Warrant of arrest issued against lawyer absent in court
Thursday, 06 February 2003 12:00am
The Bar Council refers with concern to the arrest of Encik Amran Arif, a lawyer on 5 February 2003, pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued by the Syariah High Court in Ipoh. The warrant was purportedly issued under section 37(b) of the Criminal Procedure (Syariah) Code 1994, Perak ('the Code').
In cases where a lawyer is absent in court without prior notice, the Court may postpone the case to another date when it may then obtain an explanation from the lawyer for his failure to appear in court. Alternatively, the Court may proceed with the case in the absence of the lawyer. If the previous conduct of the lawyer in being absent without notice has been such as to amount to contempt of the Court, the Court may cite him or her for contempt or lodge a complaint with the Disciplinary Board.
The Bar Council is of the view that the mere absence of an advocate and solicitor in a court proceeding cannot form the basis of an arrest and any arrest is wrong in law. Section 37(b) of the Code clearly only applies to cases where the accused himself is absent in court and does not apply to the counsel for the accused.
In view of the above, the Bar Council calls upon the Syariah High Court to cancel the warrant of arrest.
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