Haris Ibrahim cited as an example the conduct of Court of Appeal and Federal Court judges in handling appeals on alleged malapportionment and gerrymandering by the Election Commission (EC) in the redelineation exercise before the May 9 polls.
“They ruled that the EC’s proposals were not amenable to judicial review. They shut the door for aggrieved parties to seek legal remedy,” he said.
Haris, who is also an active blogger, said in refusing to dispense justice, the judges had failed to preserve, protect and defend the Federal Constitution.
He was commenting on the resignation of Chief Justice Raus Sharif, effective from July 31. Court of Appeal president Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin will also vacate his position on the same day.
It is unclear whether Raus will be proposing to the prime minister the names of potential candidates to replace him as his resignation is five weeks away.
Retired judges and lawyers have said the prime minister is not obliged to follow any proposal by Raus, who is also chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC).
They said the prime minister can choose to follow a provision in the Federal Constitution which is superior to the JAC Act which came into force in 2009.
They said Article 122B (1) states that judges and all administrative position holders shall be appointed by the king, acting on the advice of the prime minister, after consulting the Conference of Rulers.
Haris said there were many lawyers who were competent and had the requisite integrity to do what needed to be done to restore the independence of the judiciary.
He said in 1994, a precedent had been set to appoint lawyer Gopal Sri Ram directly to the Court of Appeal.
“The government can now appoint an eminent member of the Bar to lead the judiciary,” he said.
Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum and Federal Court judge Zainun Ali have been mentioned as possible candidates for the posts of chief justice and Court of Appeal president.
However, both have less than a year before their mandatory retirement.
Zainun, who is on a six-month extension, will retire on Oct 10 while Malanjum can remain on the bench until April next year if he too obtains an extension.