Chief Justice of Malaysia

The Chief Justice of Malaysia (Malay: Ketua Hakim Negara Malaysia), also known as the chief justice of the Federal Court, is the office and title of the head of the Malaysian judiciary system. The title has been in use since 1994, and prior to this it was known as the lord president of the Federal Court. The chief justice is the head of the Federal Court, the apex court of Malaysia. It is the highest position in Malaysian judicial system followed by the president of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia, chief judge of Malaya, and the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak.[3]

Chief Justice of Malaysia
Ketua Hakim Negara Malaysia
Incumbent
Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat
since 2 May 2019
Federal Court of Malaysia
StyleYang Amat Arif[1]
The Right Honourable[1]
Her Ladyship[1]
Member ofFederal Court of Malaysia
SeatPalace of Justice, Putrajaya
NominatorPrime Minister of Malaysia
AppointerYang di-Pertuan Agong
on the recommendation and advice of the Prime Minister
Term lengthmandatory retirement age at 65 or 66 (at request for minimal extension)
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Malaysia
Inaugural holderJames Thompson
as Chief Justice of the Federation of Malaya (1957)
DeputyPresident of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia
SalaryRM36,000 monthly[2]
Websitewww.kehakiman.gov.my
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The current chief justice is Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, since 2 May 2019.

Constitutional basis

The office of Chief Justice of the Federal Court is established under Article 122 of the Constitution of Malaysia, which establishes the then-Supreme Court (now Federal Court) as consisting of a lord president (now chief justice), the chief judges of the High Courts and at least four other judges and such additional judges as may be appointed pursuant to Clause (1A).[4]

Role

The chief justice is first among equals among the judges of the Federal Court, and the position differs little from that of the other judges. All judges, including the chief justice, are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia), on the advice of the prime minister of Malaysia. Under Article 125 of the Malaysian Constitution, they can be removed only by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, on a recommendation from a tribunal consisting of at least five judges who are current or former Federal Court judges.[5][4] Reasons for removal include the chief justice:

  • not following the Judges’ Code of Ethics; or
  • being physically or mentally unable to carry out his or her duties.

The prime minister will then provide the Yang di-Pertuan Agong the reason(s) why the chief justice should be removed. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong will then proceed to set up the tribunal to make a decision.[5]

Chief justices of Malaysia
For Lord Presidents before 1994, see Lord President of the Federal Court.
Chief Justice Born Alma mater Tenure started Tenure ended Duration Prior senior judicial offices
Abdul Hamid Omar 25 March 1929
(died September 1, 2009(2009-09-01) (aged 80))		 Lincoln's Inn 02009-10-01-0310 November 1988 02009-10-01-0324 September 1994 5 years and 319 days
Oklahoma City University
Mohamed Eusoff Chin 02009-10-01-0325 September 1994 02009-10-01-0319 December 2000 6 years and 86 days Chief Judge of Malaya (1994)
Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah 16 September 1938
(age 82)		 Middle Temple 02009-10-01-0320 December 2000 02009-10-01-0314 March 2003 2 years and 85 days
Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim 1 November 1941
(age 79)		 National University of Singapore 02009-10-01-0316 March 2003 02009-10-01-0331 October 2007 4 years and 230 days Judge of the High Court of Malaysia (1989-1995)
Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (1995-2000)
Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2000-2001)
Vrije Universiteit Brussel Chief Judge of Malaya (2001–2002)
President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2002-2003)
Abdul Hamid Mohamad[6] 18 April 1943
(age 77)		 University of Singapore 02009-10-01-032 November 2007 02009-10-01-0318 October 2008 352 days President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2007)
Zaki Azmi[7] 12 September 1945
(age 75)		 Lincoln's Inn 02009-10-01-0318 October 2008 02009-10-01-039 September 2011 2 years and 327 days Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2007)
President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2007–2008)
Arifin Zakaria[8] 1 October 1950
(age 70)		 University of Sheffield 02009-10-01-0312 September 2011 02009-10-01-0331 March 2017 5 years and 201 days Judge of the High Court of Malaysia (1994-2002)
Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2002-2005)
University College London Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2005-2008)
Chief Judge of Malaya (2008–2011)
Mohamed Raus Sharif[9] 4 February 1951
(age 69)		 University of Malaya 02009-10-01-031 April 2017 02009-10-01-0310 July 2018 1 year and 101 days Judge of the High Court of Malaysia (1996-2006)
London School of Economics Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2006-2011)
President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2011–2017)
Richard Malanjum[10] 13 October 1952
(age 68)		 MARA University of Technology 02009-10-01-0311 July 2018 02009-10-01-0312 April 2019 276 days Judge of the High Court of Malaysia (2004-2006)
Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2002-2005)
University of London Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2005-2006)
Gray's Inn Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (2006–2018)
Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat[11] 2 July 1959
(age 61)		 University of Malaya 02009-10-01-032 May 2019 Incumbent 1 year and 276 days Judge of the High Court of Malaysia (2007-2013)
Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2013-2018)
Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2018-2019)

Living former chief justices

See also

References
  1. "Chief Justice | Office of the Chief Registrar, Federal Court of Malaysia". Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  2. Lim, Ida (18 June 2018). "A look at the resignation of Malaysia's two top judges and what's next". Malay Mail. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  3. "The Malaysian Judiciary: Operation of the court". Malaysian Court. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  4. "Constitution of Malaysia 1957". CommonLII. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  5. "My Constitution: Judges and the judiciary". Malay Mail. Malaysian Bar. 30 December 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  6. "Hamid is made the new CJ". Daily Express. 6 December 2007. Archived from the original on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
  7. <"Karpal seeks royal review of Zaki's appointment". Malaysiakini. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  8. "Arifin appointed Chief Justice". The Star (Malaysia). 6 June 2011. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  9. "Md Raus appointed new Chief Justice". The Star (Malaysia). 1 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  10. "Richard Malanjum Ketua Hakim Negara yang baharu". Bernama (in Malay). Berita Harian. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  11. "Tengku Maimun named new chief justice". Free Malaysia Today. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
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