Part 2 National and Regional Reports, Part 2.2 Asia: Coordinated by Yuko Nishitani and Béligh Elbalti, 32 Malaysia: Malaysian Perspectives on the Hague Principles

Abstract

This chapter looks at Malaysian perspectives on the Hague Principles. Malaysia does not have any specific legislation or code for Private International Law. However, there are at least two specific acts which provide statutory guidelines for the recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions or awards in parties’ commercial relationships: the Malaysian Arbitration Act 2005 and the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgment Act 1958. Additionally, Malaysia is a Member State of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), albeit not a contracting State to any of the HCCH Conventions. The Malaysian Attorney General’s Office is presently studying several HCCH Conventions to determine whether Malaysia can become a party to any of them. For the most part, and in line with Malaysia being a part of the Commonwealth, the principles of private international law have developed through judicial decisions of the Malaysian courts in determining issues ranging from the jurisdiction of the courts, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, to parties’ choice of law in contracts. To this end, contracts governed by foreign laws are generally considered as valid in Malaysia, unless they fall under any of the categories of void contracts set out in section 24 of the Contracts Act 1950.