1

IMS657 Legal & Ethical Aspects

of Information Systems
Week 1: Introduction to Laws
& Ethics
INSTRUCTOR:

MOHAMAD NOORMAN MASREK

FACULTY OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

Learning Outcome 2

 At the end of the session, students should be

able to:
 Explain what is law
 Explain law in the context of Malaysia
 Describe what is ethics
 Distinguish the difference between laws and ethics
Overview of Law 3

 Definition of Law
 The law is described as the set of rules and regulation,
created by the government to govern the whole society.
The law is universally accepted, recognized and enforced.
It is created with the purpose of maintaining social order,
peace, justice in the society and to provide protection to
the general public and safeguard their interest. It is made
after considering ethical principles and moral values.
 The law is made by the judicial system of the country. Every
person in the country is bound to follow the law. It clearly
defines what a person must or must not do. So, in the case
of the breach of law may result in the punishment or
penalty or sometimes both.
Overview of Law 4

 What is law?
 In simple terms, the law may be understood as the
systematic set of universally accepted rules and regulation
created by an appropriate authority such as government,
which may be regional, national, international, etc. It is
used to govern the action and behavior of the members
and can be enforced, by imposing penalties.
 Many times the term law is juxtaposed with the term ethics,
but there is a difference, as ethics are the principles that
guide a person or society, created to decide what is good
or bad, right or wrong, in a given situation. It regulates a
person’s behavior or conduct and helps an individual in
living a good life, by applying the moral rules and
guidelines.
Malaysian Legal System 5

 Law, the State and Constitution

 Malaysia, which consists of Peninsular Malaysia,
Sabah and Sarawak is one political unit, but it is
not governed by the same set of laws.
 There are attempts to achieve uniformity.
 However, there are links that unite the two parts
of Malaysia, the Parliament and the Federal
Court.
 The Parliament can and does legislate for the
whole country.
 The FC acts as a final court of appeal for the
whole country.
Malaysian Legal System 6

 Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and 3 Federal

Territories. And it has a Federal Constitution and a 13
State Constitutions.
 Federal Constitution is the Supreme Law of the land.
State Constitution is law made by State to govern her
own state. Any law made by Parliament or by State
Constitution that inconsistent with Federal Constitution is
VOID
 An article 74 of the Federal Constitution provides that
Parliament may make laws with respect to any of the
matters enumerated in the Federal Lists, State Legislature
may make laws in respect to any of the matters
enumerated in State List.
Malaysian Legal System 7

 Both Parliament and State Assembly may also make

laws with respect to any matters enumerated in the
Concurrent List. But, if there inconsistency, laws made
by Parliament shall prevail.
 Classification of Law
1. Public Law
2. International Law
3. Private Law
Malaysian Legal System 8

 Public Law (PL)

 PL is basically the law which governs the relationship
between individuals and the State.
 PL further divided into constitutional and criminal law
 Constitutional law lays down the rights of individuals in the
state.
 Criminal law codifies the various offences committed by
individuals against the State.
Malaysian Legal System 9

 International Law
 Law which regulates the relationship between one state
and another.
 Eg: Singapore & Malaysia ( Pulau Batu Puteh): it may further
be subdivided into 2 categories: public international law &
private international law
Malaysian Legal System 10

Private Law
 Law between one individual and another
 Concerned with matters that affect the rights and duties of
individuals amongst themselves.
 Eg; contract, tort, trust etc
Malaysian Constitution & 11

Sources of Law
 The word ‘sources’ has several meanings which include
the following:
1. Historical sources – factors that have influenced the
development of the law although they are not
recognized as law. Eg: religious beliefs, local customs and
opinion of jurists)
2. Legal sources – legal rules that make up the law. Can be
classified into written & unwritten
Malaysian Constitution & 12

Sources of Law
 Sources of law can be found from:
1. Statutes
2. Law reports
3. Text books
Malaysian Constitution & 13

Sources of Law
 Sources of law can be classified into:
 Written: Is the most important source of law. It refers to that
portion of Malaysian Law which includes (i) The Federal and
State Constitution (ii) Legislation enacted by Parliament
and State Assemblies and (iii) Subsidiary legislation
 Unwritten law: Doesn’t mean that it is not written - what
made it unwritten is that it is not made by the formal
legislative bodies. Sources of unwritten law are (i) English
law (ii) Case law (iii) 3. Customs
Malaysian Constitution & 14

Sources of Law
 Constitution
- Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the country. Any
law passes after Independence Day with inconsistent with
the Federal Constitution is void.
- Parliament exist under Constitution therefore all action must
consistent with the Constitution. If inconsistent, it is void.
Malaysian Constitution & 15

