Stay of execution under special circumstances: a comparative analysis between Malaysia and United Kingdom

Abstract

In Civil Litigation, a stay of execution is like a pause button used by the applicant to restrain the execution of the court judgement from being carried out by the opposing party. Fundamentally, for an application for a stay to succeed, the applicant must show special circumstances to justify the grant of a stay. This article will identify and comparatively appraise the procedures to apply for a stay of execution in Malaysia and the United Kingdom. This article will also examine the principles and factors considered by the courts in Malaysia and the United Kingdom in granting a stay of execution. In light of the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article will also study whether the courts consider COVID-19 as a special circumstance, warranting a stay of execution. In order to achieve these objectives, the methodology used by the researchers is pure legal research and comparative analysis. The findings of this article show that Civil Courts in both Malaysia and the United Kingdom have unqualified discretion to determine the application for a stay of execution. In addition, the onus is on the applicant to demonstrate the existence of special circumstances to justify the grant of a stay of execution in Malaysia and the United Kingdom. The courts will only grant a stay if there are special circumstances.