Does the failure by a party to pay costs in an arbitration amount to a material breach of the arbitration agreement?
by Mavin Thillainathan
Article 40 of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Arbitration Rules defines the term “costs” in an arbitration to include the fees of the arbitral tribunal, legal costs and the fees and expenses of the appointing authority.[Read more...]
Tenaga Nasional Berhad v Bukit Lenang Development Sdn Bhd - An electrifying decision
by Clinton Tan
It is unlawful for electric utility companies (such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad “TNB”) to encroach on private lands to supply electricity to illegal occupiers of land. Doing so would render TNB liable for trespass.[Read more...]
Award of Damages in Defamation Actions
by Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi & Pauline Lim
The recent Federal Court decision in Chong Chieng Jen v Government of State of Sarawak & Anor has sparked robust discourse on the subject of civil defamation actions. As such, it is imperative for the public to be aware of the likely range of the monetary reliefs that the Court...[Read more...]
101 on Land Acquisition in Malaysia
by Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi & Pauline Lim
Malaysians enjoy a constitutionally protected right to property, as enshrined in Article 13 of the Federal Constitution. However, the language of Article 13 itself shows that this is not an absolute right as it provides that “no person shall be deprived of property save in accordance with law[Read more...]
Public Authority can now sue for Defamation. What’s Next?
by Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi
The Federal Court yesterday has ruled that a Federal or State Government have the necessary locus standi (standing) to sue for defamation. This is a great setback to our defamation laws and to a citizen's freedom to voice out grouses against the Government.[Read more...]
Animal Cruelty: Are We Doing Enough?
by Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi
Yet again, Malaysians are greeted by truly upsetting news relating to animal cruelty. Not too long ago, there was the case of Furby the guard dog being mercilessly beaten and now we have a pregnant cat being placed in a clothes dryer.[Read more...]
Retracting a Police Report: How Consent Order plays a role
by Lavinia Kumaraendran
A Consent Order/Judgement is a form of settlement entered into between two consented parties in a legal action filed in court to resolve a dispute by satisfying certain arrangements without admission of guilt or liability. Essentially it is akin to an Agreement/Contract.[Read more...]
Key takeaways from AGC’s decision to withdraw charges against Lim Guan Eng
by Clinton Tan
The Attorney General's Chambers has issued a statement to explain its decision to discontinue the prosecution of Lim Guan Eng and Phang Li Koon. The AGC emphasised that the Attorney General himself had since early August recused himself from handling this case.[Read more...]
Share Valuation for Oppressed Minority Shareholder
by Lavinia Kumaraendran
Do you own shares in a company? If yes, how many shares do you own? Less than 50%? Then you are a minority shareholder. In the corporate sphere, the majority rule allows majority shareholders to make key decisions in the company.[Read more...]
Chatime-Tealive dispute settled out of court
by Clinton Tan
To briefly recap, La Kaffa International Co Ltd essentially argued that Loob Holding Sdn Bhd had breached its contract in operating the "Chatime" franchise, and that Loob Holding proceeded to set up "Tealive" by using trade secrets from the "Chatime" franchise.[Read more...]
Nine-member Federal Court bench convenes for first time
by Clinton Tan
The Federal Court usually hears disputes through a panel of five Federal Court judges. Today is the first time that a panel comprising nine Federal Court judges was empanelled to hear and determine a dispute. This is a result of a recent direction of the new Chief Justice Tan Sri...[Read more...]
Final Report on MH370
by Balan Nair
According to the Preliminary Report published by the Office of the Chief Inspector of Air Traffic Accidents from the Department of Ministry of Transportation in Malaysia, Flight MH370, scheduled for departure from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), to Beijing, China, departed at 00:41:43 MYT on Saturday, March 8 2014.[Read more...]
A Note on Withdrawal of a Civil Suit
by Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi
Recently, there have been reports about a certain public figure withdrawing or intending to withdraw civil suits that he has filed. The question is: Can a Plaintiff withdraw a civil suit on his own whims and fancy?[Read more...]
Notes on the Arbitration Amendment (No. 2) Act 2018
by Admin
The Malaysian Parliament has passed the Arbitration Amendment (No. 2) Act 2018 (the “Amendment Act”), which is aimed at boosting Malaysia’s reputation as a safe place and arbitrary-friendly jurisdiction.[Read more...]
Civil Fraud - A drastic revision of the standard of proof required.
by Gavin Jay Anand Jayapal
A drastic revision of the standard of proof required. The law on civil fraud and the standard of proof required has seen a sea-change in recent days. The Federal Court has drastically up-ended the law via the decision of Sinnaiyah & Sons v Damai Setia [2015] 5 MLJ 1. This case...[Read more...]
Reynolds’ Privilege and Lucas Box
by Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi
Recognition of Common Law defences in defamation claims in Malaysia. This appeal arises from a defamation action brought by SYABAS against the Respondent, Tony Pua. The words complained of by SYABAS were uttered by Tony Pua at a forum on 14.11.2010 which was subsequently published in an article in Nanyang...[Read more...]
Divorce Mediation
by Admin
Today, if a partner wanted to leave a marriage after all attempts at reconciliation have been made, there is no provision in the law that could prevent it. However, because the law does not provide for a purely ‘no-fault’ divorce, a petitioner would still have to prove, if they have...[Read more...]
Divorce & Matrimonial Law FAQs
by Admin
There is really only one ground for divorce – the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage. This is proved by establishing one or more of the following facts: Intolerable Behaviour - You must show that your spouse has behaved in such a way that you cannot reasonably be expected to live...[Read more...]