ANNUAL REPORT 2018 ANNUAL REPORT 2018 CONTENTS I
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JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTSJAC COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2018 ANNUAL REPORT 2018 CONTENTS i CONTENTS PAGE CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 - 3 BACKGROUND 4 - 7 q History of Establishment q Members of the Commission MEETINGS 8 - 10 q Judicial Appointments Commission Meetings q Selection Meetings APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES 11 - 17 q Selection Criteria q Selection Process q Appointment of Superior Court Judges v Federal Court Judges v Court of Appeal Judges v High Court Judges v Judicial Commissioners JUDICIAL ACADEMY 18 - 47 q Training Programmes Conducted in 2018 q Publication Activities for 2018 IMPROVING THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE 48 THE SECRETARIAT OF THE COMMISSION 49 q Roles and Functions q Financial Allocation JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD ANNUAL REPORT 2018 CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD 1 CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD Transparency and integrity are important dimensions that guarantee justice based on the principle of the Rule of Law. As the most important element in the practice of separation of power doctrine in Malaysia, judicial institutions need to be a reference model to legislative and executive institutions. Hence, the presentation of the Annual Report of the Judicial Appointments Commission Year 2018 is not merely to comply with the requirements of Section 31 of the Judicial Appointments Commission Act (Act 695). In fact, it is a form of manifestation towards realising the responsibility of institutionalising the spirit and practice of high transparency and integrity. This report is an important channel for disseminating information on the functions, performance and achievements of the Commission in 2018 to all stakeholders, especially law practitioners and the public at large. During the 9 years of the Commission's establishment, there have been various improvements made towards strengthening the process of appointing superior judges in Malaysia. Such criteria of appointment will be continuously streamlined taking into account the current needs and complexity of the national legislation. The Commission also organises workshops and courses in order to strengthen the competency of the serving judges through comprehensive and hands-on training programmes. In addition, the Commission has also published the Journal of the Malaysian Judiciary which contains articles from various learned authors in law. Hopefully, these initiatives can be a catalyst in our quest to improve the public perception on the Judiciary. Last but not least, I wish to place on record my sincere appreciation to all former and current members of the Commission for the hard work. I also wish to thank the ofcers and staff of the Commission led by Datuk Wan Khairilanwar bin Wan Muhammad for the dedication and commitment in making the Commission a successful body for 2018. Thank you. TAN SRI DATUK SRI PANGLIMA RICHARD MALANJUM Chief Justice of the Federal Court, Malaysia cum Chairman of Judicial Appointments Commission JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT 2018 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Pursuant to section 31 of the Judicial Appointments Act 2009 (Act 695), the Commission is required to prepare an annual report of its activities for submission to Parliament. This Judicial Appointments Commission's (hereinafter “the Commission”) Annual Report 2018 is prepared pursuant to the aforementioned provision. This report is divided into six main chapters: 1. Background - explains the history of the Commission's establishment, its role and introduces the Commission Members. 2. Meetings - reporting on the implementation of two meetings of the Commission as required by Act 695 namely the Judicial Appointments Commission Meeting and the Selection Meeting. 3. Selection and Appointment of Superior Court Judge - expounds the process of selection and appointment of superior court judges at the various tiers namely the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal and the High Court, based on the criteria set out in Act 695. 4. Judicial Academy - report on domestic and foreign training programmes in 2018 as well as the publication of the Journal of the Malaysian Judiciary. 5. Improving the Administration of Justice - report on the activities implemented to strengthen the Judiciary. 6. Secretariat to the Commission - spells out the roles and functions of the Secretariat to the Commission and includes a report on the approved nancial allocation in 2018. JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION 2018 EVENTS ANNUAL REPORT 2018 3 2018 EVENTS a Meetings u 13 Judicial Appointments Commission Meetings u 3 Selection Meetings a Appointment of Judges and Judicial Commissioners u Chief Justice u President of the Court of Appeal u Chief Judge of the High Court in Malaya u Chief Judge of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak u 7 Federal Court Judges u 8 Court of Appeal Judges u 8 High Court Judges u 7 Judicial Commissioners a Local Training Programmes u Courses by Senior Judges g Insolvency Act 1967: Understanding The New Bankruptcy Law g Appellate Judging/ Appellate