Bar Council: Chief Justice and Chief Judge should be independent of one another

Bar Council chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan said she “respectfully disagreed with the minister”, adding that it was a question of interpretation of the law. 

“It is our view that the provisions in the Constitution state that the posts of Chief Justice and Chief Judge of Malaya are independent of one another. 

“If read together with the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, we believe that the Chief Justice should appoint a Federal Court Judge to act as the Chief Judge of Malaya,” she said. 

Ambiga said that even without interpreting the law, it was undesirable for the Chief Justice to hold two positions as this showed a lack of recognition of the system of checks and balances in the Constitution. 

The council had also said that the Chief Justice should have appointed a Federal Court judge to perform the task before the Prime Minister decided on who should fill the position. 

Source: The Star