Rohana Yusuf next Court of Appeal president?

Istana Kehakiman in Putrajaya houses the Federal Court and Court of Appeal.

PETALING JAYA: Federal Court judge Rohana Yusuf is said to be in the running for the Court of Appeal president’s post following the retirement of Ahmad Maarop tomorrow.

A source said the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) had also recommended Chief Judge of Malaya (CJM) Azahar Mohamed and Federal Court judge Idrus Harun for the post.

“The JAC recommended them when the prime minister asked for more than one name for the position,” the source told FMT.

Section 26 of the JAC Act states the nine-member commission would submit a report to the prime minister recommending the candidate with their reasons.

Section 27 also states that the prime minister can request for two more names for his consideration.

Section 28 states that when the prime minister has accepted the person proposed, he may proceed in accordance with Article 122B of the Federal Constitution.

That provision states the king appoints judges, including the top four judicial administrators, on the advice of the prime minister, after consulting the Conference of Rulers.

Federal Court judge Rohana Yusuf.

Should Rohana be promoted, she would create history as the first woman to hold the position since the inception of the Court of Appeal in 1994.

Rohana, 63, was appointed a judicial commissioner in 2005 and a High Court of Malaya judge in 2011.

She was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2013 and to the Federal Court last year.

In May, the Malaysian judiciary created history when Federal Court judge Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat was appointed the first woman chief justice.

Azahar, 63, who was made a Federal Court judge in 2014 and had vast experience in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, was made Chief Judge of Malaya in August.

Idrus, 64, a former solicitor-general, was promoted straight to the Court of Appeal in September 2014. He was elevated as a Federal Court judge in November last year. - FMT