Can Senators be fired? The answer is Yes, and, No. The ‘No’ comes from those who say that the security of tenure of a Senator is unimpeachable. They point to Article 45 (3) of the Federal Constitution, which states that: - ‘… the term of office of a member of the Senate shall be three years and shall not be affected by a dissolution of Parliament.’ A Senator may be appointed twice, making ...
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When former prime minister Najib Razak was charged in court two days ago, the High Court, in the exercise of its criminal jurisdiction and powers, granted an interim gag order. Najib’s lawyer argued that Najib should not be ‘tried by the media.’ The order sought to stop public discussions over the charges pending against Najib. The court said it would hear full arguments on the gag orders later. It nonetheless granted ...
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Whether mass civil disobedience can unravel a tyrannical government is a difficult question to answer. History reveals movements that have succeeded gloriously, or have failed miserably. A tyrannical government would be unfazed by any kind of disobedience. That is one aspect Much also depends on the location of the movement: what works in New York, London or Holland may not work in the Middle East, or some parts of Asia. That depends ...
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Do lawyers obey the law? They must. You cannot argue in court about the rightness of a legal principle unless you are prepared to acknowledge its rightness. And obey it. But as there are bad doctors and bad engineers, some bad lawyers, and some bad judges (one hopes a small number) twist the law beyond recognition. That is ethically wrong. For it shows an intent to disobey the spirit of the law. Such lawyers ...
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Blog , English , For Lawyers
What is the difference between ‘evidential burden of proof’ and ‘legal burden of proof’?
At first sight, these two concepts seem identical. They are not. If you wish to make litigation your career, you need a sound understanding of these concepts. It is not that difficult, really.
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Blog , English , For Lawyers
Is the ex-Chief Justice right? Should the AG be appointed from the Judicial & Legal Services?
In an article entitled, ‘Is the new AG choosing his briefs like a private lawyer? [26 June 2018]’ the ex-Chief Justice, Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamed, suggests that the current Attorney General is unsuited to his job. He says, ‘When Thomas accepted the post of Attorney General, like it or not, by law, [he] is also the public prosecutor. He cannot say he only wants to be Attorney General but not a public ...
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Long ago, Lat drew a cartoon. It compared a study on mosquitoes carried out by a foreign scholar and a Malaysian one. The foreign scholar is shown with a stack of books (volumes 1 to 5). The Malaysian scholar has a wafer-thin manuscript with an arrow that says: ‘Ini adalah nyamuk.’ Do you remember that? Lat should come out of retirement! That just about sums up the state of our schools. Most ...
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I was once asked to answer three questions at once. I think it was on Quora. Since then a lot of people have expressed interest in the questions and the answers I gave. I reproduce them here: Q-1: How difficult is it for a lawyer to set up his own firm? Q-2: How do lawyers advertise their services? Q-3: How do they attract clients to their firms? These were all questions related to the life ...
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There is a gem of a case on Islamic probate law. It was decided in 1994. For some reason it has not been reported. It is a great mystery. This is the story of that case A Muslim man, Ainuddin, died in 1944. As a Muslim he did not leave a will. He had sons and a daughter. Under pre-Independence law, Ainuddin’s residual property passed to his biological children, but in fixed ...
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As most of these articles were written on an iPhone X, and in a great hurry, there were many grammatical errors. I needed second opinions. I needed someone to proof them. I had the help of many. They gave unselfishly of their time and energy. It is proper, therefore, that I record my thanks in writing. My children were indentured into helping—but they did it anyway! To them, I give all my ...
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