Is veteran judge Gopal Sri Ram, who is known for his courageous judgments, unqualified to be elevated to the highest court in the land? A parliamentary reply appeared to suggest so.

The Court of Appeal's most senior judge (appointed in 1994) had seen many of his juniors leapfrogging him to sit on the Federal Court. This had left an opposition leader puzzled.

Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) in a question dated April 26 wanted to know why Gopal ( right ) was not ascending the judicial ladder despite his wide experience and ability.

Karpal, a practicing lawyer himself, also noted in his question that Gopal was the only judge to be appointed directly to the Court of Appeal.

(Gopal was a prominent practicing lawyer appointed directly to the appellate court - bypassing the High Court - by then chief justice Eusoff Chin.)

The reply

The reply from Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz read:

"Promotion to the Federal Court will only be made when a superior court judge meets all the conditions stated in clause 13 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary."

The reply also quoted the clause, which stated: "Promotion of judges, wherever such a system exist, should be based on objective factors, in particular ability, integrity and experience."

A copy of Nazri's reply was obtained by malaysiakini yesterday.

Last December, Nazri's deputy M Kayveas admitted in Parliament that many junior judges were overtaking Gopal.

He said that although the veteran judge's name was regularly put up for promotion, it never made the final cut after passing through the conference of rulers.

The appointment of judges are made by the King on the advice of the prime minister after consulting the conference of rulers. The premier would also consult the chief justice.

Due to the lack of transparency in the selection process of judicial appointments, it is not known how junior judges were chosen over their more senior colleagues.

Judicial commission

Commenting on this, Bar Council chairperson Yeo Yang Poh said the written reply reinforced the need for the establishment of a judicial commission to oversee judicial appointments.

He said the commission would make judicial appointments more transparent and accountable as well as deal with questions like why junior judges were favoured over their seniors.

"If we have a commission, this issue can be brought up and discussed in a dignified manner. A better and more transparent decision can be made," he added when contacted.

A memorandum from the Malaysian Bar calling for the establishment of such an independent commission submitted in 2003 had yet to receive a response.

Asked whether Nazri's reply implied that Gopal was unfit to be a federal court judge, Yeo said:

"That is the shortcoming of the present system where it denies a (judge's competence) in a very general manner. It is not convincing.

"The Bar Council has spoken against disregarding seniority. Departure from seniority should only be an exception rather than a rule. It must be done with very good and objective reasons."