAME & ADDRESS
 • Rule governing this • When fact is referred to
in the submission, where
matter is- Parties are it can be found in the
bound by their bundle of pleading must
Bundle of pleading. be stated for example –
• In your submission you
• Objection on the
pleading is ground that the allege that the defendant
has breached the terms
the reference plaintiff or the of the agreement when
defendant has
for facts of departed from their
they failed to pay.
• “The terms of the
the case. pleading can be agreement is clearly
stated at para 5 of the
raised if the fact is statement of claim at
not pleaded in the page …of the Bundle of
Statement of claim pleading that the
but was relied upon payment must be made
within 30 days of
by the parties. (O.18 delivery.
r1)
BUNDLE OF
DOCUMENTS
 Bundle of Documents (BOD)
O.34 r 2 (2) ROC 2012 inter alia states that the court may give direction as to
(c) “the period within which the parties are to file a bundle of all documents that will be relied on or referred to in the
course of the trial by any party, including documents referred to in the witness statement of a witness;
(d) the contents of the bundle of documents referred to in subparagraph (c) shall be agreed on between all parties as far
as possible and this bundle of agreed documents shall be filed by the plaintiff and marked as Part A;
(e) if the parties are unable to agree on certain documents, those documents on which agreement cannot be reached shall
be included in separate bundle and each bundle shall be filed by the plaintiff and marked as follows:
(i) Part B – documents where the authenticity is not disputed but the contents are disputed;
(ii) Part C – documents where the authenticity and contents are disputed.
(f) the documents contained in bundles shall be arranged chronologically or in some logical order and shall be paginated;
(g) care shall be taken to avoid duplication within the same bundle.
(h) and (i)…”
 • Only One bundle of Take Notice
documents or • Need to be selective in
Bundle of common bundle of choosing the right
Documents document should be documents;
filed. • Must properly arrange
“Documentary • Should contains all the the documents;
Evidence is not relevant documentary • Must be properly
for cosmetic evidences that both paginated it;
purposes” parties are going to • In oral/written
use or rely on to prove submission, reference to
their case. the document in the
• The documents should bundle is made follows:
be arranged in Part A, • -state the name or
nature of the document
if objected can be in
• -tag as ….
Part B or C.
• - at page …of the BOD
Front cover for BOD
Index
TITLE OF ACTION • Name of DOCUMENTS Page
PART A
_____________________ 1. Medical report ……………1
2. Invoices …………..5
BUNDLE OF DOCUMENTS 3. Police Report ……………10
_____________________
PART B
1. ………
PLAINTIFF SOL DEFENDANT SOL
2. ………
NAME & ADDRESS NAME & ADDRESS
PART C
1. ………
WITNESS STATEMENT
 Witness statement • Oral evidence of the witness that appear in court
is one of the main sources of evidence.
• A case may be won or lost on
• In civil cases, the rule of procedure requires the
the strength of the witness
parties before the trial or hearing, to file a written
evidence and the performance
witness statement in court and to serve on the
of the witness at trial. other parties, so that all parties can be prepared
• During the examination of for the hearing before-hand. (O.38 R.1)
witness, the witness should • This written witness statement was introduced as
answer any question based on a reform measure and were designed to reduce
what he has stated in the the need for oral evidence (in examination in
witness statement. chief) at trial and promote efficiency. (O.38 rule 2)
• An action or defence may fail if • The most important rule of witness statement is
the witness statement does not that it must be the “words of the witness”
adequately deal with all the her/himself i.e., the actual statement of the
witness and not the submission to the lawyers.
issues to be tried.
 • In general, a witness • In Malaysia the
statement is a statement of the
document that sets witness is made
out what a witness
What is a says about the case or
in the form of
answering the
witness an issue in the case. question posed
statement? • In specific it set out by his/her lawyer.
evidence to prove the • The lawyer
facts alleged by a party therefore must
in the claim or defence ask relevant,
(pleading) or by a
pertinent and
maker of a document
significant
in which the document
questions for the
is being challenged in
witness to
court for authenticity
answer.
of its content and/or
for its existence.
 1. The witness
statement should only
include facts that the
witness have personal
knowledge or from his
Factors or her experience.
2. The witness statement must
reflect the actual words of the
witness or be in the intended
witness’s own words. (with
minimal help from lawyer for
clarity of expression)

