Restore Sabah's right to appoint JCs, says SLA
Kota
Kinabalu, Apr 16, 2010: The Sabah Law Association called, Thursday, for
the reinstatement of the State's constitutional right on the appointment
of Judicial Commissioners.
SLA President Datuk John Sikayun said prior to the amendment of the
Federal Constitution, in accordance with Section 16(3) of the Malaysian
Act, Article 122A(3) provided that for the despatch of business of the
High Court in Borneo in an area in which a judge of the court is not
available, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the State may by order appoint a
Judicial Commissioner for such period as necessary.
"Unfortunately Article 122A was amended in 1994 by which Article
122A(3), among others, were deleted and new Article 122AB was inserted for
the appointment of Judicial Commissioner," he said.
"Under the new Article, the Yang Di-Pertua Agong only acts on the
advice of the Prime Minister after consulting the Chief Justice of the
Federal Court in the appointment of judicial commissioners for Sabah and
Sarawak.
"We hope our lost rights will be re-looked into and reinstated," said
Sikayun. more.....
Sabah
lawyers: Give us back judicial autonomy
FRI, 16 APR 2010 15:36
By Michael Kaung
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Law Association (SLA) has called on the Barisan
Nasional-led state government to help restore Sabah's constitutional right
to appoint judicial commissioners.
SLA president John Sikayun said prior to the amendment of the federal
constitution, the state had the power to appoint a judicial commissioner.
He said the authority was granted to the state under the Malaysia Act.
But it was removed when the State BN government surrendered this right
when it came to power in 1994.
"According to Section 16(3) of the Act, Article 122A(3) provides for the
despatch of business of the High Court in Borneo in an area in which a
judge of the court is not available; the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the
state acting on the advice of the Chief Justice... may appoint a judicial
commissioner by order for such period as necessary," he said.
"Unfortunately, Article 122A was amended in 1994 and Article 122A(3),
among others, was deleted and a new Article 122AB was inserted for the
appointment of judicial commissioners.
"Under this new article, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong only acts on the advice
of the prime minister after consulting the chief justice of the federal
court in the appointment of judicial commissioners for Sabah and Sarawak.
"We hope our lost rights will be re-looked into and reinstated," said
Sikayun during a seminar on “Restorative Justice: Beyond Crime and
Punishment” here yesterday.
Sikayun also highlighted the issue of qualified Sabah judicial
practitioners being by-passed when the posts became vacant in the higher
courts.
He hoped more qualified people from the state would be appointed to the
High Court and the Appellate Courts in the future.
'A great comfort'
Two Sabahans -- Wahab Patail and Clement Skinner -- were recently elevated
to judges in the Court of Appeal from the High Court.
Patail, 61, and Skinner, 53, were among four High Court judges who were
sworn in during a ceremony in Putrajaya on Wednesday.
Sikayun said the SLA was particularly pleased with the appointment of
Skinner, once a senior lawyer in Sabah.
"He has on several occasions served as a member of the panel of the Court
of Appeal sittings on Sabah and this augured well where specific laws of
Sabah came under consideration.
"This was a great comfort to us because a judge with Borneo experience was
among the quorum," he said.
Sikayun recalled that the Inter-Governmental Committee Report recommended
that a judge with Borneo judicial experience should sit among the judges
in the Federal Court when hearing a case arising in a Borneo state.
"This recommendation of the IGC sadly has not been provided for in the
Federal Constitution though this has been left as a matter of good
practice which we hope will continue to prevail," said Sikayun.
The seminar noted that while Restorative Justice has yet to be adopted and
implemented in the Malaysian criminal justice system, certain aspects are
contained in the indigenous justice system.
The traditional form of punishment or “sogit” where the offender pays the
victim or family reflects characteristics of Restorative Justice where the
offender is required to repair the harm caused to the victim or victim's
family.
Sabahans
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Sabahans' right and autonomy
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