Why the fuss over judicial appointments system now, says Azalina
PUTRAJAYA : The recent controversy surrounding the judicial appointments system has left law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said wondering why there is now an issue when the law has been used since 2009 without fuss.
'The Judicial Appointments Commission Act, which has been passed and established since 2009, has been used in the appointments of five chief justices. There's never been an issue. Suddenly, now there's an issue,' she said today.
'We have to really study where the non-clarity or confusion came in. Is it the process or is it the wording?' However, she acknowledged that improvements could be needed.
Azalina said a special committee will be established, comprising members of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara, as well as constitutional experts, legal practitioners and academics, to review the Judicial Appointments Commission Act.
'We have to improve because what is happening now is that there is a lot of confusion. (There's) no clarity from the public perspective,' she said.
Her remarks come a day after several hundred lawyers took part in a march in Putrajaya, calling for top judicial positions to be filled as soon as possible by judges who command respect from their peers, lawyers, and the public.
On Saturday, Azalina addressed concerns that Putrajaya had allegedly ignored recommendations by the Judicial Appointments Commission when it was headed by then chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat. The recommendations were for the appointment of her successor and the next Court of Appeal president.
Responding to criticisms over the delay in appointing senior judges, she said the commission's recommendations were not binding on the prime minister.
However, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim had called for clarity over the issue, saying the prime minister was bound to forward the commission's recommendations to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Critics have said that although the commission was set up to act as a check on the prime minister's constitutional powers to advise the king on judicial appointments, the prime minister continues to hold significant influence as five of the commission's nine members are appointed by him.
Separation of AG and PP
On the long-awaited reform to separate the roles of the attorney-general and the public prosecutor, Azalina said the groundwork had been done.
'We have done the study. We are just fine-tuning certain points,' she said. The financial implications were still being reviewed as the Attorney-General's Chambers had said the restructuring would require financing.
Earlier, a senior official of the legal affairs division said the final report on the study had been completed and would be presented to the Cabinet in a week or two.
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