Intervention g Seminar on Land Law: Resolving Competing Claims under Section 340 of the National Land Code g Induction Programme for Judicial Commissioners g Adjudicating Election Petition g Adjudicating of Habeas Corpus Cases and Amendment to Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 g Criminal Law: Evidence and Procedure Section 39B g Damages Part 1 : Tort g Damages Part 2 : Contract u Inter-Agency Collaboration Programme g Judicial Digital Evidence Seminar u Local and International Invited Speakers g YBhg. Dato' Meor Hashimi bin Abdul Hamid, Deputy Director General, Malaysian Insolvency Department g YBhg. Datuk Dr. Khaw Lake Tee, Former Lecturer of Law, University of Malaya g The Hon. Paul Grimm, US District Court Judge, District of Maryland a Publication u Journal of the Malaysian Judiciary - January and July 2018 editions a Improving the Administration of Justice u Programme between the Chief Justice with High Court Judges and Judicial Commisioners JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION BACKGROUND ANNUAL REPORT 2018 BACKGROUND 4 BACKGROUND History of Establishment The independence of judicial institutions is integral to uphold the rule of law in the judicial and legislative system in Malaysia. The Judicial Appointments Commission (Commission) was established with the coming into force of the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009 (Act 695) which was gazetted on 8 January 2009. The establishment of the Commission was an initiative to empower and strengthen the Judiciary and enhance its integrity through a more transparent and fair process of nomination, election, and promotion of superior court judges. Since its establishment, the Commission has successfully fullled its responsibilities as an independent judicial appointments body guided by the Constitution. The Role of the Commission The role of the Commission is to receive and consider applications from qualied persons to the position of superior court judge as provided for in section 21 of Act 695. In addition to performing its primary function of selecting suitably qualied persons who merit appointment as a superior court judge, various programmes were commissioned by the Commission to improve the judicial system in the country including training programs for superior court judges and publishing legal journals. Constitution of the Commission The Commission consists of nine (9) members including the Chairman. The membership of the Commission is based on the provisions set forth under Act 695. Four (4) members are appointed based on tenure in the Judiciary in accordance with the provisions of subsections 5 (1) (a), (b), (c) and (d) of Act 695, while ve (5) members are appointed by the Prime Minister pursuant to the provisions of subsections 5 (1) (e) and (f) of the Act 695. They consist of a Federal Court Judge and four (4) prominent persons who are not members of the executive or other public service. The appointment is normally carried out by the Prime Minister after consultation with the Bar Council of Malaysian, the Sabah Law Association, the Advocates Association of Sarawak and the Attorney General of the Federation. JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2018 5 APPOINTMENT BY TENURE The Rt. Hon. Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Richard Malanjum Chief Justice The Rt. Hon. Tan Sri Dato' Sri Ahmad bin Haji Maarop President of the Court of Appeal The Rt. Hon. Tan Sri Zaharah binti Ibrahim Chief Judge of the High Court in Malaya The Rt. Hon. Datuk Seri Panglima David Wong Dak Wah Chief Judge of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2018 MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION 6 APPOINMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER The Hon. Tan Sri Dato' Sri Azahar bin Mohamed Federal Court Judge YBhg. Dato' Seri Mohd. Hishamudin bin Md. Yunus Former Court of Appeal Judge YBhg. Datuk Linton Albert Former Court of Appeal Judge YBhg. Dato' Mah Weng Kwai Former Court of Appeal Judge YBhg. Prof. Emeritus Datuk Dr. Haji Shad Saleem Faruqi Professor, Faculty of Law, University Malaya JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2018 7 APPRECIATION The Commission places on record its appreciation to YABhg. Tun Raus Sharif (from 1 April 2017 to 10 July 2018) for his contribution and service as the the Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission and YBhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Zulkei bin Ahmad Makinudin (from 12 September 2011 to 10 July 2018) for his contribution and service as the Member of the Judicial Appointments Commission. The Commission The Commission further places on record its appreciation to YABhg. Tun Arin bin Zakaria, YBhg. Dato 'Anantham a / l Kasinather, YBhg. Datu Abdul Razak Tready and YBhg. Prof. Dr. Choong Yeow Choy for their contribution as members of the Commission from April 20, 2017 to September 3, 2018. JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION MEETINGS ANNUAL REPORT 2018 MEETINGS 8 JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION'S MEETINGS Generally, Commission meetings are held to discuss initiatives to improve the performance, achievements and efciency of the Judiciary. Subsection 13(1) of Act 695 provides for the Commission to hold a Commission Meeting at least once every month. In 2018, 13 meetings were held where two (2) were held outside Putrajaya.