CJ: Late Ruler’s judgments were simple yet systematic

KUALA LUMPUR: Sultan Azlan Shah was a man of great intelligence and respected in the legal fraternity.

Being a former Lord President, his simplicity in legal writing was much noted by legal practitioners.

Chief Justice Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria said the late Ruler’s judgments were simple yet systematic.

“He wrote a lot of judgments when he became a High Court judge and it is still good law,” the country’s top judge said.

He said Sultan Azlan Shah was very knowledgeable in law and had written landmark decisions on public and constitutional law.

Justice Arifin cited one, a written judgment in the case of Pengarah Tanah dan Galian Wilayah Persekutuan v Sri Lempah Enterprise Sdn Bhd (1979) when the Sultan was acting Chief Judge of Malaya.

“It is related to land matters. The land director acted in excess of his powers and his ruling was declared unlawful,” he said.

He was then a Federal Court judge. He was very patient and would not interrupt when you made submissions before him. —TAN SRI ARIFIN ZAKARIA

Sultan Azlan Shah’s famous citation in the land matter can be found in many case laws: “Every legal power must have legal limits, otherwise there is dictatorship....”

“The courts are the only defence of the liberty of the subject against department aggression.

“In these days when government departments and public authorities have such great powers and influence, this is a most important safeguard for an ordinary citizen: so that the courts can see that these great powers and influence are exercised in accordance with the law.”

Justice Arifin, who had worked as Perak Legal Adviser for five years, said he had known Sultan Azlan Shah since 1976 when he (Arifin) became assistant registrar of the High Court here.

“He was then a Federal Court judge. He was very patient and would not interrupt when you made submissions before him.

“As Lord President, he displayed the same attitude,” said Justice Arifin, who expressed the judiciary’s condolences to the Perak royal family.

Retired Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram also noted that Sultan Azlan Shah had good judicial temperament.

“He was also deeply interested in every aspect of law and his judgments were entitled to great respect,” he said.

“He wrote in simple English and that era of judgments that had both style and content is now gone forever. Some of the judgments being written now are woefully inadequate (in comparison),” said Sri Ram, who is now a lawyer.

He said the most famous judgment of Sultan Azlan Shah was in Public Prosecutor v Tengku Mahmood Iskandar (1973), where he ruled: “The keynote of this whole case can be epitomised in two words – sadistic brutality, every corner of the case from beginning to the end, devoid of relief or palliation ....

“Cases are never tried in police stations but in open courts to which the public has access ....”