Sources of Law
 Legislation
- Refers to law enacted by a body constituted for this
purpose.
- Legislation is not only contains law but is law itself.
- Legislation made by parliament at the federal level and by
state legislative assemblies at state level
Malaysian Constitution & 16

Sources of Law
 Subsidiary legislation
- In theory, power to rule in Malaysia is divided into (i)
legislative (ii) executive (iii) judiciary
- Power to make law is vested to the legislative body.
- However, there are too little laws made by legislative body.
- Part of the power is vested to the executive body.
- Legislation made by the executive through delegation is
known as subsidiary legislation
Malaysian Constitution & 17

Sources of Law
 English Law
- EL is used as a source of law which was provided in Sec 3
and sec 5 of Civil Law Act 1956
- However, Sec 3 is bound on two limitations:
- It is applied only in the absence of local statutes on particular
subjects
- Only part of the EL that is suited to local circumstances will
be applied.
Malaysian Constitution & 18

Sources of Law
 Doctrine of judicial precedent
- meaning: every time the judge is to make a decision in a
trial, they are follow the previous decision made by the
previous judge, where the fact in the previous case is the
same as in the present case.
- If there is no precedent, the judge is bound to make
decision as he think just.
Malaysian Constitution & 19

Sources of Law
 Doctrine of JP policies are:
1. decisions made by a court will bind decision made by
courts which rank lower from her in hierarchy of courts
2. decisions of a HC will not bind decisions of other HC but
are to be respected
3. decisions of subordinate courts will bind those particular
courts only.
 Custom
1. The most common customs that apply are ‘adat
perpatih’ and ‘adat temenggung’.
2. There is also customs for Chinese and Indian
The Judicial System 20

 Federal Court
- It ranks at the highest in hierarchy of courts in
Malaysia.
- Jurisdiction to hear (i) original (ii) appellate on
both (iii) constitution question (iv) advisory
- Criminal appeals only can be made by the
convict as against sentence only, where as the
prosecutor can appeals as against any decision
including acquittal
- For civil appeals, is disallowed if amount in
demand is less than RM250,000 (except with the
HC & FC discretion)
The Judicial System 21

 Court Of Appeal
 COA has jurisdiction to hear and determine any appeal
against any HC decision on criminal matters.
 Civil appeals which can be hear only where the amount of
claim is at least RM250,000.
The Judicial System 22

 High Court
 Consist of two chief judges, one in peninsular Malaysia
and one in Sabah and Sarawak.
- Jurisdiction to hear original, appellate and supervisory
- Jurisdiction to hear original jurisdiction is unlimited, but in
practise HC odes not try a small criminal or civil cases.
- HC jurisdiction is to try cases under her province only
- Also has jurisdiction to hear appeal from subordinate
courts. However, the appeals of criminal disallowed if
the amounts of penalty is not more than RM25, for civil
cases, appeals is not allowed if amount of claims is not
less than RM10,000.
The Judicial System 23

 Session Court
 Has jurisdiction to hear any types of criminal cases except
those deals with death sentence.
 Under civil jurisdiction, claims is not more than RM250,000.
 For complex matters, such as trust, termination of contract,
the cases will be heard in HC even the amount in demand
is less than RM250,000.
The Judicial System 24

 Magistrate Court
 Divided into 2:
1. 1st class magistrate - for civil case where amount in claim
is less RM25,000
2. 2nd class magistrate - to hear claims of less than RM3000
The Judicial System 25

 Juvenile Court
 Specially for minor between 10- 18.
 For murdered, the juvenile will be tried as an adult.
The Judicial System 26

 Juvenile Court
- Specially for minor between 10- 18.
- For murdered, the juvenile will be tried as an adult.
The Judicial System 27

 Cyber Court
 Special court for cases involving the Internet and
dedicated to handling offences such as online
gambling, spying, bank fraud, defamation,
document falsification and pornography.
Malaysian ICT Regulation 28

And Legislation
 The Digital Signature Act 1997, which governs electronic
signatures.
 The Computer Crimes Act 1997, which outlaws the
fraudulent use of computers and unauthorized access to
and modification of the contents of computers.
 The Electronic Government Act 1997, which regulates
communication within the public sector. This Act also
enhances communication between the public and
private sectors.
 The Multimedia Convergence Act 1997, which
streamlines communication, information and
broadcasting services.
Malaysian ICT Regulation 29

and Legislation
 The Telemedicine Act 1997, which allows for the
promotion of medical services.
 The Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which
facilitates the orderly development of the multimedia
industries, in particular the contents industry and to
replace existing inadequate legislation.
 The Intellectual Property Protection Act 1998, which
protects copyright laws.
Examples of ICT related 30

