1 - principles of law - halim1

8/9/2019 1 - Principles of Law - Halim1

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1-principles-of-law-halim1 1/25

Law & EngineeringPracticeECM517

Ir. Abdul Halim Bin Abdul Ghani

Principles of Law



COURSE INFORMATION

CODE : ECM517

COURSE : LAW & ENGINEERING PRACTICE

LEVEL : Bachelor of Engineering (Hons.) Civil

CREDIT UNIT : 3.0

CONTACT HOUR : Lecture : 3.0 hrs/weeek

PART : 07



Lesson Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this lesson, the student

should be able to:

Discuss what is Law.

Describe the various types of Laws

State the sources of Law



SYLLABUSCONTENT



1. Principles of Law

2. The Malaysian Legal System

3. Contract Law

4. Local and Federal Authorities Regulations

5. Environmental Law

6. Construction Safety and Health Law

7. Malaysian Industrial Labour Law



What is Law?

Law has many definition

µThe written and unwritten body of rules largely derived from custom and

formal enactment which are recognized as binding among those persons

who constitute a community or state, so that they will be imposed upon andenforced among those persons by appropriate sanctions«¶

Curzon

µ A command set by superior being to an inferior being and enforced by

sanctions (punishment)«¶

John Austin

Law is not synonymous with Justice«



What is Law?

Law is a system of rules that people are supposed to

follow in a society or a country.

To follow the laws of a society is to do legal things.

An activity is illegal if it breaks a law or does notfollow the laws.

In ancient societies, laws were written by leaders, to

set out rules on how people can live, work and do

business with each other.

Today in most countries, laws are written and voted

on by groups of elected politicians in a legislature,

such as a parliament or congress.



What is Justice?

Justice refers to fairness or rightfulness; it is a

moral value to which the law is a means

towards its attainment

The famous latin legal phrase: f iat justitia,

ruat coelum

³Let justice be done, though the heavenf alls´



History of law

The history of law is closely connected to the development of

human civilisations. Ancient Egyptian law developed in 3000

BC. In 1760 BC King Hammurabi, took ancient Babylonian law

and organized it, and then had it chiseled in stone for the public

to see in the marketplace. These laws became known as theCodex Hammurabi.

The Torah from the Old Testament is probably the oldest body

of law. It was written in about 1280 BC. It has moral rules such

as theT

en Commandments, that tell people what acts are notpermitted.



Classification of law

Law regulates the citizen in their relations

with the State (government) and with one

another. An easy way to see how it operates

in the legal system is to classify it in the light

of its relationship. Law can be classified into

public and private law.



Public Law

Public law regulates the relationship between

the citizen and the state

It is further divided into areas of law dealing

with different types of matters affecting the

citizen-State relationship namely,

constitutional law, administrative law andcriminal law.



Public Law ± 3 types

Constitutional law defines the structure of government and the rights of inviduals under thatgovernment. (is used to create laws on how different levels of governments can act and on human rights.)

Administrative law regulates the duties andexercise of powers by administrative authorities (isused by ordinary citizens who want to challenge decisions made bygovernments.)

Criminal law (familiar to most people) concernsthose acts or omissions which are offences againstthe State and for which offender is liable to be triedand, if found guilty , punished. (is used by the government toprosecute and punish people who break laws.)



Private Law

Private law (sometimes referred to as civil

law) regulates relationship between citizens

and may further divided according to the

ways it regulates the relationship. It includes contract, tort, trust, land, family,

company, partnership, agency and

commercial law.

Legal action is normally undertaken at the

initiative of the individual



Private Law ± Types of

Contract law sets rules on agreements to buy andsell items and services.

Property law states the rights and obligations that aperson has when they buy, sell, or rent homes andbuildings.

Trust law sets out the rules for money that is put into

an investment, such as pension funds that peoplesave up for their retirement.

Tort law helps people to make claims for compensation (repayment) when someone hurts

them or hurts their property.



Private Law

The party commencing an action is referredto as ³the plaintiff´ and the other party beingsued is ³the defendant´.

The action is called civil proceeding and theprocedure governing it is quite different fromcriminal proceeding which is a prosecution of an offender for an alleged offence.

The law of contract is the most importantbecause it encompasses all sorts of commercial and non-commercialtransactions.



The Common Law

Refers to law laid down by judges µ judge -made laws´

sitting in the Superior Courts as distinct from statute

law enacted by the legislation

It comes from England and it became part of almostevery country that once belonged to the British

Empire, except Scotland, and the Canadian province

of Quebec. Common law had its beginnings in the

Middle Ages, when King John was forced by his

barons to sign a document called the M agna Carta,which limited his authority to pass laws. Over time it

developed solid principles.



R eligious law

Religious law is law based on religious beliefs

or books. Examples include the Jewish

Halakha, Islamic Sharia, and Christian Canon

law. Until the 1700s, Sharia law was the mainlegal system throughout the Muslim world. In

some Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia

and Iran, the whole legal systems still base

their law in Sharia law.



R eligious law - Islamic Law

Applicable only to Muslims and administeredin the Syariah Courts.

The power to administer Islamic law is

primarily that of the States (except KLWP andLabuan).

The Syariah Courts possess civil jurisdictionin proceedings between parties who are

muslims, and limited criminal jurisdiction over offences by muslims against the religion suchas not fasting in the month of Ramadan,alcohol consumption and others



Native law

Personal law applicable to the natives of

Sabah and Sarawak

Natives are the indigenous people of these

two states and the legal definition of µNative¶is found in the Federal Constitution and State

law



Sources of law

The main sources of Malaysian law are:

Federal Constitution

13 Constitution of the States

Federal laws made by Parliament

State laws made by State Assemblies

Federal and state subsidiary legislation

Judicial decisions of the Superior Courts

often referred to as µcommon law¶ or µ judge-

made law¶



Sources of law ± contd..

Principles of English law suitable to local

circumstances

Islamic law which is applicable to Muslims



The Rule of Law is the law that says that Government can

only legally use its power in the way the government and

the people agree. It limits the powers a Government has, as agreed in a country's

constitution.

The R ule of Law prevents dictatorship and protects the rights of the

people.

When leaders enforce the legal code honestly, even on themselves and

their friends, this is an example of the rule of law being followed.

"The rule of law", wrote the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in 350

BC, "is better than the rule of any individual."



Professional Engineers and the Law

Engineers like other professional people, have a duty

to acquire a working knowledge of the law as it

affects their professional work

. In the case of an engineer the relevant fields of law

are notably those of contract, especially the standard

forms of building contract, and the various statutory

regulations, such as the Building Regulations,

planning law, health and safety law, procurement law,and the like




An engineer is not expected to know all the law in the

relevant areas himself.

But he is expected to ensure that his client does not

suffer from the absence of his own legal knowledge. He is expected to know enough law to be aware of

the circumstances in which specialist legal advice is

needed.

He should then advise his client to obtain legal

advice.

Alternatively, he should himself instruct a barrister

directly.




An engineer will also want to know about theareas of law which affect him or her personally.

When can he be sued? How can he sue for his fees?

When is copyright in his design protected?

How should he insure?

What is the legal relationship between him andhis employer, or between him and hisemployees?

1 - principles of law - halim1

Documents