Senior lawyer Bastian Pius Vendargon said the AG should exercise sparingly his status as guardian of public interest purely on legal grounds.

“The threshold for applicants to obtain leave and challenge public authorities is low and should be supported, provided it is not frivolous and vexatious,” he said.

Vendargon was talking about a recent trend by the AG to oppose leave applications in cases where there was refusal by the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to register political parties and in constitutional challenges over the suspension of Parliament and state legislatures during the Emergency.

Idrus’ predecessor Tommy Thomas had, soon after his appointment in June 2018, declared the attorney-general’s chambers (AGC) would no longer impose a blanket objection to leave applications in judicial review cases.

He had said he would engage with the Bar and the Rules Committee to repeal the requirement in the Rules of Court for all cause papers to be served on the AGC.

Judicial review applications are filed by aggrieved parties to challenge the decision-making process of public authorities for breaching the rules of natural justice, the written law and the constitution.

An aggrieved party must get leave from the High Court before the merits of the complaints can be heard, and a copy of this application is sent to the AGC.

Lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali said more often than not, government lawyers objected to leave on grounds that the aggrieved parties lacked legal standing to bring an application for judicial review. Ouster clauses in written laws have also excluded the courts from hearing complaints.

“Access to justice is therefore denied when litigants’ full arguments are not heard,” he said.

Rafique said the status of the AG changed once leave was approved as his subordinates (government lawyers) would then be acting to defend the executive’s decision or action.

Lawyer R Kengadharan said a lot of time and resources were wasted with the AG objecting to leave applications.

“Upon a successful appeal, the matter is sent back to the High Court for the merit of the case to be heard,” he said.

Kengadhran said judicial review applications help in the promotion and development of constitutional and administrative law in the country.