# High court (Malaysia)

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. 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 Supreme Court) and the President of the Court of Appeal.

## High court registries in Malaysia

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.

## List of chief justices and chief judges
### Malaya and Malaysia (on the federation level)
#### Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Malayan Union (1946 – 1948)

* 1946–1948: Sir Harold Curwen Willan

#### Chief Justice of the Federation of Malaya (1948 – 1957)

* 1948–1950: Harold Curwen Willan
* 1950–1951: Sir Stafford Foster-Sutton
* 1951–1956: Sir Charles Mathew

#### Chief Justice of the Federation of Malaya (1957 – 1963)

* 1957–1963: Tun Sir James Thomson

#### Lord President of the Federal Court (1963 – 1985)

* 1963–1966: Tun Sir James Thomson
* 1966–1968: Tun Syed Sheh Hassan Barakbah
* 1966–1974: Tun Mohamed Azmi Mohamed
* 1974–1982: Tun Mohamed Suffian Mohamed Hashim
* 1982–1984: Raja Tun Azlan Shah
* 1984–1985: Tun Salleh Abas

#### Lord President of the Supreme Court (1985 – 1994)

* 1985–1989: Tun Salleh Abas
* 1989–1994: Tun Abdul Hamid Omar

### States of Malaya (since 1963)
#### Chief Justice of Malaya (1963 – 1994, after which the designation was changed to Chief Judge of Malaya)

Source:
* 1963-1966: Syed Sheh Barakbah
* 1966-1968: Mohamed Azmi Mohamed
* 1968-1973: Ong Hock Thye
* 1973-1974: Mohamed Suffian Mohamed Hashim
* 1974-1979: Sarwan Singh Gill
* 1979-1982: Raja Azlan Shah (later 34th Sultan of Perak and 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia)
* 1982-1984: Salleh Abas
* 1984-1989: Abdul Hamid Omar
* 1989-1992: Hashim Yeop Sani
* 1992-1994: Gunn Chit Tuan
Some modern texts will refer to them as Chief Judges.

#### Chief Judge of Malaya (since 1994)

* 1994: Mohamed Eusoff Chin
* 1994–1997: Anuar Zainal Abidin
* 1997–2000: Wan Adnan Ismail
* 2000–2002: Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim
* 2002–2004: Haidar Mohamed Noor
* 2004–2006: Siti Norma Yaakob
* 2007–2008: Alauddin Sheriff
* 2008–2011: Arifin Zakaria
* 2011–2017: Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin
* 2017–2018: Ahmad Maarop
* 2018–2019: Zaharah Ibrahim
* 2019–2022: Azahar Mohamed
* 2023–2024: Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah
* 2024-present: Hasnah Mohammed Hashim

