| Court Name: | High Court of Malaya/ High Court of Sabah and Sarawak |
| Native Name: | Mahkamah Tinggi Malaya/ Mahkamah Tinggi Sabah dan Sarawak |
| Established: | 1957 |
| Type: | Royal appointment with the advice of the Prime Minister |
| Authority: | Federal Constitution |
| Appealsto: | Court of Appeals of Malaysia |
| Terms: | Compulsory retirement at age 66 |
| Positions: | Peninsular Malaysia 60 (including 16 vacancies) |
| Chiefjudgetitle: | Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya |
| Chiefjudgename: | Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah |
| Termstart: | 17 January 2023 |
| Chiefjudgetitle2: | Chief Judge of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak |
| Chiefjudgename2: | Abdul Rahman Sebli |
| Termstart2: | 17 January 2023 |
The high courts in Malaysia are the third-highest courts in the hierarchy of courts, after the Federal Court and the Court of Appeal. Article 121 of the Constitution of Malaysia provides that there shall be two high courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction—the High Court in Malaya and the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak (before 1994, the High Court in Borneo). Before 1969, the High Court in Singapore was also part of the Malaysian courts system (see Law of Singapore).
The High Court in Malaya has its principal registry in Kuala Lumpur, with other registries to be found in all states in Peninsular Malaysia, while the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak has its principal registry in Kuching, with other registries elsewhere in Sabah and Sarawak. There are in total 22 high court registries across all 13 states in Malaysia.[1] The two High Courts also travel on circuit to other smaller towns.
The two high courts, the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court are classified as superior courts, while the magistrates' courts and the sessions courts are classified as the subordinate courts. The high courts function both as a court of original jurisdiction as well as an appellate court, and are each headed by a chief judge (before 1994, chief justice). The chief judges of Malaya and Sabah and Sarawak are the third and fourth highest positions in Malaysian judiciary after the Chief Justice of the Federal Court (before 1994, the Lord President of the Federal Court) and the President of the Court of Appeal.[2]
All high court registries and the subordinate courts found in Peninsular Malaysia including the courts in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya are under the jurisdiction of the High Court in Malaya. Similarly, all courts found in East Malaysia are under the jurisdiction of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak including the courts in the Federal Territory of Labuan.
1947–1948: Harold Curwen Willan[3]
See main article: Lord President of the Supreme Court.
Source:[4]
Some modern texts will refer to them as Chief Judges.[5]
See main article: Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak.
| North Borneo | Sarawak | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Justice | Tenure | Office | Justice | Tenure |
| Chief Justice of North Borneo (until 1951) | 1934 to 1941 | Chief Justice of Sarawak (1930-1951) | Thomas Jamieson Laycock Stirling Boyd | 1930 to 1939 | |
| H. Thackwell-Lewis | 1939 to 1945 | ||||
| Japanese occupation | 1942 to 1945 | Japanese occupation | 1942 to 1945 | ||
| 1945 to 1951 | 1946 to 1951 | ||||
| Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei | |||||
| Office | Title | Justice | Tenure | ||
| Chief Justice of the Combined Judiciary of Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei (1951–1963) | 1 December 1951 – 24 October 1952 | ||||
| 5 December 1959 – 1 January 1963 | |||||
| 2 January 1963 – 15 September 1963 | |||||
| Sabah and Sarawak | |||||
| Office | Title | Justice | Tenure | ||
| Chief Justice of Borneo (1963–1994) | 16 September 1963 – 27 August 1965 | ||||
| 11 September 1965 – 27 August 1968 | |||||
| 2 September 1968 – 31 December 1973 | |||||
| 1 January 1974 – 31 December 1988 | |||||
| 11 March 1989 – 23 June 1994 | |||||
| Office | Title | Justice | Tenure | ||
| Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (since 1994) | 24 June 1994 – 9 September 1994 | ||||
| 16 June 1995 – 3 July 2000 | |||||
| 2 July 2000 – 25 July 2006 | |||||
| 26 July 2006 – 11 July 2018 | |||||
| 11 July 2018 – 19 February 2020 | |||||
| Tan Sri Datuk Amar | 25 February 2020 – 17 January 2023 | ||||
| Dato' | Abdul Rahman Sebli | 17 January 2023 – incumbent | |||
See main article: Chief Justice of Singapore.
| width=390 | Office ! | width=205 | Title ! | width=205 | Justice ! | width=205 | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice of Singapore (1963–1969 (as part of Malaysia, 1963–1965)) | 1963 to 1969 | ||||||