The Application of the Best Interests of the Child Principle as a Criterion for Fulfilling Malaysia's Convention on the Rights of the Child Obligations: A Comparative Study Between Malaysia's Child Act 2001 and the English Children's Act 1989 Including the Common Law and Shari'ah Law Applications in the Respective Jurisdictions

The Child Act 2001 (Act 611) was Malaysia's response to incorporate the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) into Malaysian law. The CRC, like all international human rights instruments, is a rights based convention providing for child rights. This thesis is a study of whether the current standards on the best interests of the child principle is sufficiently applied in Malaysia in order to fulfil her obligations under the CRC. In order to answer this question, a deeper understanding of Malaysia's unique socio-legal complexities and background is needed so as to be able to analyse how far Malaysia has fulfilled her obligations.

The research utilises a doctrinal and black-letter law approach since the data for analysis were documents and articles on the CRC, the Children Act 1989 and the Child Act 2001. The research methodology chosen is a comparative study England and Malaysia because of the strong historical and legal relationships.

The research will use the literature available which is voluminous in England and try to understand the principle as applied in England. This thesis will compare the principle applied in England with that applied in Malaysia. This would include the English and Malaysian civil law (under the relevant Acts), the international law (CRC) and the Islamic Law (Shari`ah). The research will also analyse the principle as applied in England and how it compares to the CRC. This thesis will also show that the best interests of the child principle as envisioned under the CRC is closer to the Shari'ah approach and Malaysia should utilise it as a means to move forward and apply the best interests of the child principle as required under the CRC. Once the application has been done, Malaysia will be able to fulfil her obligations fully under the CRC.