Dec

19

JAC towards Transparent Governance

December 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The passing of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bill marks a step forward towards a more transparent governance. While this is not perfect, it can at least minimise the possibility of another VK Lingam’s case (regardless whether it is true or not). According to the Federal Constitution, the appointment of the senior judges is made based on the advice from the Prime Minister which will consult other senior judges and in the case of High Court in Sabah and Sarawak, the Chief Ministers from the two states as well. At the end of the day, it is up to the prerogative of the Prime Minister to advise the King on who should be appointed.

With the JAC in place, the candidates for the appointment to a senior judge position will be filtered by the commission before being presented to the Prime Minister for the Prime Minister to advise the King. This will restrict the Prime Minister’s choice and reducing the possibilities of appointment based on favouritism by the Prime Minister. The JAC bill is considered the best way to reduce the Prime Minister’s prerogative without amending the Federal Constitution which might take a longer time to be passed especially when the current government does not have a two-third majority in the House of Representatives.

The system and process however, can be further improved by amending the Federal Constitution in allowing the appointment of senior judges based on the advice of the JAC directly. By doing so, the Prime Minister will not be in the picture at all when it come to the appointment of senior judges. This will make a better separation of power between the executive and the judiciary.

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