FMT:
5 appellate judges may be elevated to Federal Court, say sources
3 hours ago
V Anbalagan
Separately, six judges of the Federal Court may be in the running to fill the top two vacancies of chief justice and Court of Appeal president
Five appellate court judges in consideration for elevation are believed to have accumulated more than 10 years’ experience in presiding over criminal and civil cases.
PETALING JAYA: Five judges of the Court of Appeal could be elevated to the Federal Court to fill vacancies created by retirements of several senior judges, including that of Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat as chief justice, according to sources.
It is learnt that among those in contention for elevation are appellate Justices Azizah Nawawi and Nazlan Ghazali, who on several occasions have been co-opted to sit on the Federal Court bench.
Separately, six Federal Court judges could be in the running to fill the posts of chief justice and president of the appeal court. They are said to be Justices Rhodzariah Bujang, Nordin Hassan, Abu Bakar Jais, Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh (the former attorney-general), and Lee Swee Seng.
Sources told FMT that the promotion of the five appellate court judges – with one or two slated to occupy administrative positions in the judiciary soon – was one option to fill Federal Court vacancies, with the other option being to adopt the recommendations of the Judicial Appointments Commission.
The five appellate judges under consideration have risen through the ranks and have accumulated over 10 years of experience on the bench, presiding over criminal and civil cases.
Among them are those appointed judges from the legal service (the Attorney-General’s Chambers) or lawyers who were made judicial commissioners, before becoming High Court judges and later elevated to the Court of Appeal.
The five vacancies on the Federal Court arise from the retirements of chief justice Tengku Maimun, Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, and Federal Court judges Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, while the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Abdul Rahman Sebli, will retire on July 24.
The functions of chief justice and Court of Appeal president are currently being performed by Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Hashim and Federal Court judge Zabariah Yusof respectively.
Legal sources told FMT that the next chief justice and Court of Appeal president could be chosen by the government based on the recommendations of the Judicial Appointments Commission chaired by Tengku Maimun.
However, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is not bound to follow the recommendations when advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on making the appointments, the sources said.
Separately lawyer A Srimurugan said the public and the legal fraternity want the appointing authority to pick judges of impeccable character and ability, as they are the guardians of the constitution and to uphold the rule of law.
“One of the key criteria is to provide far-sighted judgments as judgments set a precedent and are akin to legislation that must be followed by all lower courts,” he told FMT.
Another lawyer, Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar, said the prime minister should also consider the appointments commission’s proposals, which are based on the criteria of integrity, competency and adequate experience, ability to make timely judgments and good legal writing skills.
“The prime minister, too, must be transparent and accountable to Malaysians, who deserve the best candidates to helm the judiciary,” Syed Iskandar said.
It is learnt that among those in contention for elevation are appellate Justices Azizah Nawawi and Nazlan Ghazali, who on several occasions have been co-opted to sit on the Federal Court bench.
Separately, six Federal Court judges could be in the running to fill the posts of chief justice and president of the appeal court. They are said to be Justices Rhodzariah Bujang, Nordin Hassan, Abu Bakar Jais, Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh (the former attorney-general), and Lee Swee Seng.
Sources told FMT that the promotion of the five appellate court judges – with one or two slated to occupy administrative positions in the judiciary soon – was one option to fill Federal Court vacancies, with the other option being to adopt the recommendations of the Judicial Appointments Commission.
The five appellate judges under consideration have risen through the ranks and have accumulated over 10 years of experience on the bench, presiding over criminal and civil cases.
Among them are those appointed judges from the legal service (the Attorney-General’s Chambers) or lawyers who were made judicial commissioners, before becoming High Court judges and later elevated to the Court of Appeal.
The five vacancies on the Federal Court arise from the retirements of chief justice Tengku Maimun, Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, and Federal Court judges Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, while the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Abdul Rahman Sebli, will retire on July 24.
The functions of chief justice and Court of Appeal president are currently being performed by Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Hashim and Federal Court judge Zabariah Yusof respectively.
Legal sources told FMT that the next chief justice and Court of Appeal president could be chosen by the government based on the recommendations of the Judicial Appointments Commission chaired by Tengku Maimun.
However, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is not bound to follow the recommendations when advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on making the appointments, the sources said.
Separately lawyer A Srimurugan said the public and the legal fraternity want the appointing authority to pick judges of impeccable character and ability, as they are the guardians of the constitution and to uphold the rule of law.
“One of the key criteria is to provide far-sighted judgments as judgments set a precedent and are akin to legislation that must be followed by all lower courts,” he told FMT.
Another lawyer, Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar, said the prime minister should also consider the appointments commission’s proposals, which are based on the criteria of integrity, competency and adequate experience, ability to make timely judgments and good legal writing skills.
“The prime minister, too, must be transparent and accountable to Malaysians, who deserve the best candidates to helm the judiciary,” Syed Iskandar said.
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