Dressed in black suits and white shirts, the lawyers held up placards and chanted slogans before commencing their walk to the Prime Minister’s Office at 2.30pm.

Notable figures spotted at the rally included former Bar presidents Ambiga Sreenevasan and Karen Cheah, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar, former attorney-general Tommy Thomas and former Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim.

The rally was organised following the Bar’s call for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry into alleged interference in judicial appointments, which the legal body says poses a serious threat to the doctrine of separation of powers and the rule of law.

Participants began assembling at 2pm, preparing to proceed to the Prime Minister’s Office where they are expected to hand over a memorandum outlining their concerns and demands.

The memorandum’s four demands include having judicial leadership positions filled by judges of integrity with proven track records of quality and clear judgments; and having multiple vacancies in the judiciary filled up quickly to prevent delays to the hearing of court cases.

The Judicial Appointments Commission has listed 31 vacancies which have yet to be filled, including the posts vacated by former chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and former Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, both of whom retired earlier this month.

Besides the top two posts, the Federal Court has two vacancies for judges while the Court of Appeal has three and the High Court, 24.