Act 67 - AGC

1 LAWS OF MALAYSIAREPRINTPUBLISHED BYTHE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIAUNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968IN COLLABORATION WITH MALAYAN LAW JOURNAL SDN BHD AND PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD2006 Act 67 CIVIL LAW ACT 1956 Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January Page 1 Friday, March 31, 2006 4:11 PMPREPARED FOR PUBLICATION BYMALAYAN LAW JOURNAL SDN BHDAND PRINTED BYPERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BERHAD KUALA LUMPUR BRANCH20062 CIVIL LAW ACT 1956 First (Ordinance No. 5 of 1956)Revised ..1972 (Act 67 1 April 1972)PREVIOUS REPRINTSF irst Reprint.

2 1993 Second Reprint .. Page 2 Friday, March 31, 2006 4:11 PM3 LAWS OF MALAYSIAAct 67 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONSCIVIL LAW ACT 1956 PART of common law, rules of equity and certain of insolvent estates, and winding up of of English law in commercial propertyPART IIIFATAL ACCIDENTS AND SURVIVALOF CAUSES OF to the family of a person for loss occasioned by his of death on certain causes of actionPART IVTORTFEASORS AND AWARD OF INTEREST9.(Deleted) against, and contribution between, joint and of Courts to award interest on debts and Page 3 Friday, March 31, 2006 4:11 PM4 Laws of MalaysiaACT 67 PART VCONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE ANDCOMMON of liability in case of contributory for Merchant Shipping Ordinance employmentPART VIFRUSTRATED of rights and liabilities of parties to frustrated as to application of section 15 PART , etc.

3 , to accrue from day to part of rent, etc., to be payable when next entire portion for recovering apportioned of policies of by express of past apportionmentsPART VIIDISPOSAL AND DEVOLUTION OF restrictions on accumulation of of restrictions on on accumulation for the purchase of of appointments where objects are excluded or take deemed to be trustee for person entitled to residue on on property of deceased to be paid primarily out of the Page 4 Friday, March 31, 2006 4:11 PM Civil Law payable under policy of assurance not to form part of the estate ofthe by way of gaming or wagering to be null and person chargeable with rent bona fide paid to holder under in respect of personal SCHEDULESECOND Page 5 Friday, March 31, 2006 4:11 Page 6 Friday, March 31, 2006 4:11 PM7 LAWS OF MALAYSIAAct 67 CIVIL LAW ACT 1956An Act relating to the civil law to be administered in Malaysia.

4 [Peninsular Malaysia 7 April 1956;Sabah and Sarawak 1 April 1972, (A)424/1971]PART IPRELIMINARYS hort Act may be cited as the Civil Law Act this Act unless the context otherwise requires Court means any court in Malaysia of competent jurisdiction,and includes any Judge thereof whether sitting in court or inchambers; executor means the executor or administrator of a deceasedperson, and includes, as regards any obligation, any person whotakes possession of or intermeddles with the property of adeceased person; written law in relation to any part of Malaysia means writtenlaw as defined in the law relating to interpretation in that part IIGENERALA pplication of common law, rules of equity and certainstatutes3.

5 (1) Save so far as other provision has been made or mayhereafter be made by any written law in force in Malaysia, theCourt shall Page 7 Friday, March 31, 2006 4:11 PM8 Laws of MalaysiaACT 67(a)in Peninsular Malaysia or any part thereof, apply thecommon law of England and the rules of equity asadministered in England on the 7 April 1956;(b)in Sabah, apply the common law of England and therules of equity, together with statutes of generalapplication, as administered or in force in England on1 December 1951;(c)in Sarawak, apply the common law of England and therules of equity, together with statutes of generalapplication, as administered or in force in England on12 December 1949, subject however to subparagraph(3)(ii):Provided always that the said common law, rules of equity andstatutes of general application shall be applied so far only as thecircumstances of the States of Malaysia and their respectiveinhabitants permit and subject to such qualifications as localcircumstances render necessary.

6 (2) Subject to the express provisions of this Act or any otherwritten law in force in Malaysia or any part thereof, in the eventof conflict or variance between the common law and the rules ofequity with reference to the same matter, the rules of equity shallprevail.(3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (1)(b)and (c) and notwithstanding paragraph (1)(c) (i)it is hereby declared that proceedings of a nature suchas in England are taken on the Crown side of theQueen s Bench Division of the High Court by way ofhabeas corpus or for an order of mandamus, an orderof prohibition, an order of certiorari or for aninjunction restraining any person who acts in an officein which he is not entitled to act, shall be available inSabah to the same extent and for the like objects andpurposes as they are available in England.

7 (ii)the Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom appliedto Sarawak under sections 3 and 4 of the Applicationof Laws Ordinance of Sarawak [Cap. 2] and specifiedin the Second Schedule of this Act shall, to the extentspecified in the second column of the said Schedule,continue in force in Sarawak with such Page 8 Friday, March 31, 2006 4:11 PM Civil Law 9alterations and amendments as may be necessary tomake the same applicable to the circumstances ofSarawak and, in particular, subject to themodifications set out in the third column of the of insolvent estates, and winding up ofcompanies4.

8 (1) In the administration by any Court of the assets of anydeceased person whose estate proves to be insufficient for thepayment in full of his debts and liabilities, and in the winding upof any company under any law from time to time in force relatingto companies, whose assets prove to be insufficient for thepayment of its debts and liabilities, and the costs of winding up,the same rules shall prevail and be observed, as to the respectiverights of secured and unsecured creditors, and as to debts andliabilities provable, and as to the valuation of annuities and futureand contingent liabilities respectively, as are in force for the timebeing, under the law of bankruptcy, with respect to the estates ofpersons adjudged bankrupt.

9 (2) All persons who, in any such case, would be entitled toprove for and receive dividends, out of the estate of any suchdeceased person, or out of the assets of any such company, maycome in under the decree or order for the administration of theestate, or under the winding up of the company, and make suchclaims against the same as they may respectively be entitled to byvirtue of this Act.(3) Any absolute assignment, by writing, under the hand ofthe assignor, not purporting to be by way of charge only, of anydebt or other legal chose in action, of which express notice inwriting has been given to the debtor, trustee or other person fromwhom the assignor would have been entitled to receive or claimthe debt or chose in action, shall be, and be deemed to have been,effectual in law.

10 Subject to all equities which would have beenentitled to priority over the right of the assignee under the law asit existed in the State before the date of the coming into force ofthis Act, to pass and transfer the legal right to the debt or chose inaction, from the date of the notice, and all legal and otherremedies for the same, and the power to give a good discharge forthe same, without the concurrence of the Page 9 Friday, March 31, 2006 4:11 PM10 Laws of MalaysiaACT 67 Application of English law in commercial matters5.(1) In all questions or issues which arise or which have to bedecided in the States of Peninsular Malaysia other than Malaccaand Penang with respect to the law of partnerships, corporations,banks and banking, principals and agents, carriers by air, land andsea, marine insurance, average, life and fire insurance, and withrespect to mercantile law