Bar: Appointments of CJ and Court of Appeal president unconstitutional

KUALA LUMPUR: The appointments of Chief Justice Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif and Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin as additional judges in the Federal Court are unconstitutional, says the Malaysian Bar.

Its president George Varughese said Article 122(1A) of the Federal Constitution did not permit former Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on such matters.

“Otherwise, as a matter of principle, a Chief Justice may, before his retirement, be constitutionally placed to advise on the appointment of additional judges that would take effect when he is no longer the Chief Justice, and even long after.

“This oversteps the CJ’s constitutional role as provided in Article 122(1A) of the Federal Constitution,’’ Varughese added.

He also contended that the wording of the article indicated that the Chief Justice and any additional judge must be two distinct persons.

On April 1, Md Raus was appointed as the 14th Chief Justice, replacing Arifin who retired after reaching the age of 66 years and six months on March 31.

Zulkefli was appointed Court of Appeal president to succeed Md Raus who turned 66 in February this year.

On Friday, The Prime Minister’s Office stated that Md Raus would remain as Chief Justice for a period of three years from Aug 4 after his appointment as an additional judge of the Federal Court.

It also said that Zulkefli, who was appointed as an additional judge of the Federal Court for a two-year term from Sept 28, 2017, would remain as the Court of Appeal president.

The PMO statement added that the appointments of Md Raus and Zulkefli had been made based on the advice given by Arifin on March 30, 2017.