court cases
 In Maricel Cabangon Peralta Perimaloo v Riccardo Rovati
& 3 Ors (Kuala Lumpur High Court Suit No. 23VCVC-18-
03/2015), the Plaintiff, a former maid of the 1st and 2nd
Defendants, sued the Defendants for defamation. The
Plaintiff left the employment of the 1st and 2nd Defendants
and filed a complaint with the Labour Office at Kuala
Lumpur.
 The Plaintiff alleged that, among others, the 2nd and 4th
Defendant had published defamatory statements on
Facebook. However, on the application of the Defendants,
the High Court struck out the Plaintiff’s claim against the
Defendants on the ground that the statements made were
honest, based on facts and raised during a proceeding at
the Labour Office at Kuala Lumpur and thus it is protected
by absolute privilege and immune from an action for
defamation.
Examples of ICT related 31

court cases
 In Khairulazwan Bin Harun v Mohd Rafizi Bin Ramli (Kuala
Lumpur High Court Civil Suit No: 23NCVC-55-07 /2015), the
Plaintiff, Deputy Leader of UMNO Youth Wing, filed an
application for leave to initiate a contempt proceeding
against the Defendant, Vice-President and Secretary-
General of the People’s Justice Party (PKR), for sub judice.
 The Defendant had apparently published an article in his
blog issues which are pending in the Court. According to
the Plaintiff, the contents of the article are such that they
interfere with the due administration of justice and attacked
the merits of the ongoing suit and cast aspersions on the
independence and integrity of the judiciary and judicial
process and therefore be an act of contempt.
Examples of ICT related 32

court cases
 In Chan Fei Yu & Yang Lain lwn. Siow Rong Jeing & Yang
Lain (Kuala Lumpur High Court Suit No. 23NCVC-12-03/2015), the
Plaintiffs sued the Defendants for publishing certain statements on
Facebook that allegedly had defamed the Plaintiffs.
 The 1st and 3rd Defendant had apparently published the 3rd
Defendant’s allegation that the Plaintiffs had been negligent in
grooming the former’s dog until it suffered injury. Further in this
case, the Plaintiffs initiated contempt proceeding against the 3rd
Defendant for allegedly providing fake residential addresses in his
affidavits filed in Court.
 The 3rd Defendant explained that one of the addresses was his
former addresses whereas the other address is his mother’s
residence. Fortunately for the 3rd Defendant, the Court accepted
his explanation and held that the 3rd Defendant did not provide
fake residential addresses to avoid service of the legal papers and
interfere with or impede the administration of justice.
What is Ethics 33

 Ethic is the branch of moral philosophy that guides

people about what is good or bad. It is a collection of
fundamental concepts and principles of an ideal human
character. The principles help us in making decisions
regarding, what is right or wrong. It informs us about how
to act in a particular situation and make a judgment to
make better choices for ourselves.
 Ethics are the code of conduct agreed and adopted by
the people. It sets a standard of how a person should live
and interact with other people.
What is Ethics 34
Differences Between Laws 35

& Ethics
1. The law is defined as the systematic body of rules that
governs the whole society and the actions of its individual
members. Ethics means the science of a standard human
conduct.
2. The law consists of a set of rules and regulations, whereas
Ethics comprises of guidelines and principles that inform
people about how to live or how to behave in a particular
situation.
3. The law is created by the Government, which may be
local, regional, national or international. On the other
hand, ethics are governed by an individual, legal or
professional norms, i.e. workplace ethics, environmental
ethics and so on.
4.
Differences Between Laws 36

& Ethics
5. The law is expressed in the constitution in a written form.
As opposed to ethics, it cannot be found in writing
form.
6. The breach of law may result in punishment or penalty,
or both which is not in the case of breach of ethics.
7. The objective of the law is to maintain social order and
peace within the nation and protection to all the
citizens. Unlike, ethics that are the code of conduct
that helps a person to decide what is right or wrong
and how to act.
8. The law creates a legal binding, but ethics has no such
binding on the people.
References 37

 Surbhi, S. (2014). Differences between laws and ethics. Available

at: http://keydifferences.com/difference-between-law-and-
ethics.html
 Haris, S., Yahya, S. Wan Ghani, W. A. (2012). ICT policy and
regulation in Malaysia. Journal of Media And Information Warfare,
2(5) 75-88. Available at:
http://jmiw.uitm.edu.my/images/Journal/vol2paper5.pdf
 Ariffin, N.N. (2012). Malaysian Legal System. Available at:
https://www.slideshare.net/kpmbp/malaysian-legal-system
 The Star (2016).
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/09/02/special-
court-for-cyber-crimes-techsavvy-judges-being-trained-to-handle-
offences-from-spying-to-bank/#orDj3txJfK8FWr2L.99
 Leong, C.F. (2017). http://foongchengleong.com/2017/03/bread-
kaya-2016-cyberlaw-cases-cyber-court-facebook-fights-and-
hacking/