Friday 29 Mar 2024
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PUTRAJAYA (April 1): Judges should decide cases without fear or favour and without any pressure from any quarters even when the cases involve public figures, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said today.

Tengku Maimun said judging cases that attract public attention is not for the faint-hearted, as the decisions for these kinds of cases — no matter the impartiality of the judge — will never be viewed objectively but instead, with intense sentiments.

"Nevertheless, you should not be unduly concerned with what others may say about your decision be it the executive, the legislative branch, people on the street or even your own peers. You must remain steadfast in upholding the Rule of Law.

"It is common to hear judges being labelled as a ‘conservative’ or a ‘liberal’ judge. As far as I am concerned, only one label matters, namely an ‘impartial’ judge. In that regard, you should only be concerned with the law, not any other extraneous matters," she said in her opening remarks at the swearing-in ceremony of new judges at the Palace of Justice.

As such, Tengku Maimun reminded the new judges that they need to be mindful of the concept of judicial power, for the trust and confidence of the people in the judicial system to deliver impartial justice comprises the very foundation of the judiciary.

"You should remain independent and decide cases without fear or favour and without any pressure from any quarters, whether internal or external. You should always act with dignity and perform your duties to the highest standards to uphold and maintain the integrity of your office," she said.

The chief justice also stressed that corruption should not necessarily be only viewed through the lens of the monetary aspect. As identified in the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, she said "integrity encompasses all concepts that refer to the ability of the judicial system or an individual member of the judiciary to not only resist corruption, but to fully respect the core values of independence, impartiality, personal integrity, propriety, equality, competence and diligence".

"While the president of the Court of Appeal, the chief judge of Malaya, the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak and I are responsible for policy matters and are responsible in ensuring that judges comply with such policies, we do not, in any circumstance, direct or dictate your decision. You have complete independence to decide the cases before you, according to the law and the facts. It is my hope that in arriving at every decision in every case, you would keep in mind the various aspects of integrity I mentioned earlier," she added.

The swearing-in ceremony today saw the ascension of five High Court judges to the Court of Appeal, as well as the appointment of nine new judicial commissioners.

The five new Court of Appeal judges are Datuk Ghazali Cha, Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya, Datuk See Mee Chun and Datuk Hashim Hamzah.

Edited ByS Kanagaraju
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