governing
preparation for 3. The witness
statement should
4. It should also exclude
argument about why

witness exclude witness the witness, or the

opinions and hearsay party should win the
evidence. case.
statement
5. The witness may rely on documents
that has been filed in the Bundle of
documents, nevertheless, the
reference is only to recall or prove
certain or relevant facts.
Basic Structure for Witness Statement
• Format: Q& A
• Structure
• Confirming the identity of the witness
• Name, occupation or position and how long he/she has held the
position
• His or her job scope ( to establish authority)
• His or her knowledge, involvement and experience on
certain fact, act and conduct relating to the
issue/dispute at hand
• His or her knowledge on any documents or explanation
of the document to verify certain facts
• Ensure the accuracy and consistency of the information
given
• End the question
• Types of Questions to ask
• clear and concise.
• Simple language
• Relevant to the issue and direct to the point
• In chronological order that address the key/ main issues
• Should not ask the witness the following:
• His/her opinion or what he/she thinks
• His/her comment
• His/her argument
• Should not ask too many questions that will
tires the witness.
• Lawyers should not add to the story or
reconstruct the answer for the witness. Should
exercise very limited interference with the
statement or answer given by the witness.
• Important task of the lawyer is to ensure that
the statement is an accurate account of what
the witness actually recalls.
• Should not ask leading questions to your
witness.
 Title of the Action 
PLAINTIFF WITNESS STATEMENT
Name : Maggie Loo (PW1)
I/C No.: 860529-11-876
Date : 16th April 2021
Time : 10:00 am
 
1. Question: Please state your name, your position and when do you start working at THOR Corporation Bhd?
Answer: My name is Maggie Loo, a secretary for Mr. Han at THOR Corporation Bhd and I have been working there
since 2010.
2. Question: What is your job scope as a secretary for Mr. Han?
Answer: I do anything necessary as any secretary including preparing the document for meeting and taking notes.
 
3. Question: What would you do if Mr. Han has to make a call or has receive any incoming call from the clients and his
business partners?
Answer: I will take a memo or a note of the conversation between Mr. Han with party's consent.
4. Question: Can you explain it in detail?
Answer: Every time Mr. Han wanted to make a call pertaining to his work or having any call regarding the work, he
will instruct me to take a memo of his telephone conversation for future reference.
5. Question: Can you hear their telephone conversation clearly?
Answer: Yes.
6. Question: On 15th January 2021Did Mr. Han ask you to take a note when he called Mr. C. Lee?
Answer: Yes
7. Question: Do you have the note that you have taken at that time?
Answer: Yes
8. Question: Can you explain the details of their conversation from that note?
Answer:
Yes. Mr. C. Lee had asked Mr. Han regarding the insurance status claimed by SUMI University College and
Mr. Han has informed that the insurance application has been settled. Mr. C. Lee later told him that he had no
knowledge about such matters and asked why he was not informed about such claim. Mr. Han stated that he had
no idea why Mr. C. Lee was not informed about the matter.
8. Question: Was that the only thing they have discussed?
Answer: Yes. 
……………………….

Plaintiff Witness’s Signature

Maggie Loo(I/C NO: )

 This PLAINTIFF WITNESS STATEMENT is filed by Messrs Alien, Avatar and Partners, solicitors for the said Plaintiff with an address of
service at No 1/13, Jalan Angkasa, Taman Universe, 05320 Global Village, Selangor. Ref No : GUI / IVC / LITE / 101-142 / ALIEN Tel: 03-600
9111, Fax: 03-600 9002 Email:alienavatarpartners@gmail.com
The witness
statement and
Cross
examination
 The testimony of the witness is usually scrutinized by the
opponent solicitor who has the goal
A Witness • destroy and undermine the other side’s story
• to attack and destroy the witness credibility,

statement This is achieved in the cross examination.

