Penang High Court
| Penang High Court | |
|---|---|
| Mahkamah Tinggi Pulau Pinang | |
 |
|
| General information | |
| Type | High Court |
| Architectural style | Palladian |
| Town or city | George Town, Penang |
| Country | Malaysia |
| Coordinates | 5°25′15″N 100°20′23″E / 5.42076°N 100.3398°ECoordinates: 5°25′15″N 100°20′23″E / 5.42076°N 100.3398°E |
| Construction started | 1901 |
| Inaugurated | 1903 |
The Penang High Court, founded in 1808, is the birthplace of Malaysia's judiciary system. It is housed inside a Palladian-style building at Light Street, George Town, Penang. To this day, the High Court sits at the top of Penang's hierarchy of courts.
The current courthouse was built in the 1900s to replace the original structure that was built at the same site in 1809. The Penang High Court, then known as the Supreme Court, had been established in 1808 within Fort Cornwallis nearby, the first such court to be set up in the Malay Peninsula. Its establishment also marked the introduction of a modern legal system in Malaya, which would evolve to become the current judiciary of Malaysia.
The Penang High Court has a long pioneering history in Malaysian judiciary. It was here where the first female judge was admitted into the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Bars in the 1920s. Malaysia's first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, was also admitted into the Bar in 1974 within the compound of the Penang High Court.
The courthouse was renovated in the 2000s, during which a new wing was added. Across Light Street, another courthouse housing the Magistrates and Sessions Courts was also completed.
As Penang Island, then named the Prince of Wales Island, flourished into a strategic entrepôt with a growing immigrant population, Captain Francis Light sought the advice of the Governor-General in India on establishing a judicial authority within the new settlement. In 1807, a Royal Charter of Justice was granted by King George III for the British East India Company authorities in Penang to establish a police force and a Court of Justice.
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