High Court rejects Bar bid to challenge Ahmad Terrirudin’s JAC appointment

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur dismissed the Malaysian Bar's application for a judicial review challenging the appointment of Federal Court judge Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh to the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC).

Justice Norliza Othman ruled that Section 5(1)(e) of the JAC Act 2009 clearly outlines the criteria for such appointments, which had been met.

The court rejected arguments from the Bar regarding illegality and irrationality and emphasized its role in interpreting the law as written.

The Bar's application, which also sought to quash Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's decision and compel further disclosures, included naming Terrirudin, Anwar, and the government as respondents.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — The High Court today dismissed the Malaysian Bar’s application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings challenging the appointment of Federal Court judge Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh to the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), according to a report by Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

Justice Norliza Othman, in delivering her decision, held that Section 5(1)(e) of the JAC Act 2009 was unambiguous.

“Section 5(1)(e) is plain. It specifies the category of person: a Federal Court judge; and the appointing authority: the prime minister, and stops there,” she was quoted as saying.

Since both conditions were met, Norliza said the court could not read non-statutory criteria such as seniority, length of service and freedom from unresolved allegations into the provision, as none of those requirements appeared in the legislation.

The court also rejected the Bar’s arguments on illegality and irrationality, saying unproven allegations and inferences could not form the basis of judicial review.

Norliza emphasised that the court’s role was to interpret the law as enacted by Parliament, FMT reported.

Terrirudin, a former attorney-general, was elevated to the Federal Court in November 2024.

The Bar, which represents about 24,000 lawyers in Peninsular Malaysia, filed the application in February, seeking 11 orders, including a certiorari order to quash Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to appoint Terrirudin to the JAC on Nov 15 last year.

According to the report, Terrirudin is to serve as a JAC member for a two-year term, from the date of his appointment until Nov 14, 2027.

The Bar also sought a mandamus order compelling the prime minister to exercise his prerogative to appoint a member to the JAC in accordance with the law, established conventions and the JAC Act 2009.

It further sought an order compelling Terrirudin to show cause and disclose the basis of his appointment to the JAC.

The Bar named Terrirudin, Anwar and the government as the first to third respondents.

Lawyers Zainur Zakaria, Ambiga Sreenevasan and Steven Thiru represented the Bar, while senior federal counsels Shamsul Bolhassan and Nurhafizza Azizan appeared for the attorney-general.

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吉隆坡高等法院驳回了马来西亚律师公会提出的司法审查申请，该申请旨在挑战联邦法院法官艾哈迈德·特里鲁丁·萨利赫被任命为司法任命委员会（JAC）成员的决定。

诺丽扎·奥斯曼法官裁定，《2009 年司法任命委员会法》第 5(1)(e) 条明确规定了此类任命的标准，而这些标准已经得到满足。

法院驳回了律师协会关于违法性和不合理性的论点，并强调了其在解释法律条文方面的作用。

律师公会的申请还要求撤销总理安华·易卜拉欣的决定并强制进一步披露信息，申请中将特里鲁丁、安华和政府列为被告。

吉隆坡，10 月 5 日讯——据《今日自由马来西亚》（FMT）报道，高等法院今日驳回了马来西亚律师公会提出的申请，该申请旨在对联邦法院法官艾哈迈德·特里鲁丁·萨利赫被任命为司法任命委员会（JAC）一事提起司法审查程序。

诺丽莎·奥斯曼法官在宣判时认为，2009 年 JAC 法案第 5(1)(e) 条的规定是明确的。

“第 5(1)(e) 条规定得很清楚。它明确规定了人员类别：联邦法院法官；以及任命机关：总理，仅此而已，”她被引述说。

由于这两个条件都已满足，诺丽扎表示，法院不能将资历、服务年限和无未决指控等非成文法标准解读为该条款的一部分，因为这些要求都没有出现在立法中。

法院还驳回了律师协会关于违法性和不合理性的论点，称未经证实的指控和推断不能作为司法审查的基础。

据FMT报道，诺丽莎强调，法院的职责是解释议会制定的法律。

前司法部长特里鲁丁于 2024 年 11 月晋升为联邦法院法官。

代表马来西亚半岛约 24,000 名律师的律师公会于 2 月份提交了申请，寻求 11 项命令，其中包括一项调卷令，以撤销安华·易卜拉欣总理去年 11 月 15 日任命特里鲁丁为联合行政委员会成员的决定。

根据该报告，特里鲁丁将担任联合行动委员会成员，任期两年，从任命之日起至 2027 年 11 月 14 日止。

律师协会还寻求强制令，迫使总理行使特权，按照法律、既定惯例和 2009 年《司法任命委员会法案》任命一名成员加入司法任命委员会。

它还要求法院下令强制 Terrirudin 说明理由并披露其被任命为 JAC 的依据。

律师协会将特里鲁丁、安瓦尔和政府列为第一至第三被告。

Zainur Zakaria、Ambiga Sreenevasan 和 Steven Thiru 律师代表律师协会，高级联邦法律顾问 Shamsul Bolhassan 和 Nurhafizza Azizan 代表总检察长出庭。

伊斯兰党议员呼吁对罗兴亚难民采取人道态度，同时有人呼吁加强管控。

审计长报告称，马来西亚的法定债务为1.295万亿令吉，占GDP的63.9%，仍在法定限额之内。

槟城快捷巴士公司（Rapid Penang）为更环保的出行方式做好准备，电动巴士已进入测试轨道。

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