The allegation that the Bar Council taps lawyers' telephones
Wednesday, 07 March 2001 12:00am
Some time ago a lawyer appeared in the Shah Alam High Court. He did not have a Practising Certificate. He was thus guilty of a Contempt of Court. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment.
He put in an appeal to the Court of Appeal. As is normally the practice when lawyers are personally involved counsel appeared on a watching brief for the Bar Council. During the course of the appeal questions arose as to the role played by the Bar Council in ensuring that lawyers take out their annual Practising Certificates.
In this connection one of the learned Judges of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Datuk Haji Mokhtar bin Haji Sidin, interjected to observe that he knew that the Bar Council tapped the telephones of lawyers. Counsel appearing for the Bar Council immediately stood up and denied this allegation. However, the learned Judge maintained this position.
This allegation has gravely dismayed the Legal Profession, the Bar Council and the staff of the Bar Council’s Secretariat. The allegation was all the more serious as the Judge who made it then held the position of Chairman of the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board.
In view of the seriousness of the allegation a thorough investigation of past and present Council practices was carried out. This revealed that the Bar Council has never caused or participated in tapping of telephones of anyone - lawyer or otherwise.
The Bar Council has no expertise or experience in this area. Neither does it have any desire to participate in such activities particularly as they are illegal.
The Bar Council wrote to the learned Judge a number of times to this effect. The President of the Bar also spoke to Mr Justice Mokhtar Sidin about this.
The learned Judge stated that he had been misreported and he meant to say that the Bar Council always monitors the activities of lawyers. He stated that he would write to the Council to this effect. However, no such letter has been forthcoming and no retraction or clarification has been issued.
Through no fault of its own, the Bar Council has been wrongly described in the course of judicial proceedings as being involved in telephone tapping.
The Bar Council trusts that the record has now been set straight.
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