The Bar Council refers to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Bill 1999 which has been tabled for second reading and debate in the Dewan Rakyat. The Bar Council has just had sight of the Bill and would appeal to the Government to refer it to a select committee so that public consultation and input from the various interest groups can be obtained on several issues pertaining to the Bill.
In particular the Bar Council is concerned with the restrictive definition of “human rights”. In the Bill “human rights” refers to Fundamental Liberties as enshrined in Part II of the Federal Constitution. Also Clause 4(4) limits the scope of the application of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 to the extent that it is not inconsistent with the Federal Constitution. It would appear that the Commission is restricted to only protecting the Fundamental Liberties provided for in the Federal Constitution. The Fundamental Liberties as envisaged in the Constitution are restrained by the several restrictive laws which are inconsistent with and contrary to basic human rights principles. Further we already have the Courts to protect any breaches of the Fundamental Liberties spelt out in the Constitution. Human Rights is far wider in scope and also extends to political rights, civil rights, cultural rights and economic and social rights.
Amongst other things, the features of the Bill which need further consideration are the manner of appointment and removal from office of the Commissioners, the term of office of the Commissioners and the funding provisions.
We would therefore appeal to the Government not to rush the Bill through Parliament but obtain the expertise of the interest groups with regard to the ambit, definition and composition of this very important Commission so that a full and proper debate and discussion can be held. As the Commission is an important constitutional vehicle for the promotion and protection of human rights we earnestly hope that the government will accede to our request.
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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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