THIS fourth of July will be the 249th anniversary of the Ame­ri­can Declaration of Independence. This majestic Declaration in 1776 emancipated the then 13 British Colonies of North America from the clutches of British colonial domination and constituted them as the United States of America.

THE human rights of indigenous minorities around the world were the subject of a thought-provoking workshop at the University of Auck­land, New Zealand, from May 28 to 29. The Constitutional position of the natives of Sabah and Sarawak and the Orang Asli (the indigenous people) of Peninsular Malaysia was also part of the animated discussion.

LATELY, there have been concer­ted, sustained and, in some ins­tances, anonymous attacks in the media on some members of the judiciary, past and present.

THIS column had on April 14, "Judicial appointments ripe for review", reviewed the law rela­ting to the Judicial Appointments Commission and pointed out some flaws therein.

A proper system of appointing judges is an important prerequisite to the rule of law.

IN December 2019, the then Paka­tan Harapan government tabled the Constitutional (Amend­ment) (No. 2) Bill 2009 aimed at limiting the prime minister's tenure to a maximum of two parliamentary terms.

LAST week, the Dewan Rakyat passed two Bills to enhance the autonomy of our Parliament.

MINISTER in the Prime Minis­ter’s Department (Law and Insti­tu­tional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said must be congratulated for recognising that more than 3,000 outdated laws need review.

The anti-hopping legislation can be criticised for a number of weaknesses and needs further amendment.

We must bear in mind that laws, institutions and procedures are as good as the people who administer them.

Federalism is a journey and not just a set of institutions and procedures.

If an Islamic matter is on the Federal List, the state legal authority has no power to enact the said law.