### Borneo (North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak)

| North Borneo | North Borneo | North Borneo | Sarawak | Sarawak | Sarawak |
| Office | Justice | Tenure | Office | Justice | Tenure |
| Chief Justice of North Borneo (until 1951) | Charles Frederick Cunningham Macaskie CMG | 1934 to 1941 | Chief Justice of Sarawak (1930-1951) | Thomas Jamieson Laycock Stirling Boyd | 1930 to 1939 |
| Chief Justice of North Borneo (until 1951) | Charles Frederick Cunningham Macaskie CMG | 1934 to 1941 | Chief Justice of Sarawak (1930-1951) | H. Thackwell-Lewis | 1939 to 1945 |
| Chief Justice of North Borneo (until 1951) | Japanese occupation | 1942 to 1945 | Chief Justice of Sarawak (1930-1951) | Japanese occupation | 1942 to 1945 |
| Chief Justice of North Borneo (until 1951) | Sir Ivor Llewellyn Brace | 1945 to 1951 | Chief Justice of Sarawak (1930-1951) | Robert Yorke Hedges | 1946 to 1951 |
| Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei ||||||
| Office | Title | Justice | Justice | Tenure | Tenure |
| Chief Justice of the Combined Judiciary of Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei (1951–1963) | Sir | Ivor Llewellyn Brace | Ivor Llewellyn Brace | 02009-10-01-031 December 1951 – 02009-10-01-0324 October 1952 | 02009-10-01-031 December 1951 – 02009-10-01-0324 October 1952 |
| Chief Justice of the Combined Judiciary of Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei (1951–1963) | Sir | Ernest Hillas Williams JP | Ernest Hillas Williams JP | c. 1957 | c. 1957 |
| Chief Justice of the Combined Judiciary of Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei (1951–1963) | Sir | John Ainley MC | John Ainley MC | 02009-10-01-035 December 1959 – 02009-10-01-031 January 1963 | 02009-10-01-035 December 1959 – 02009-10-01-031 January 1963 |
| Chief Justice of the Combined Judiciary of Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei (1951–1963) | Sir | William Campbell Wylie QC | William Campbell Wylie QC | 02009-10-01-032 January 1963 – 02009-10-01-0315 September 1963 | 02009-10-01-032 January 1963 – 02009-10-01-0315 September 1963 |
| Sabah and Sarawak ||||||
| Office | Title | Justice | Justice | Tenure | Tenure |
| Chief Justice of Borneo (1963–1994) | Sir | William Campbell Wylie QC | William Campbell Wylie QC | 02009-10-01-0316 September 1963 – 02009-10-01-0327 August 1965 | 02009-10-01-0316 September 1963 – 02009-10-01-0327 August 1965 |
| Chief Justice of Borneo (1963–1994) | Sir Tan Sri | Philip Ernest Housden Pike QC | Philip Ernest Housden Pike QC | 02009-10-01-0311 September 1965 – 02009-10-01-0327 August 1968 | 02009-10-01-0311 September 1965 – 02009-10-01-0327 August 1968 |
| Chief Justice of Borneo (1963–1994) | Tan Sri Dato' | Ismail Khan Ibrahim Khan | Ismail Khan Ibrahim Khan | 02009-10-01-032 September 1968 – 02009-10-01-0331 December 1973 | 02009-10-01-032 September 1968 – 02009-10-01-0331 December 1973 |
| Chief Justice of Borneo (1963–1994) | Tan Sri Datuk Amar | Lee Hun Hoe | Lee Hun Hoe | 02009-10-01-031 January 1974 – 02009-10-01-0331 December 1988 | 02009-10-01-031 January 1974 – 02009-10-01-0331 December 1988 |
| Chief Justice of Borneo (1963–1994) | Tan Sri Datuk Amar | Mohamad Jemuri Serjan | Mohamad Jemuri Serjan | 02009-10-01-0311 March 1989 – 02009-10-01-0323 June 1994 | 02009-10-01-0311 March 1989 – 02009-10-01-0323 June 1994 |
| Office | Title | Justice | Justice | Tenure | Tenure |
| Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (since 1994) | Tan Sri Datuk Amar | Mohamad Jemuri Serjan | Mohamad Jemuri Serjan | 02009-10-01-0324 June 1994 – 02009-10-01-039 September 1994 | 02009-10-01-0324 June 1994 – 02009-10-01-039 September 1994 |
| Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (since 1994) | Tan Sri Datuk Amar | Chong Siew Fai | Chong Siew Fai | 02009-10-01-0316 June 1995 – 02009-10-01-033 July 2000 | 02009-10-01-0316 June 1995 – 02009-10-01-033 July 2000 |
| Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (since 1994) | Tan Sri Datuk Amar | Steve Shim Lip Kiong | Steve Shim Lip Kiong | 02009-10-01-032 July 2000 – 02009-10-01-0325 July 2006 | 02009-10-01-032 July 2000 – 02009-10-01-0325 July 2006 |
| Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (since 1994) | Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima | Richard Malanjum | Richard Malanjum | 02009-10-01-0326 July 2006 – 02009-10-01-0311 July 2018 | 02009-10-01-0326 July 2006 – 02009-10-01-0311 July 2018 |
| Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (since 1994) | Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima | David Wong Dak Wah | David Wong Dak Wah | 02009-10-01-0311 July 2018 – 02009-10-01-0319 February 2020 | 02009-10-01-0311 July 2018 – 02009-10-01-0319 February 2020 |
| Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (since 1994) | Tan Sri Datuk Amar | Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim | Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim | 02009-10-01-0325 February 2020 – 02009-10-01-0317 January 2023 | 02009-10-01-0325 February 2020 – 02009-10-01-0317 January 2023 |
| Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (since 1994) | Dato' | Abdul Rahman Sebli | Abdul Rahman Sebli | 02009-10-01-0317 January 2023 – 02009-10-01-03incumbent | 02009-10-01-0317 January 2023 – 02009-10-01-03incumbent |

### Singapore

| Office | Title | Justice | Tenure |
| Chief Justice of Singapore (1963–1969 (as part of Malaysia, 1963–1965)) | Tan Sri | Wee Chong Jin | 1963 to 1969 |