can be The credibility of a witness can be destroyed in the following

subjected to manner:
• Attack on the witness ability to perceive therefore it is very important for the

a cross
witness to be truthful because it will be difficult for the other party to make
him/her sound untruthful.
• Attack on the reliability of the witness – therefore avoid making mistake in

examination
the witness statement because series of mistakes can make the witness
unreliable since she cannot accurately testify certain facts.
• Attack on truthfulness of the witness. Therefore, need to make sure that the
witness is consistent in making or giving the statement. Otherwise, he or she
can be said to be lying to the court.
Reference to • “The defendant denies taking any of the
document alleged to be confidential information
a witness by the plaintiff because he has no access to the
room where the confidential information was
statement in kept. This fact was confirmed by the defendant in
the oral or his witness statement at page …in his answer to
question 3. In fact, this is also verified by the
written plaintiff witness (PW1) in his answer to Question
No.10 at page….in his witness statement that
submission only authorize personnel can enter the room.”
 Statement of issues to
be tried

Cause papers Statement of agreed

facts

Summary of facts or
chronology of facts
STATEMENT OF ISSUE TO BE TRIED
- This statement contains the main legal issue(s) disputed by the parties. By
filing this statement, both parties want the court to decide the issue upon hearing
the party.
- Each party then will present, prove and submit their case based on the issue(s).
- It is quite common for parties not to agree to the same issue to be tried. In this
regards there are two types of issues to be tried namely agreed issue to be tried
and non agreed issue to be tried.
- The issues is normally centered on the issue of liability and quantum. At the
PTCM or at the trial of the matter, the court may reduce the issue or combine the
issue as it thinks just.
.
The issue to be tried will be the focus at a trial.
At trial, parties will call his witness and rely on evidence to prove their
case respectively based on the issue to be tried.

Plaintiff will call his witness first, once all his witness has been
examined, the Defendant will then proceed to call their witness till the
last witness. Each witness will have to go through the process of
examination of witness namely brief examination in chief to admit the
witness statement of each witness, followed by cross-examination and re-
examination.

Once examination of witness for both parties has completed, the Parties
then prepare for the closing submission based on this issue to be tried
The Closing submission
Plaintiff
• Introduction to the case focusing on the
cause of action and remedy sought in
brief
• State the Issue to be tried
• Material facts supporting the issue
• Evidence to prove the case
• Law to support the argument
• Application of the law evidence and facts
to the issue
• conclusion
Defendant
• Introduction to the case focusing on
defence raised
• State the Issue to be tried
• Material facts supporting the issue
• Evidence to prove the case
• Law to support the argument
• Application of the law evidence and
facts to the issue
• conclusion
 Title of action
STATEMENT OF ISSUES TO BE TRIED
The plaintiff and the defendant has agreed to the following issues to be tried:
 
i. ..
ii. ..  
Dated ..day of…2021
Plaintiff solicitor Defendant solicitor
 STATEMENT OF AGREED FACTS

O.34 r 2(2 ) (j) requires the party to file statement of agreed facts.

• The statement of agreed facts refers to facts which are not disputed by all parties.
For example, when a defendant admits in the statement of defence that there was an
agreement entered between the parties, although he denies the allegation of breach,
indicates that both parties agreed that they have entered into an agreement and this
facts is not disputed.
• Once this fact is admitted, there is no need for the parties to call any witness to
prove the facts. By filing this statement, time and costs can be saved and parties can
focus on detailing their argument on the facts that is disputed.
• Once it is filed, no parties can later dispute it or raise any issue relating to it and the
statement can be used to remind the parties as the court that those facts have been
agreed upon by the parties as stated in the Statement of Agreed Facts.
 Title of action
STATEMENT OF AGREED FACTS

The plaintiff and the defendant has agreed to the following facts:
1.
2.

Dated ..day of…2020

……………………. ……………………….
Plaintiff solicitor Defendant solicitor

Solicitor endorsement
.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE CASE

A chronology provides the time frame • Table format

for the events that have occurred. It
Date The event in the Remarks
will help to clear the mind to tell the   pleading
important facts in the order of time
namely what occurred first and what
next. 1    
A simplified chronology provides
important tools to the trial judge to 2    
understand the facts better.
It is recommended for a simple 3    
chronology to be prepared in two
pages with three columns
 • Gathered all the relevant documents in
words format.
• Add front cover and index. Prepare the
index properly and meticulously.
How to • Arrange them properly,
prepare e- • Page them accordingly starting from the
Bundles index.
• Sent the draft to be vetted to the
defendant,
• Once agreed by both parties, convert the
document to PDF for filing and service
purposes.