Bar proposes automatic right to counsel for those on remand
The Bar Council will submit a memorandum to Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim seeking improvement on the court's practice direction on the conduct and responsibilities of magistrates in remand proceeding.
Its chairman Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari said the practice direction needed to be "modified" to ensure that all detainees are given automatic right to be legally represented by a lawyer in a remand proceeding.
He said this in his speech when opening the council's seminar on "Police Powers and Rights of Detainees" at the council's auditorium at Leboh Pasar Besar, Kuala Lumpur today.
The one-day seminar saw a group of speakers both from the council and the judiciary including High Court judge Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin and sessions judge Akhtar Tahir who talked about the problems faced by them in remand proceedings and bail applications.
For the rest of this story and more, subscribe for only RM150 a year. If you're already a subscriber, please sign in.
Sign in Subscribe now