PARALLEL PERSPECTIVES FROM MALAYSIA AND THE UNITED KINGDOM

Abstract

This keynote address reflects on the enduring ties between the Malaysian and English legal traditions. Beginning with reflections on legal education and the shared heritage of graduates from Universiti Malaya and the English Inns of Court, the address turns to two central themes shaping contemporary judicial practice. The first is the impact of digitalisation on access to justice, examining how the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the shift toward virtual hearings and trials in Malaysian courts, and how this transition, despite persistent challenges such as the loss of “personal touch” in witness assessment, has strengthened both access to justice and judicial independence. The second theme is the “cross-legal culture” through which Malaysian law continues to draw on English and other foreign jurisprudence, illustrated through examples such as the tort of harassment developed in Mohd Ridzwan bin Abdul Razak v Asmah bt Hj Mohd Nor by reference to English nervous shock cases, and the Australian-derived Torrens land system. The address argues that such cross-jurisdictional borrowing, approached with appropriate caution and contextual awareness, remains a valuable and increasingly necessary feature of legal development in an interconnected, borderless world.