Guides on Answering Problematic Question (Dbf)

LAW 2013 – COMMERCIAL LAW DIPLOMA IN ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE (DIBF)

GUIDES ON ANSWERING PROBLEMATIC QUESTION: STEP BY STEP As a law student, good factual knowledge of the relevant law is needed as it is the basis for success. Below are the three necessary qualities for a law student in order to pass the examination with excellent grade. •

Understand the principles of law. E.g.

Contract entered by a minor is void unless it is a contract for necessities,

scholarship scholarship or insurance.

•

Learning the relevant legal facts. E.g.

i)

According to Section 10(1) of Contract Acts 1950, an agreeme ement

enforceable by law ii)

is a contract.

It was was held in the the case of Inchee Nor Noriah v Shaik Allie Omar that

…………………………….

•

Skills Skills in applyi applying ng the princ principl iples es and facts facts to probl problema ematic tic ex exami aminat nation ion question. To answer a problematic question, students are advised to follow the format as given below. Students answer should consist of a paragraph or it can be divided into four (4) paragraphs. i)

Issue

ii)

Law

iii)

Case

iv)

Application

i


v)

Conclusion

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO?

Initially, you should read the whole examination paper. Preferably, as you go through each question, make a brief note on the examination paper of any relevant cases and/or statutes that occur to you even if you think that you may not answer that question.

STEP 1

:

•

•

Identify the Issue

You must identify the ISSUE in the given situation.

ISSUE is the problem that arises in the given situation and need to be

solves.

ii

LAW 2013 – COMMERCIAL LAW DIPLOMA IN ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE (DIBF) •

The ISSUE should be identified in the first paragraph of the answer.

•

Your ISSUE statement must start with the words

Otherwise, your

“Whether”.

statement is not considered as an issue and no mark shall

be given. •

E.g.

:

i)

Whether the contract between Ali and Abu is valid

ii)

Whether Siti can take legal action against Datuk

or not?

Khalid due to

STEP 2:

fraud?

List down the relevant law/s

•

Law is the principles or provisions that have been stated by statute or

case law. •

CITE the provision in the statute briefly. Do not quote it exactly

from the

statute.

•

Remember that the cited provision must relevant to the question.

•

E.g.

:

i)

According to Section 7 of Contract Acts 1950, an

acceptance

must be absolute and unqualified and

be expressed in some

usual

and

reasonable

manner. •

However, if there is no relevant provision, CITE the definition or

legal principle •

E.g.

:

as established from a decided case . i)

As held in Clifton v. Palumbo, advertisements for

tenders is information and still in

an

ITT

because

it

is

supply

of

negotiation

process and not a definite offer to sell.

iii


STEP 3:

Citing the relevant decided cases

•

Citing cases does not mean writing down the nature of every case that

happens to deal with the general topic with which you are concerned and then detailing all the •

facts you can think of.

You should cite only the most relevant cases - there may perhaps only

be one. No

more facts should be stated than are absolutely essential to

establish the relevance

of the case. If there is a relevant case, but you

cannot remember its name, it is

sufficient to refer to it as one decided

case. •

In citing your case, you should give the correct name of the case. But,

it is not

E.g.

necessary to cite the full name of the case.

:

i)

In the case of Hyde v Wrench, the fact of the case

ii)

In Coelho’s case, it was held that ………………

is ……………..

IMPORTANT! Whenever a statute or case is cited, the title of statute or the name of the case should be UNDERLINED or HIGHLIGHTED . This makes the examiner’s job much easier

iv


STEP 4:

Application

•

Apply the relevant law given or the principle in the cited cases.

•

Upon application of the relevant law or the principle in the cited cases,

you are •

required to put forward your own ARGUMENT.

ARGUMENT is an application of the given issues with the principles

that has been •

E.g.

:

laid down by referring to the relevant law given before. Abu is only 10 years and not of the age of majority.

Therefore, Abu is a

minor and not competent to a

contract. According to Section 11 of

Contract

Acts

1950, person competent to a contract must be of the age of majority, sound mind, and is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject. Buying a land worth RM 1.5m is not

considered as a necessity for a minor

like Abu. ⋆ Underline words = Example of arguments

STEP 5:

Decide your conclusion

•

You are required to make a conclusion of their argumentation based on

the issue •

given at the beginning of the answer by using your own words.

Summarized your conclusion in such a way that you answer the

question. •

Your conclusion should include opinion or recommendation such as can

take legal action or can claim for available remedies.

v


E.g.

