Brunei
Legal System
Overview
Brunei has a two part legal system. The first system was inherited from Great Britain and is similar to the ones found in India, Malaysia and Singapore. The system is largely based on the English Common Law, but a significant portion of it has been codified based on civil law principles. Nevertheless, the Common Law legal system covers most of the laws in Brunei.
Common Law Courts
Generally speaking common law, as opposed to civil or socialist law, is a type of legal system where legislation is continually evolving. Courts refine and create laws on a case-by-case basis. When resolving a legal dispute, in the ideal world, a common law court looks to precedents set by other courts. What this means is that when a court is resolving a dispute, it must look to see if a similar dispute was resolved in the past. If one has, then the present day court is obligated to following the same reasoning used in the prior case; this principle is called stare decisis. On the other hand, if the dispute is totally unique, the court may resolve the matter itself using general guidelines. This new decision then becomes the precedent to which all future cases are bound. Over the years, the precedents created by past decisions coalesce into a complicated set of rules that apply to a wide array of case; this collection of rules is known as “common law”. Of course, common law systems are much more complex in practice, nevertheless the principle of stare decisis as described above, is the foundation of all common law systems.
The first level of the Common Law Courts in Brunei is the Magistracy of which are currently less than 10 in the entire country. All of the magistrates are local.
The second level of Common Law Courts is the Intermediate Courts. These were set up to be a training ground for the local. At present, there are 2 Intermediate Court judges, both of whom are locals.
The final court is the High Court, which currently consists of three Judges, two of whom are locals. The Chief Justice used to be High Court judge in Hong Kong.
There is no jury system in Brunei and a Judge or Magistrate sits alone to hear a case with the exception of cases involving capital punishment cases. In these instances two High Court Judges will hear the case.
The government appoints all magistrates and judges.
VIEW MORE
Latest news
-
College Financial Aid Help - WMBB-TV
Google News - Panama, 17-February-2008
[full story]
College Financial Aid Help
WMBB-TV, FL - 19 hours ago
By Tuquyen Mach Panama City, FL -- The cost of a college education keeps going up, so the folks at Gulf Coast Community College are seeking to help students ... -
Japan Faces Indonesian Gas Cuts - OhmyNews International
Google News - Brunei, 17-February-2008
[full story]
Japan Faces Indonesian Gas Cuts
OhmyNews International, South Korea - 19 hours ago
Indonesia was the largest supplier to Japan in 2006, exporting 13.99 million tons, followed by Australia, Malaysia, Qatar, Brunei and the United Arab ... -
Shell Rewards Employees - Bru Direct
Google News - Brunei, 17-February-2008
[full story]
Shell Rewards Employees
Bru Direct, Brunei Darussalam - 21 hours ago
This is an important discovery for Brunei Darussalam", said Brunei Shell Petroleum Managing Director, Dr Grahaeme Henderson in his welcoming speech at the ...