“Judges who accept bribes” must be sacked

Gross judicial misconduct in the judiciary, including:

•Judges who accept bribes;

•Judges who were often seen socializing with lawyers, prosecutors and corporate figures while hearing their cases in court; and

•Judges who were “constantly angry and foul-tempered”.

The Judges’ Code of Ethics was promulgated in 1994 to establish standards for ethical conduct of judges and enhance public confidence in an independent, fair and competent judiciary to deliver justice to all Malaysians, but the chief wrecker of the 1994 Judges’ Code of Ethics was none other than its author, the then Chief Justice, Tun Eusoff Chin, who violated and discredited the Code of Ethics by his own judicial misconduct and impropriety, to the extent that he left the high judicial office in disgrace.

Almost four years have passed, but nothing has been heard of the recast Judges’ Code of Ethics.

Why the Judges’ Code of Ethics had failed in the previous nine years to enhance public confidence in the independence, fairness and competence of the system of justice in Malaysia and how it could be revamped.

In keeping with the principle of public accountability of the judiciary, how the Code of Ethics had worked or failed to work in the previous nine years, how many complaints had been received each year under the Code of Ethics, the number of judges who had been investigated and the outcome of such investigations.

The Judges’ Code of Ethics suffer from three major defects:

•Absence of satisfactory and accountable mechanism for public complaints of breaches of the Judges’ Code of Ethics;

•The Code of Ethics had not been satisfactorily formulated so as to deal in a more comprehensive manner with all instances of judicial improprieties and misconduct as illustrated by the many judicial controversies and scandals; and

•How breaches against the Judges’ Code of Ethics could be invoked against the Chief Justice himself.

Has the Chief Justice been guilty of dereliction of duty in failing to honour his commitment to recast the Judges’ Code of Ethics to fully restore public confidence in the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary?

23/06/10