An interlocutory order is a ruling issued by a court while a suit is still ongoing, which does not finally dispose of the case.
Justice Ravinthran Paramaguru, who chaired a three-judge panel, held that the appeal brought by three businessmen seeking to nullify Sections 28 and 68 of the Court of Judicature Act 1964 (CJA), had no merit.
“Any right of appeal is a right granted through a statute. If the law states there is no right of appeal, then an appeal cannot be brought.
“The plaintiffs failed to show how the amendments (to Sections 28 and 68) infringed the Federal Constitution,” he said.
The other judges on the panel were Justices Azimah Omar and Ahmad Kamal Shahid.
No cost was ordered.
Businessmen Ong Saw Yong, Chew Khor Teng and Phang Tee Yong filed a lawsuit to challenge the government over amendments to Sections 28 and 68 of the CJA.
They claimed the amendments violated their constitutional right to freely express their disagreement with a court’s decision.
The amendments came into force in 2022.
The amended Section 28 now prohibits appeals from the lower courts to the High Court on the dismissal of applications for summary judgment, striking out of suits or pleadings, and for the setting aside of default judgment.
Section 68 prohibits the bringing of the same appeals from the High Court to the Court of Appeal.
Pasir Bogak Sdn Bhd had filed a lawsuit against the trio in 2021 to recover up to RM14.5 million from a land sale.
Their joint application to strike out the suit was dismissed by the High Court in 2022.
The suit is now fixed for hearing on July 7.
Earlier today, the businessmen’s lawyer T Manoharan told the court that Dewan Rakyat cannot pass laws that infringe fundamental liberties protected under the Federal Constitution.
However, Azimah said established case laws have stated that a right to appeal is given by statute and is not a constitutional right.
“If the Act of Parliament grants you a right to appeal, it can also abolish it,” she added.
Ravinthran said the deputy law minister at the time had, when tabling the amendments, told the Dewan Rakyat that they would not have the effect of curtailing the rights of litigants to appeal at the conclusion of a civil action.
Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly, appearing for the government, told the court that Ong, Chew, and Phang could still defend the lawsuit, and could appeal the final ruling handed down by the court.