This document provides an overview of tort law in Malaysia. It defines a tort as a wrongful act or omission that results in harm to another's legal interests and is redressable through civil proceedings. Torts can be intentional or unintentional, and their basic elements include a wrongful act, harm to another's interests, and a right to claim damages. Torts serve important functions like providing remedies for harm and deterring wrongful behavior. Common torts discussed include negligence, nuisance, occupier's liability, defamation, and breach of statutory duties. Sources of tort law in Malaysia include English common law, judicial precedents, and local statutes.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES
Ability to define what
amounts to a tort
Ability to give examples of
torts
Ability to state the basic
features of a tort
Ability to explain the
functions of a tort
3. READING:
Ahnaf Azmi, Norchaya Talib on Torts in
Malaysia, (Sweet & Maxwell Asia 2021),
Chapter 1
Wan Azlan Ahmad & Mohsin Hingun, Malaysian
Tort Law, (Sweet & Maxwell Asia 2019),
Chapter 1
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4. WHAT IS A TORT?
Oxford Dictionary of Law:
• Latin tortus = twisted or crooked.
• “A wrongful act or omission for which damages
can be obtained in a civil court by the person
wronged, other than a wrong that is only a breach
of contract.”
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5. WHAT IS A TORT?
Norchaya Talib:
“wrongful act or omission… not authorized by
the law… effect of encroaching on another’s
interest, whether it results in damage or not”
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6. WHAT IS A TORT?
Wan Azlan:
“recognition of interests that the civil law
recognizes in the absence of contractual relations
between the tortfeasor and the complainant”
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7. WHAT IS A TORT?
Winfield:
“Tortious liability arises from the breach of a duty
primarily fixed by law; this duty is towards persons
generally and its breach is redressible by an action
for unliquidated damages”.
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8. WHAT IS A TORT?
Types
Negligence
Nuisance
Occupier’s
liability
Defamation
Strict
liability/Rylands
v Fletcher
Vicarious
liability
Employer’s
liability
Breach of
statutory duties
Intentional torts
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9. WHAT IS A TORT?
Basic
elements
Wrongful
act/omission
Interests of
another are
affected
Right to claim
damages
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11. BASIC CONCEPTS
• Intention
• Motive & malice
• Bradford Corporation v Pickles [1895] AC
587
• Allen v Flood [1989] AC 1
• Improper motive
• Intentional doing of a wrongful act.
• Limitation period
• S6(1) Limitation Act 1953
• S2(a) Public Authorities Protection Act 1948
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12. BASIC CONCEPTS
• Damage:
• Physical injury
• To property
• To reputation
• Economic loss
• Damages:
• Unliquidated damages
• Liquidated damages
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13. SOURCES
• English common law
• S3 Civil Law Act 1956 (wef 1/4/1972)
• Lee Kee Chong v Empat Nombor Elor (NS) Sdn.
Bhd. [1976] 2 MLJ 93
• Jamil bin Harun v Yang Kamsiah [1984] 1 MLJ
217
• Nepline Sdn. Bhd v Jones Lang Wooton [1995] 1
CLJ 865
• Local judicial decision
• Local statues
• Defamation Act 1957
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