Law commission will ensure forward-looking legislation, says ex-judge

 

Retired Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram says Malaysia’s civil and criminal laws need a complete overhaul.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will have forward-looking legislation to meet future challenges if a law commission is put in place, said a retired judge.

Gopal Sri Ram said such a commission could propose amendments to the Federal Constitution, change existing laws and introduce new ones to keep up with changing times.

“Our civil and criminal laws need a complete overhaul, and a dynamic commission is needed to undertake that onerous task,” he told FMT.

Sri Ram said this in response to law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said’s statement that she will propose to the Cabinet that a law commission independent of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) be set up.

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The retired Federal Court judge said the commission could propose legislation to the drafting division of the AGC.

“It will be presented to the Cabinet before being tabled in the federal legislatures for approval,” he said.

The current practice is for the relevant ministries and the AGC to obtain feedback from stakeholders and conduct research before laws are drafted.

United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa and Kenya are some of the Commonwealth nations which have very robust law commissions that frequently propose reforms to their laws.

In June, Azalina had also said there was a need to study and review 147 pieces of legislation that were considered archaic.

Meanwhile, senior lawyer Bastian Pius Vendargon said some basic infrastructure like passing an act of parliament to set up the commission must be put in motion soon.

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“Ideally, it should be chaired by a retired judge and there should be a full-time secretariat to assist the commission,” he added.

Vendargon said specialists in various areas of law and experts from diverse fields such as sociology, medicine, and the economy can sit on the commission.

He added that at present, the nation’s laws are not updated regularly enough to cover developments in the socio-economic, financial, medical and health fields.

Vendargon said a proactive commission could also update laws as and when the Federal Court makes judicial pronouncements in cases that revolve around matters of public interest.

However, he said, the government must ensure the commission is truly independent to perform its function.

“Otherwise, it will be a waste of time and money,” he said, adding that if there was political will for the project, the commission could begin its task within a year. - FMT