JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION ACT 2009

This Act comes into operation on a date to be appointed by the Prime Minister by notification in the Gazette.

This Act applies to the appointments of judges of the

Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court and judicial commissioners and shall include the appointments of the Chief

Justice of the Federal Court, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Judge of the High Court in Malaya and the Chief Judge of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak made on or after the commencement of this Act.

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Upholding independence of judiciary

the need to defend that independence;

the need for the judiciary to have the support necessary to enable them to exercise their functions;

the need for public interest to be properly represented in regard to matters relating to the judiciary, the administration of justice and related matters.

Interpretation

the Chief Justice of the Federal Court who shall be the

Chairman;

the President of the Court of Appeal;

the Chief Judge of the High Court in Malaya;

the Chief Judge of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak;

a Federal Court judge to be appointed by the Prime

Minister; and

four eminent persons, who are not members of the executive or other public service, appointed by the Prime

Minister after consulting the Bar Council of Malaysia, the Sabah Law Association, the Advocates Association of Sarawak, the Attorney General of the Federation, the

Attorney General of a State legal service or any other relevant bodies.

The appointment of members of the Commission and the duration of the appointment shall be published in the Gazette.

Tenure of office

A member of the Commission appointed under paragraph 5(1)(f)

shall be disqualified from consideration for any appointment to the superior court during the tenure of his office as a member and for a term of two years after the cessation of his appointment as a member of the Commission.

Allowances

the office of the Chairman is vacant;

the Chairman is absent from duty or from Malaysia; or

the Chairman is, for any other reason, unable to perform his functions.

The President of the Court of Appeal shall, during the period in which he is performing the function of the Chairman under this section, be deemed to be the Chairman of the Commission.

Revocation of appointment and resignation

A member appointed under paragraph 5(1)(f) may at any time resign his office by a written notice addressed to the Prime

Minister.

Vacation of office

he dies;

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there has been proved against him, or he has been convicted of, a charge in respect of—

an offence involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude;

he becomes a bankrupt;

he is of unsound mind or is otherwise incapable of discharging his duties;

he absents himself from three consecutive meetings of the Commission without leave of the Chairman or, in the case of the Chairman, without leave of the Prime

Minister;

his appointment is revoked by the Prime Minister; or

his resignation is accepted by the Prime Minister.

Where the office of a member of the Commission is vacated pursuant to subsection (1), the Prime Minister may appoint any person he deems fit to fill up the vacancy thereby created for the remainder of the term vacated by the member or for the interim period until a new person is appointed to the office or the position held by that member prior to his vacating the office or position.

Any period of appointment made under subsection (2) shall not be taken into consideration in the reckoning of the period of appointment specified in section 6.

Disclosure of interest

A disclosure under subsection (1) shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Commission in which the matter is discussed or deliberated and, after the disclosure, the member—

For the purpose of this section—

“related”, in relation to a member of the Commission, means—

Any member of the Commission who fails to disclose his interest as required under subsection (1) commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.

Protection from personal liability

At least ten days notice in writing or by electronic mail shall be given to the members of the Commission.

The Chairman shall preside at any meeting of the Commission and if for any reason the Chairman is unable to attend, the next most senior judge shall be the chairman.

The quorum of the Commission shall be seven including the Chairman.

If the quorum as provided by subsection (4) is not present due to members being disqualified under section 11 or 25, then the quorum shall not be less than five.

Every member of the Commission present shall be entitled to one vote by secret ballot and in the event of a tie in the number of votes casted, the Chairman or the member of the Commission presiding as the Chairman for the meeting shall have a casting vote.

The Commission may invite any person to attend a meeting of the Commission for the purpose of advising it on any matter under discussion, but that person shall not be entitled to vote at the meeting.

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Minutes

Every meeting of the Commission in respect of the proceedings of which minutes have been so made shall be deemed to have been duly convened and held and all members thereat to have been duly qualified to act.

