Special court will deal with Agong, not ICC: lawyer

The Malaysian special court for Malay rulers will deal with any offences committed by the Yang Di Pertuan Agong and not the International Criminal Court (ICC), said lawyer Edmund Bon (above) today.

He said Malaysia acceding to the Rome Statute had no effect on the king and the Malay rulers as Malaysia has a working legal system.

Thus, he pointed out, there was no reason for the ICC to step in to try cases against the Malay rulers.

"There is already limited immunity in our Federal Constitution and if the Yang Di Pertuan Agong commits a crime, he has to go through this special court. That is still being maintained," Bon told reporters.

He was met during a symposium on the plight of the Rohingyas held at the International Islamic University in Gombak.

"In an unlikely event, if a case is brought against the Yang Di Pertuan Agong here in Malaysia, we will just say that there is a system here that is working.

"Therefore, the ICC doesn't need to step in."

Elaborating further, Bon said the Malaysian king would also not be subject to the ICC in the event of a war as he would be acting under the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet.

He said while there were certain cases where the Yang Di Pertuan Agong can say “No” to the prime minister and the cabinet, a declaration of war was not one of them.

"Legally speaking, the position is like what the Foreign Ministry said,” said Bon.

Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah announced that Malaysia has signed the instrument to accede to the Rome Statute of the ICC.

This received criticisms, including from Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar who accused Putrajaya of having violated the Federal Constitution by signing the Rome Statute.

Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail also weighed in and accused Putrajaya of undermining the Conference of Rulers by acceding to the treaty without prior consultation.

He claimed the move would render the Malay rulers irrelevant and affect the status of Malays and Islam.

Bon said the only event for which the Yang Di Pertuan Agong would have to take responsibility is when he declares a state of emergency under Article 150 of the Federal Constitution.

Saying that a proclamation of emergency was "very rare", Bon pointed out the king would also have the power to withdraw Malaysia from the Rome Statute during such an incident.

"If he wants, because under (Article) 150 it says that he is the king, and he (can) withdraw (Malaysia) from the ICC.

On the Rome Statute's impact on Rohingya refugees, Bon said it had limited Malaysia's options to file a case to the ICC on their genocide.

He said by signing the statute, Malaysia could only file cases with the ICC after the effective date of signing which would be in June this year.

The Rome Statute allows the ICC to prosecute four core international crimes in situations where countries are unable or unwilling" to do so themselves.

The four are genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. As of March, 124 states are party to the statute. - Mkini