BY:

ANALYSING CASE LAW SITI HADIJAH

DANUSHA ALAGASAMY
TYPE OF COURT
The appropriate court for a claim depends mainly on the value of the claim in
dispute and the subject matter of the claim. Other factors are taken into account, such
as the nature of dispute (for example, whether it is land related, a motor vehicle
accident claims or tenancy related).
Parties can pursue disputes in the Magistrates Court, the Sessions Court, or the
High Court :-
 Magistrates Court. This court hears claims with a value of up to MYR100,000. Other than that, it is
subject to the same limitations in jurisdiction on specific cases as the Sessions Court (see below).
 Sessions Court. This court hears claims with a value of up to MYR1 million, except for motor
vehicle accident claims, landlord and tenant disputes and distress actions (unpaid rent), over which
the court has unlimited monetary jurisdiction. The Sessions Court cannot hear cases with a certain
subject matter, such as disputes over the title of immovable property, admiralty claims, bankruptcy
claims and enforcement of trust claims.
 High Court. This court has jurisdiction to hear civil cases with a claim value of MYR1 million and
above, regardless of the subject matter of the claim.
 HOW TO ANALYSE
CASE LAW
F – FACTS
I – ISSUE
L – LAW
A – APPLICATION
C – CONCLUSION
SUMMARIZING FACTS OF THE
CASE
1st time reading case, don’t worry about not understanding it.
Read for a sense of what is happening, who are the parties, what do they want from
the court, the case procedural history (history of the case)
Try to read the summary at the upper paragraph of the case law to get a basic view
Isolate the relevant facts
HC – Question of facts & Question of law
Appellate level – Question of law
IDENTIFYING ISSUES
What are the issues brought before the court, and what are the issues the court is being asked to
resolve.
Mark the important element (ex: facts, issues, law)
Underline important part of the text
Phrase the issue as a yes/no - create a question being asked of the court, and phrase it in a way that it
can be answered with a straight yes or no.
The court must first determine whether a particular law applies to that factual situation at all before it
can decide how the law applies
Look at the court decision for the yes/no answer.
Be sure to distinguish the issues from the arguments made by the parties. The relevant issue or issues,
and corresponding conclusions, are the ones for which the court made a final decision and which are
binding
LAWS

Identify the legal rules used by court- typically are precedents established by
previous courts decisions in similar cases.
Look at the application of rule and laws applied by the judges.
Judges may discuss all the laws argued by the parties but will establish the laws and
rule applies for that case.
APPLICATIONS &
CONCLUSIONS
oCourt would normally apply the precedents to the facts of the case using analogy.
(Finding the similes.
oHighlight the facts the court found most important. (some facts will be more
important than others because they represent the reason court choose one rule over
the other, or applied the rule in a particular way)
oConsider how the rule would apply to different facts.
Click icon to add picture

OTHER ELEMENT YOU WOULD

WANT TO CONSIDER;

 Dicta – commentary about the decision that was not the basis for
the decision.
 Parties’ argument – each party’s opposing arguments concerning
the ultimate issue.
 DATE CASE REPORTED

COURT & JUDGES THAT

PRECIDED FOR THE CASE

LIST OF PREVIOUS APPLEAS

KEYPOINT & ISSUES OF

THE CASE
SUMMARY OF CASE &
JUDGEMENT
DECISION OF THE
COURT
CASES REFFERED TO
FOR THIS CASE
 WEBSITES
FOR CASE
LAW
CLJ
LEXIS MALAYSIA
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