Section 3
Section 3
Save so far as other provision has been made or may hereafter be made by any written law in force in Malaysia, the Court shall—
(a)
in Peninsular Malaysia or any part thereof, apply the common law of England and the rules of equity as administered in England on the 7 April 1956;
(b)
in Sabah, apply the common law of England and the rules of equity, together with statutes of general application, as administered or in force in England on 1 December 1951;
(c)
in Sarawak, apply the common law of England and the rules of equity, together with statutes of general application, as administered or in force in England on 12
December 1949, subject however to subparagraph (3)(ii):
Provided always that the said common law, rules of equity and statutes of general application shall be applied so far only as the circumstances of the States of Malaysia and their respective inhabitants permit and subject to such qualifications as local circumstances render necessary.
(2)
Subject to the express provisions of this Act or any other written law in force in Malaysia or any part thereof, in the event of conflict or variance between the common law and the rules of equity with reference to the same matter, the rules of equity shall prevail.
(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 such as in England are taken on the Crown side of the Queen’s
Bench Division of the High Court by way of habeas corpus or for an order of mandamus, an order of
Civil Law 9
prohibition, an order of certiorari or for an injunction restraining any person who acts in an office in which he is not entitled to act, shall be available in Sabah to the same extent and for the like objects and purposes as they are available in England;
(ii)
the Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom applied to Sarawak under sections 3 and 4 of the Application of
Laws Ordinance of Sarawak [Cap. 2] and specified in the Second Schedule of this Act shall, to the extent specified in the second column of the said Schedule, continue in force in Sarawak with such formal alterations and amendments as may be necessary to make the same applicable to the circumstances of
Sarawak and, in particular, subject to the modifications set out in the third column of the said Schedule.