The Malaysian Public Authorities Protection Act: The delimitation of a limitation period
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2021
Abstract
The law in Malaysia affords protection and numerous procedural advantages to public authorities in civil suits. This is evident from Malaysian legislation such as the Government Proceedings Act 1956 and the Public Authorities Protection Act 1948. One such protection takes the form of a shorter limitation period prescribed for suits and actions instituted against public authorities. Other jurisdictions with similar legislation include South Africa, Nigeria and Jamaica. This article will examine the scope, application and limit(s), if any, of the defence of limitation as prescribed in the Malaysian Public Authorities Protection Act 1948. It will draw the attention of the readers to a number of decisions that have manifestly placed severe constraints on the availability and application of the defence of limitation under the said Act. An attempt will be made to comprehend the underlying rationale and governing principles set out in these decisions. Correspondingly, this article will extract and underscore the lessons to be learned from these decisions and offer an appraisal on this imperative piece of legislation. It is hoped that such a discourse will provide parties embroiled in a civil suit involving a public authority with more clarity and certainty concerning this aspect of the law. Finally, this article will expound on the question of whether legislation such as the Public Authorities Protection Act 1948 has outlived its purpose and should be repealed.
Keywords
Public authorities, Civil suits, Malaysia, Limitation period, Government Proceedings Act, Public Authorities Protection Act
Divisions
fac_law
Publication Title
Civil Justice Quarterly
Volume
40
Issue
4
Publisher
Sweet & Maxwell