Joy Wilson Appukuttan, who represents appeals judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer, said Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, the committee chairman, had also notified him that the present panel members would be maintained.
He said the hearing would be held at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya at 3pm on Oct 22.
“I received a reply on these matters from the committee chairman early this week and will get instructions from my client on the next course of action,” he told FMT.
The case is about Hamid’s allegations of judicial interference, which he made at an international conference in Kuala Lumpur in August two years ago.
It led to a suit against the chief justice early last year by Sangeet Kaur Deo, daughter of the late Karpal Singh, accusing the chief justice of failing to defend and preserve the integrity of the judiciary.
Hamid, who is scheduled to retire from the Court of Appeal next year, filed a 65-page affidavit in support of Sangeet’s action, and was issued a show-cause notice.
Joy said he had sought an open hearing for the case, and for the Malaysian Bar and the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to be given copies of the show cause notice and Hamid’s reply to the letter.
“We want them to be present as they have a stake in the administration of justice,” he said.
Joy also wrote to exclude several sitting and retired judges who had been the nexus between the second sodomy trial of Anwar Ibrahim and the sedition case of the late Karpal Singh.
Joy, however, declined to reveal the identity of the judges.
Under Section 5 (1) of the Judges’ Ethics Committee Act 2010, the committee shall consist of persons who hold or have held office as the president of the Court of Appeal, chief judge of the High Court in Malaya, chief judge of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak, judge of the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal or a High Court, as the chief justice thinks fit to appoint.
Section 5 (2) states the chief justice shall be the chairman of the committee, unless he/she is the complainant, in which case the next senior judge shall be the chairman.
In August, FMT reported that the committee had issued Hamid a show cause notice over the affidavit and a judgment he delivered in a criminal appeal involving two Nigerians.
Hamid, among other things, had said in the judgment that the judiciary was expected to act as a check and balance on the executive and legislature, as provided for under the Federal Constitution.
On Sept 8, Hamid replied to the show cause notice, which sources told FMT was quite explosive, where the judge stood by the entire contents of the affidavit and also a 101-page judgment he delivered in early June.
This is the first time that a show cause notice has been issued to a judge since a code of ethics was drawn up in 2009.
Those who violate the code can be given a warning or suspension. The chief justice can propose to the prime minister that the King set up a tribunal to remove the judge.