The Bar Council said there is no "credible explanation" for several judges to 'leapfrog' over their more senior colleagues for promotions to the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court today.

The council - which represents 10,000 lawyers - added that the entire process suggested a "lack of propriety".

"The judicial promotions ... has unfortunately confirmed the fears that such an important aspect of our system of justice has been treated with indifference to transparency and objectivity and in the absence of consultation with the Bar," said its chairperson Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari in a statement.