Civil Procedure
2579 cases · January 2017 to July 2026
Overview
Civil Procedure appears in 2579 reported Malaysia judgments (2017–2026).
In this practice area
Civil Procedure is the busiest area of the Malaysian corpus, and the judgments collected here are less about substantive rights than about how a claim is brought, tested and moved through the courts. The recurring questions are procedural in character: whether a matter should proceed by writ or by originating summons, whether pleadings should be struck out under Order 18 rule 19 of the Rules of Court 2012 (the Kaedah-Kaedah Mahkamah 2012), whether summary judgment under Order 14 is appropriate, and whether an appeal has been filed within the time the rules prescribe.
A large part of the collection concerns the timetable of litigation. Judgments turn on the meaning of mandatory-sounding words such as hendaklah ("shall") in the rules, on whether a late filing is fatal or curable, and on the discretion of the court to extend time even after a period has expired. Others examine the reach of the appellate function — the difference in approach between the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court when reviewing findings of fact made by a trial judge, and the settled rule that an appellate court will not disturb such findings unless they are plainly wrong.
The cases sit predominantly in the High Court, with a smaller stream reaching the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court, where the review jurisdiction under Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court 1995 and the inherent power to avoid a miscarriage of justice are examined. Because procedure cuts across every subject, the reader will find civil-procedure reasoning attached to contract disputes, land actions and judicial-review challenges alike. The area is a useful map of how the Malaysian courts manage the mechanics of a case — service, discovery, striking out, extension of time and the limits of appellate intervention — rather than a catalogue of outcomes on the merits.
Case Volume by Year
Key Issues & Sub-Topics
Assessment of damages — Assessment following liability judgment after full trial — Liability conclusively determined — Assessment confined to quantification of damages arising from established liability. 4 cases
Stay of proceedings — Winding-up petitions — Pending appeal — Pending buy-out order — Whether appeal operates as stay — Courts of Judicature Act 1964, s 73 3 cases
Representative action — Multiple purchasers — Joinder of claims — Monetary jurisdiction of Sessions Court — Section 65(1)(b) Subordinate Courts Act 1948 — Whether jurisdiction determined by aggregate sum or individual claims — Distinction between composite award and discrete awards 3 cases
Whether the Plaintiff has proven the claim for goods and services supplied to the Defendant — Whether the Defendants are liable for the guarantees — Whether the Defendants in counterclaim have conspired jointly to defraud the Plaintiff 3 cases
Clarification proceedings — Scope of clarification — Clarification of legal basis of aggravated and exemplary damages — Distinction between clarification and appeal — Challenge to correctness of the assessment judgment properly a matter for the appellate process. 2 cases
Summary judgment — Order 14 Rules of Court 2012 — Certificate of Indebtedness — Conclusive evidence clause — Whether manifest error shown — Effect of successive statements of account — Settlement Agreement — Novation — Whether settlement agreement extinguished original debt or preserved right to sue upon default. 2 cases
Striking out — Order 18 rule 19 Rules of Court 2012 — Counterclaim — Reasonable cause of action — Abuse of process — Jurisdiction of Sessions Court to grant declaratory relief — Harmonization of sections 65(5)(b) and 69(g) of the Subordinate Courts Act 1948 — Pleading requirements for general, aggravated, and exemplary damages. 2 cases
Summary judgment — Order 14 Rules of Court 2012 — Banking institution’s claim for outstanding banking facilities — Letter of Offer and Personal Guarantee — Certificate of Indebtedness (“COI”) — Conclusive evidence clause — Burden of proof shifts to defendants once procedural requirements satisfied — Defendants raised alleged non-reflection of payments, interest miscalculation, and premature recall — Defendants failed to demonstrate manifest error or provide documentary evidence — Bare denials and speculative assertions — No bona fide triable issues raised — Summary judgment allowed. 2 cases
Parties— Proper parties to be sued — Whether proper to sue sole proprietor in his own name and to add below the name within brackets the name of the firm — Whether respondent was properly named at the adjudication proceedings — Whether action can be taken against a body that has no legal status — Whether the Adjudicator is clothed with the jurisdiction — Whether adjudication proceedings valid 2 cases
Banking and Finance — Islamic banking — Summary judgment — Recovery of outstanding sums under Murabahah term financing, Cashline-i and Tradeline-i facilities — Whether genuine triable issues raised — Defence based on non-receipt of demand letter — Whether the claim is premature — Whether proceedings must first be taken against the principal borrower before recourse to the guarantors — Guarantee and Indemnity — Whether certificate of indebtedness conclusive — Whether service of certificate upon defendants a precondition –Whether defendants have proven manifest error — Principal liability clause — Indemnity clause — Rules of Court 2012, Order 14 rr 1, & 3. 2 cases
