The Federal Court today rejected Queen's Counsel Cherie Blair's appeal against a decision barring her from representing construction company Fawziah Holdings Sdn Bhd in a RM65 million case involving toll concessionaire Metramac Holdings Sdn Bhd.

A five-member panel of judges led by Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim dismissed Blair's appeal with costs stating that her expertise in public and administrative law was not enough to her admitted before the Malaysian courts.

"We agree with the appellant's (Blair's) counsel that she has fulfilled all the requirements under Section 18 of the Legal Profession Act 1978 (where she has to prove that she is an expert in the field of law that is to be raised in the trial she is seeking to appear).

"However as to Section 18(1)(b) of the act, we agree with the High Court judge's view that such expertise is available among advocates and solicitors in Malaysia. We therefore dismiss the appeal with costs," Ahmad Fairuz said in a brief oral judgment. A detailed written judgment will be made available later

He, however, told parties that the court will not revise the standing precedent in the case of 'Geoffrey Robertson Queen Counsel vs Public Prosecutor' which held that foreign lawyers need not pass the language qualifying test in order to appear before the Malaysian courts.

"We would like to express our reservation on the correctness of that decision. However, we do not propose to deal with the question at this instance. We will deal with the question on another occasion." he said.

Blair - professionally known as Cherie Booth - was not present in court to hear the judgment. It is believed she left for home last night.

On June 6, High Court Judge Datuk Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim ruled that Blair failed to prove that she has the special qualification and experience not available among local lawyers as required under Section 18 of the LPA.

It was also held that there was also nothing to show that she is an expert on judicial bias, the issue which she sought to argue on behalf of Fawziah Holdings who is seeking to defend the RM65 million compensation it won against Metramac.

RM700,000 cost incurred

Today decision means that Fawziah Holdings will have to settle for its current lead counsel Dr Cyrus Das to represent the company in the appeal which has now been set for July 10.

Speaking on the issue of costs, Metramac's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said that the proceedings at the High Court and Federal Court would at least cost RM700,000 for all the five parties that opposed Blair's application.

The parties were the Attorney-General, the Malaysian Bar, the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee, Metramac and interveners of the appeal, former finance minister Daim Zainudin and prominent businessman Abdul Halim Saad.

"It would cost each of us RM70,000 at the High Court and probably another RM70,000 for the proceedings here," Shafee told malaysiakini .

During the appeal, Metramac intends to raise three questions:

  • Whether the creation of trust under the sale agreement amounts to an illegal reduction of capital;

  • Whether the test adopted by the Court of Appeal was correct in its determination that clause 8 of the Signage Agreements is a stipulation by way of penalty named in contract for purposes of Section 75 of the Contract Acts 1950; and

  • Whether the Court of Appeal's adverse remarks or findings show a real danger of bias in the judgment arrived at against Metramac.

    • The court will also hear the applications by Daim and Halim to expunge all references made in relation to them in the written judgment of the Appeals Court.

    Court of Appeal judge Gopal Sri Ram had in his judgment stated that Halim and his business partner Anuar Othman had siphoned off RM32.5 million from Metramac, the owner and operator of the East-West Expressway and the Sungai Besi Expressway, and that they had enjoyed the patronage of Daim.