ceded and settle territory explanation. Lex loci used before and after the British came. Application of law.

1. 8. Privy Council in Ong Cheng Neo v Yeap Cheah Neo & Ors (1872) 1 Ky326 ruled that :
"It is immaterial whether Penang was regarded as a ceded or settled territory because there was
no trace of any laws having been established there before it was acquired by the East India
Company. In either view, the law of England must be taken to be the law of the land in so far as it
is applicable to the circumstances of the place and modified in its application by these
circumstances."
Explain the above mentioned statement with regard to the application of English law in the Straits
Settlements.
On the 1786 – 1807, whether the law of Penang is ceded or settled territory.
The concept of lex loci of settled territory is that English Law implemented and become the law of
the land because there was no proper law before British.
The concept for lex loci ceded territory is there was already law existed a system of law, when
British came they influenced by the system and adopted their system

2. BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF BRITISH AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF BRITISH
• Introduction of English Law into SS first
start in Penang by Francis Light on East
India behalf in 1786.
• British occupied Penang through
agreement when Francis Light and
Sultan Kedah.
• According COJ 1807 Penang was
uninhabited when occupied by British.
• Sir Benson Maxwell disagreed with
COJ. Saying Penang not a virgin
country and inhabited by 4 Malay family.
• Later Penang, Singapore and
Malacca group and referred as SS in
1824.
• English Law became law of the land
through implementation of COJ in
1807 & 1826
• Law of Malacca (Hukum Kanun
Melaka) compiled by Muzaffar Syah
in1446 - 1459 are applied.
• The law covered:
1. Criminal offences
2. Commercial transaction
3. Family matters
4. Evidence and procedure
5. Condition of a ruler
• Influence by Islamic law as one of
the important customary law.
.

3. In KAMOO v. BASSETT the court held:
It was accepted that the COJ introduced the laws of England
as it existed in 1807 into Penang. COJ 1807 established
Court of Judicature of Prince of Wales’ Island in Penang. The
court has jurisdiction as: superior courts in England in
deciding civil and criminal cases and an Ecclesiastical court in
dealing with ecclesiastical matters. The jurisdiction was to be
exercised subject to local conditions + inhabitants.
Under COJ 1807,
English law was not only applied to future cases but
also to the cases occurred before 1807 which were
pending trial. It means that COJ 1807 applied
retrospectively to civil injuries which had been
sustained & crimes which had been committed b4
the Charter 1807 came into force. Objective of the
Charter 1807 was to protect local inhabitants from
oppression and injustice.
CASES
In ONG CHENG NEO v. YEAP CHEAH NEO the
court held:
“…the law of England must be taken to be the law
of the land in so far as it was applicable to the
circumstances and modified in
REGINA v. WILLANS: the 2 nd COJ introduced law
of England as it existed on that date, not only to
Malacca and Singapore but also to Penang in so far
as conditions of the place & persons shall admit.
Conclusion
In conclusion, English law has been introduced in
the Straits Settlements. The COJ 1807 marked the
beginning of statutory introduction of English law.
In FATIMAH v. LOGAN
the court held that since the lex loci of Penang
was English law, the validity of the will must be
determined according to English law
CHARTER OF JUSTICE 1826 (COJ
1826) was granted on 27th Nov 1826 to the Straits Settlements
was also applicable to Penang (at this time, Penang,
Malacca & Singapore had formed SS). It contained same
provisions as COJ 1807. The purpose is to introduce English
law as it existed in 1826 in England to the 3 states
of Straits Settlements subject to modifications to suit
the local conditions in SS. COJ 1826 extended jurisdiction
of court to cover Malacca and Singapore. New court
was named “The Court of Judicature of Prince
of Wales’ Island Singapore and Malacca”.