A three-member apex court bench chaired by Zabariah Yusof said the case was not suitable for review under Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules 1995.
“The review is therefore dismissed but with no order to costs,” said Zabariah, who sat with Hasnah Hashim and Zabidin Diah in an online proceeding.
The Bar filed the application last December to set aside an Oct 21, 2021 ruling, asking also for the case to be reheard.
That judgment also found senior lawyers Tommy Thomas and VC George liable for attempts to discuss Shafee Abdullah’s conduct as deputy public prosecutor (DPP) in Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II case at its annual general meeting (AGM) in 2015.
The Bar wanted the court to use its inherent power to review a previous decision to prevent an injustice or an abuse of process.
Thomas, George and Shafee were also named as respondents.
Judge Abdul Rahman Sebli, who delivered the court’s previous decision, said the Bar was liable to pay damages since it was a statutory body under the LPA.
Following today’s ruling, an assessment of damages will be conducted by the High Court as ordered last year.
Thomas is a former attorney-general who held office from June 2018 to February 2020, while George was a High Court and Court of Appeal judge between 1981 and 1995.
They had jointly submitted a resolution to discuss Shafee’s alleged misconduct at the AGM and to ask the incoming committee to refer the matter to the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board.
Rahman, who sat with Rohana Yusuf and Vernon Ong, said the Bar had no authority to discuss the conduct of lawyers at an AGM as such matters came under the purview of the board.
He said Thomas and George, as senior lawyers, should have known that any allegation of misconduct against another fellow counsel should be referred to the board.
He said the Bar breached the law when it published on its website the motion from the two lawyers.
He said Section 99 of the LPA was clear that any complaint against a lawyer or pupil must first be referred to the board.
On May 26, 2016, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Shafee’s suit. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision. However, the Federal Court overturned those rulings on Oct 20 last year, holding the Bar liable for breach of statutory duty.
Shafee claimed that on Feb 28, 2015, Thomas had submitted a motion for discussion at the AGM on March 14, 2015. The motion was seconded by George.
The motion relates to Shafee’s conduct as DPP in Anwar’s sodomy appeal in the Federal Court and claimed he had violated the legal profession’s rules which prohibited lawyers from publicising themselves.
The motion also alleged that Shafee had taken part in nationwide roadshows with the purpose of insulting a convicted prisoner and to bring attention to his role in Anwar’s conviction.