Appeal — Appeal against summary judgment — Appeal against striking out of counterclaim — Applicable appellate standard — Whether re-hearing or review of discretion — Whether genuine triable issue raised — Distinction between limbs under O 18 r 19(1) Rules of Court 2012 — Sub-paragraph (a) confined to defects on the face of pleadings — Prohibition on affidavit evidence under O 18 r 19(2) for sub-paragraph (a) — Scope of sub-paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) — Whether counterclaim for fraud and misrepresentation properly struck out under sub-paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) — Lack of material particulars — Whether counterclaim obviously unsustainable — Rules of Court 2012, O.14 r.1 & r.3, & O.8 r.19. 2 cases
Courts of Judicature Act 1964, s 67 — Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994, Rules 5(1), 5(3) and 5(4) — procedural law — striking out of notice of appeal — preliminary objection — filing of single notice of appeal for more than one decision — whether decisions were clearly and concisely identified 2 cases
Order 53 Rules of Court 2012 — Leave stage — Ex parte application — Attorney General appearing for statutory respondents — Stay application to be heard inter partes — Costs in the cause. 1 case
Originating Summons — Ex parte proceedings — Certificate of Urgency — Interim preservation of subject matter of litigation — Pending writ action — Pending judicial management proceedings — Preservation of efficacy of pending proceedings. 1 case
Preliminary issue — Whether facts admitted or genuinely undisputed — Requirement for agreed factual substratum — Whether action suitable for summary disposal. 1 case
Order 33 — Mixed questions of fact and law — Genuine dispute of material fact — Necessity for oral evidence — Appropriateness of full trial. 1 case
Preliminary determination — Whether court may grant final relief on counterclaim through Order 33 procedure. 1 case
Judgments in default — Alleged merger of indebtedness — Relevance to preliminary issue application. 1 case
Ex parte application — Duty of full and frank disclosure — Material non-disclosure — Protective relief. 1 case
Registrar empowered to execute transfer documents — Sale of matrimonial properties — Liberty to apply. 1 case
Consolidation of actions — Joint trial — Order 4 rule 1 Rules of Court 2012 — Common questions of fact and law — Same transaction or series of transactions — Discretion of Court — Distinction between consolidation and trial together — Preservation of separate identity of actions — Different parties and different capacities — Avoidance of inconsistent findings — Case management. 1 case
Originating Summons — Writ action — Whether proceedings suitable for determination on affidavit evidence — Final relief — Requirement for oral evidence and cross-examination. 1 case
Conversion of proceedings — Pleadings — Affidavits to stand as pleadings — Consequential directions. 1 case
Originating Summons — Ex parte application — Declaratory relief — Appointment of committee of estate — Jurisdiction — Statutory preconditions. 1 case
Leave to continue proceedings — Action commenced prior to bankruptcy — Supervening bankruptcy during pendency of action — Whether proceedings may continue to judgment. 1 case
Jurisdiction — Proper forum — Malaysian proceedings involving foreign bankrupts — Whether leave should be sought in Malaysia or Singapore — Court seized of action as proper forum. 1 case
Judgment in default — Corporate guarantor — Judgment already entered against co-defendant — Relevance to continuation of proceedings against individual guarantors. 1 case
Restoration of proceedings — Interlocutory applications adjourned due to bankruptcy — Leave granted to continue action — Directions restoring pending applications for hearing. 1 case
Key Statutes
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How many Civil Procedure cases are reported in Malaysia courts?
2579 reported Malaysia judgments (2017–2026) involve Civil Procedure.
What kinds of questions does the Civil Procedure area cover?
It covers the mechanics of litigation rather than the merits: the correct mode of commencement (writ or originating summons), striking out under Order 18 rule 19 of the Rules of Court 2012, summary judgment under Order 14, discovery, service, and the time limits for filing appeals. Many judgments interpret mandatory-sounding words such as hendaklah ("shall") and ask whether non-compliance is fatal or can be cured.
How do the courts treat a late or irregular filing?
The judgments repeatedly weigh whether a breach of a time rule renders a step a nullity or merely an irregularity that the court may regularise. The tension is between finality and the discretion under Order 3 rule 5 to extend time even after it has expired, with the courts asking whether any prejudice to the other side can be met by an award of costs rather than by shutting out the claim.
Which courts decide these cases?
The great majority are decided in the High Court, with a further group reaching the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. At Federal Court level the collection includes the review jurisdiction under Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court 1995 and the inherent power of the court to correct a miscarriage of justice.