New CJ only after next Rulers' Conference, says Azalina
PETALING JAYA : The appointment of a new chief justice to head the judiciary will be decided only after the next Conference of Rulers scheduled for July 15-17, according to the minister for law and institutional reform, Azalina Othman Said.
Azalina said recommendations by the Judicial Appointments Commission on the appointment of new judges are not binding, Bernama reported.
However, her assertion was disputed this evening by former law minister Zaid Ibrahim who said the prime minister is bound to forward the commission's recommendations.
Azalina, speaking to reporters in Pengerang, Johor, said the commission's role under current law is to screen, evaluate and recommend candidates for appointment as judges. 'The commission's recommendations are 'not a final step in the appointment process. It only recommends names, and these recommendations are not binding'.
The commission's recommendations are made to the prime minister.
Under the constitution, appointment of judges on the Federal Court, Court of Appeal and the High Courts are made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the prime minister, and after consulting the Conference of Rulers.
Azalina said the constitution would need to be amended if the commission's role is to be made legally binding. She cited a previous explanation by former law minister Nazri Aziz, who had stated in Parliament that the commission is an administrative provision without binding legal effect.
The minister's comments come amid criticism over delays in the appointment of senior judges following the retirement of the chief justice and president of the Court of Appeal, and impending vacancies in the superior courts.
The Malaysian Bar has planned a protest march tomorrow. Azalina said it is within their democratic right, as long as it is carried out professionally and within the boundaries of the law.
'If they want to march, that is their right. As lawyers, I believe most of them are professionals who understand the constitution and the JAC Act,' she said.
Zaid calls for clarity
Zaid, in a Facebook posting, said the law requires the prime minister to forward the names recommended by the commission to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
'This duty is not optional. If the PM refuses to do so, he is in breach of the law; plain and simple,' he wrote. 'To now pretend that the law doesn't bind them, while quietly ignoring or defying its provisions, is to mock the very idea of the rule of law.'
He called for clarity and not vague statements that 'only serve to confuse and deceive the public'. Zaid said: 'The people deserve clarity, not confusion — and certainly not a government that treats the law as optional.'
(Under the Judicial Appointments Commission Act, the prime minister may ask for two more names to be submitted for consideration, and where he has accepted any of the names, he may proceed to advise the king, as required by the constitution.)
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