•

:

In conclusion, the contract made between Ali and Abu is

void because

Abu is a minor and not competent to a

contract. •

You can start your conclusion statement with : i)

In conclusion, ………………………

ii)

By referring to the provision in Section 11(1) of Contract Acts

1950, ……………….

iii)

To

conclude

the

above

issue,

…………………… vi)

With reference to the above issue, it can be conclude that

……………………… iv)

As for conclusion, ………………………

⋆Additional Notes⋆ i)

Please arrange your answer carefully and accordingly. Try to allocate sufficient time

for each ii)

question.

You are encouraged to construct your own sentence. You are advised not to

memorized exactly iii)

as what been written in the notes or text book.

Please make sure your handwriting is readable. Otherwise, your marks shall be

BLUE or BLACK pen. If you choose to underline the provision of

deducted. Use only

the statute or cited cases in your

answer script, please use any colour other than

RED. iv)

Do not forget to write your provision and name of the statute in full. You are not

allowed to use

abbreviation or acronym in citing your provision, name of the

statute or cases.

E.g.

:

i) ii)

Section 10(1) of Contract Acts 1950 or;

S.10 (1) of Contract Acts 1950 or;

vi


iii) vi)

Sec. 10 (1) of Contract Acts 1950

It is recommended for you to use transitional words in constructing your answer as

to enhance logical organization and understandability and improve the connection between thoughts. You

may use words such as:

⋆Thus, for example, to illustrate, in other words, furthermore, nevertheless, therefore, as a result,

however, etc.

SAMPLE OF PROBLEMATIC QUESTIONS

1.

Whilst having lunch at a dining hall, Adila dropped her diamond engagement ring.

She advertised

RM 400 reward for anyone who found it. Nikky, Adila’s roommate found

the ring and returned it to

her. But, Nikky only knew about the reward the next day

after reading the advertisement at the

hostel lobby.

Advise Nikky as to whether she could claim the reward from Adila. (20 marks)

2.

Richman met with an accident and was bedridden for 10 years. He employed

Poorgirl, a trained nurse, to take care of him. During her employment, Poorgirl managed to convince Richman to sell

her his luxurious house at the paltry sum of RM50,000

despite the fact that the market price of the house was RM1.5 million. Upon recovery from his illness, Richman wanted to invalidate the sale.

Advise Richman. (20 marks)

3.

Sofia, a 10 year old student bought the following items from Beli Belah

Supermarket.

vii


(a)

3 sets of hand phone worth RM5000

(b)

A bicycle worth RM 200

(c)

Foodstuffs to the amount of RM 400

Sofia now refuses to pay for all the goods. Advise Beli Belah Supermarket. (20 marks)

4.

Lotter is a famous actor. He has appointed Faizal as his agent to buy a car. Lotter

has instructed

Faizal that the price of the car must not exceed RM45.000. On August

4, Faizal went to Diddy's shop

and ordered a car which costs RM48,000 telling Diddy

that he was ordering it for Lotter. On

September 9, Diddy delivered the car to Lotter but

Lotter refused to accept the car.

Advise Diddy. (20 marks)

SAMPLE OF PROBLEMATIC QUESTION AND ANSWER

Sasha is the owner of Sasha's Boutique. Once a week, she will display her new design of dresses in her shop window. One day, Datin Maria came and she was interested to buy one of her new design of dresses that was being displayed in her shop window. Unfortunately, Sasha refused to sell one of the dresses to Datin Maria. Datin Maria felt frustrated and she decided to sue Sasha for a breach of contract.

viii


Advise Datin Maria. (20 marks)

Suggested Answer

Issue

:

Whether Datin Maria can sue Shasha for breach of contract.

Legal Principle

:

Invitation to treat. Definition of invitation to treat. Types of Invitation to treat - Display of goods. Explanation on display of goods.

Relevant Decided

:

Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash

Chemist

Case

Facts : Held :

Application

:

When Shasha display her new design in her shop window, it is

display of

goods. In this case, she is not making an offer to

Datin Maria. Datin Maria is

the offeror and Shasha is the

offeree. Shasha has a right to refuse to sell the

dress

to

Datin Maria. There is no contract between Shasha and Datin Maria. As held in the case of Pharmaceutical Society’s case, display of goods is an

invitation to treat. Thus, in this case, display of

dress in the shop window is

Conclusion

:

not an offer.

Datin Maria cannot sue Shasha because there is no contract as

invitation to treat is not an offer.

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Guides on Answering Problematic Question (Dbf)

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