The Bar Council refers to the statement of the Y.A.A. the Chief Justice of the Federal Court in respect of the Malaysia Bar’s proposal to have a Contempt of Court Act as reported in a local newspaper (The Star, 6th April 1999).
The Bar Council is mindful of the provisions in the various statutes with regard to the law of contempt of court. What is provided in Article 126 of the Federal Constitution is only an empowering provision and in consequence Section 13 of the Courts of Judicature Act, 1964 and Clause 9 and 26 of the Third Schedule to the Subordinate Courts Act, 1948 merely state that any court has the power to punish any contempt of itself. There is no comprehensive stipulation anywhere of what is conduct amounting to contempt of court. The range of punishment for contempt in the superior courts, namely High Court, Court of Appeal and the Federal Court is also not stipulated.
With the recent spate of contempt cases under a variety of circumstances the need to define the law relating to contempt of court and to provide for certainty in its application, procedure and enforcement is essential for the members of the Bar to dispense their duty in representing the rights of litigants in court without fear or favour.
The present application of common law principles seriously suffers from two drawbacks in relation to the law on contempt of court. It confers a wide discretion on the judiciary to determine in any situation what amounts to contempt. As a result of the varying perception and approaches by the judiciary an uncertain situation is created. This is certainly not acceptable to the members of the Bar and the public, especially where the punishment for contempt is criminal in nature. This uncertainty in the use of contempt power can seriously affect the due representation of the rights of the litigants in court and thereby affect the administration of justice itself.
Article 10 of the Federal Constitution recognises freedom of speech as one of the fundamental liberties. Judiciary as a public institution should be open to comment and criticism for its overall improvement of the services it discharges to the public and to enhance the application and appreciation of the law.
The Commonwealth Statement on Freedom of Expression has duly recognised the need to statutorily define the law relating to contempt.
The Bar Council has therefore formulated a draft contempt of court legislation that seeks to define the law of contempt and its punishment and to set out a comprehensive procedure for dealing with contempt similar to that which has already been done in other Commonwealth jurisdictions. The Bar's proposal will be conveyed to the Government in due course.
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International Malaysia Law Conference (26 to 28 Sept 2012) Hurry up! The countdown continues and the current promotion rate ends 30 June 2012. Don't miss what is going to be the best conference in the region! On top of that, if you sign up with 5 or more people from the same organisation, we will give you a 10% group discount. Click on the link above to register.
Talk on Summary Judgement (25 May 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, this talk will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). The talk will be conducted by Ramesh Supramanian. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on Tax Issues in Financial Transactions (25 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar, featuring S Saravana Kumar, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Dialogue with Criminal Law Practitioners (26 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council, this dialogue will take place at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
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