Validity of acts and proceedings

a vacancy in the membership of, or a defect in the constitution of, the Commission;

the contravention by any member of the Commission of the provisions of section 11; or

an omission, a defect or an irregularity not affecting the merits of the case.

Procedure

The Commission may appoint any of its members to be the chairman or members for the committee.

The Commission may at any time terminate or make any changes in the composition of the members of the committee.

Subject to any regulations made by the Prime Minister, a committee set up by the Commission may determine its own procedure.

The chairman of a committee shall cause the minutes of the meeting to be maintained and kept in a proper form and the copies of the minutes of all meetings shall be submitted to the members of the Commission as soon as may be.

A committee may invite any person who is not a member of the committee to attend any meeting of the committee for the purpose of advising it on any matter under discussion but that person is not entitled to vote at the meeting.

Secretary to the Commission

The Secretary shall be responsible for—

The Secretary shall perform such further duties as the

Commission may from time to time direct.

In discharging his duties the Secretary shall act under the general authority and direction of the Commission.

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Officers and servants of the Commission

Every officer and servant of the Commission shall be subject to the direction, control and supervision of the Secretary.

to select suitably qualified persons who merit appointment as judges of the superior court for the Prime Minister’s consideration;

to receive applications from qualified persons for the selection of judges to the superior court;

to formulate and implement mechanisms for the selection and appointment of judges of the superior court;

to review and recommend programmes to the Prime

Minister to improve the administration of justice;

to make other recommendations about the judiciary; and

to do such other things as it deems fit to enable it to perform its functions effectively or which are incidental to the performance of its functions under this Act.

The Commission shall have all such powers as may be necessary for, or in connection with, or reasonably incidental to, the performance of its functions under this Act.

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In a selection meeting, the Commission shall apply the selection process as prescribed by regulations made under this

Act and—

The Commission in selecting candidates shall take into account amongst others, the following criteria:

A person who is a serving judge or judicial commissioner must not be appointed if he has three or more pending judgments or unwritten grounds of judgments that are overdue by sixty days or more from the date they are deemed to be due.

The Commission in selecting candidates must also take into account the need to encourage diversity in the range of legal expertise and knowledge in the judiciary.

Selection meeting

The Chairman may nominate a judge from amongst the members of the Commission to be the chairman for a selection meeting to consider the selection of persons for vacancies in the

High Courts.

Where the Chairman is incapacitated, disqualified or unavailable, the next most senior judge on the Commission who is not disqualified and is available will be the chairman of the selection meeting.

The quorum for every selection meeting shall be seven.

Any vote taken at the selection meeting must be made by secret ballot and by majority decision.

Disqualification from selection meeting

state who has been selected by the Commission to be recommended for the appointment to the office concerned;

state the reasons for such selection; and

contain any other information the Commission deems necessary to bring to the knowledge of the Prime Minister.

After submitting the report, the Commission shall provide any further information as may be required by the Prime Minister.

Request for further selection by the Prime Minister

The Commission shall, not later than the first meeting of Parliament of the following year, submit its annual report to

Parliament of all its activities during the year to which the report relates.

Obligation of secrecy

No other person who has by any means access to any information or documents relating to the affairs of the Commission shall disclose such information or document.

Where any person ceases to be a member of the Commission, he shall return to the Secretary all papers and documents entrusted to him by virtue of his membership of the Commission.

Any person who contravenes subsection (1), (2) or (3)

commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.

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Giving false information to the Commission

The Prime Minister shall not exercise the powers conferred by this section after the expiration of two years from the date of coming into operation of this Act.

In this section, “modifications” includes amendments, additions, deletions, substitutions, adaptations, variations, alteration and non-application of any provisions of this Act.

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LIST OF AMENDMENTS

Amending law

Short title

In force from

Act A1383

Judicial Appointments Commission

(Amendment) Act 2010 01-11-2010

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LIST OF SECTIONS AMENDED

Section

Amending authority

In force from 3

Act A1383 01-11-2010