UTMUNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

FINAL EXANIINATION SEMESTER II 2009/2010 SESSION

COURSE CODE SHP 1363

COURSE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF MALAYSIAN LA\"

PROGRAMME BACHELOR DEGREE

DURATION 2 HOURS

DATE APRIL 2010

MARKS 40

INSTI UCTION TO CANDIDATES

Answer TWO (2) questions onl y. Stud ents MAY refer to relevant Acts and Statutes

Answer in the answer booklet provided

Tl-IrS EXAMrNAT rO I PAPER CONSISTS OF ..A- PAGES ONLY (l NCLUDr. J TI-IIS PAGE).

COLLEGE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EXTRACT FROM ACADEMIC REGULATIONS

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1.0 ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

1.1 Students are proh ibited from committing any of the following :

(a) Distributing , receiving or possessing any information in electronic, printed or any other form that is related to the subject being tested in the examination whether within or outside the examination Hall/Room, unless with the permission of the Chief Invigilator.

(b) Using any information obtained, as mentioned in Item 1.1(a) for the purpose of answering any of the examination questions.

(c) Cheating or attempting to cheat or do anything that may be alleged as cheating or attempting to cheat while the examination is in progress.

2.0 PUNISHMENT

2. 1 If a student is found violating anyone of the rules and regulations of the examination, after being prosecuted by the Faculty's Academic Committee and is found guilty, the Senate can decide on anyone of the penalties , or a combinat ion of two or more penalties as listed below:

(a) To award ZERO (0) for the overall result of the examination for that particular subject . (Including the course work)

(b) To award ZERO (0) for all subjects registered in the semester.

(c) To suspend the student for any duration deemed appropriate by the Chairman of the Senate. The number of semester(s) suspended will be counted as part of the total number of semesters that the student has to complete 'his stud ies.

2.2 Students who violate the regulations may also face disciplinary actions under the University and College University Act 1971 , Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 's Guidelines (Students' Regulation) , 1999 .

1. (a) Explain the purpose of exemption clause, its effect on a contract and the pre-conditions that must be satisfied before it could be fully enforced by a

contract.

(10 marks)

(b) Azim received an offer dated Ist Jan 2009 from MUT for a job of his dream. The offer stated that Azim must reply in writing as soon as possible

if he decides to accept the offer. At the same time Azim is waiting for

another offer from MIT, for the same job but hopefully with a better pay. Six months pass by and there is still no letter of offer from MIT. Az im

finally decided to accept the offer from MUT. On 2nd June Azim then

wrote a letter to MUT informing the manager of MUT of his acceptance.

In his letter Azim also asked the manager whether he could start working

on the 14th June 2009. After waiting for more than three weeks, Azim

decided to personally tum up at MUT and starts working immediate ly. lI e

was very upset when he discovers that MUT has given the job to someone else. Azim alleged that there is a breach of contract by MUT. Advise

Azim.

(10 marks)

2. (a) Section 3 and Section 5 of the Civil Law Act 1956 are the gatekeepers to the applicabilility of English law in Malaysia. Discuss the above two

sections in relation to the types of English law that are applicable in

Malaysia, the extent of their applications and the pre-conditions of each

section.

(10 marks)

(b) Lee agreed to sell his house to Gan at a certain price. The offer was made by email on 1SI January 2010. Gan was unable to read the email since there

was no electricity supply at his house for four days. Gan on ly read the

email on 5th January 2010, upon which he immediately decided to accept

the offer. Gan qu ickly emailed Lee , accepting the offe r. However he could

only afford to buy the house at a much lower price than the asking pri ce.

He also mentioned that he would only agree to buy the ho use if Lee

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conducts several renovations and adds in new features to the house to

make it more beautiful. Unknown to Gan, on the 2nd January 2010 Lee had

a change 0 f mind. He wrote a letter dated 4 th January 2010 to Gan,

withdrawing his offer. Lee posted the letter on the same day and the said

letter only reached Gan on the t h January 2010. Without waiting for any reply from Gan, Lee, on the 6th January 2010 then sold the house to Tong

for a higher price. Advise all parties involved in regards to their rights,

liabilities and legality of the above transactions.

(10 marks)

3. (a) Under the law of tort, an infringer is liable to pay damages as compensation when he negligently injures his neighbour. Discuss the concept of neighbour and it relevance in the context of duty of care under

the law of tort.

(10 marks)

(b) The doctrine of frustration will apply when the contract is impossible to implement due to unexpected changes which consequently affects the

elem ent of the contract fatally. Support your answer with the provisions of

law and decided cases.

(10 marks)

4. (a) An offer in a bilateral contract would not lead to a binding contract whereas an offer in a unilateral contract would lead to a binding contract.

Explain.

( 10 marks)

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(b) H, an architect enters into two separate contracts with X and Q without the knowledge of each other. Under both contract, H is expected to exclusively

desi gn commercial building for the parties he is contracted with . Both

contracts also bar H from working or designing building(s) with any other party while under employment. H's scam was first discovered by Q and followed by X, a few weeks later. Upon the discovery of his secret , H stops

going to work to both places. After waiting for a few weeks for H to tum

up at work, Q sends him a letter, demanding him to complete his design that is 40% left unfinished. On the other hand, X issues H a letter,

demanding him to stop working for Q. Resolve the above problem by stating the most appropriate damages for the parties involved .

(10 marks)

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