The government must recognise the constitutional position of the judiciary and not interfere with its independence, says a joint report by four international legal groups.

"The extremely powerful executive in Malaysia has not acted with due regard for the essential elements of a free and democratic society based on the rule of law," states the report entitled "Justice in Jeopardy: Malaysia in 2000".

The report from the International Bar Association, the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers of the International Commission of Jurists, the Commonwealth Lawyer's Association and the Union Internationale des Avocats, was released in Geneva on Wednesday.

Two top judges and a jurist, namely judge of Scotland's supreme court Lord Abernethy, appellate judge of Zimbabwe's Supreme Court N J McNally and Indian senior advocate and member of the International Commission of Jurists Dr Rajeev Dhavan made a visit to Kuala Lumpur from April 17-27 last year, following the high profile trial of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

They reported that the independence of the judiciary is under threat and that lawyers are facing difficulties in carrying out their work freely.

The fact-finding mission met a wide variety of persons concerned with the administration of justice in the country, including the Chief Justice, president of the Court of Appeal, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Ibrahim Ali, officers of the Bar Council, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Param Cumaraswamy, former Lord Presidents Tun Mohamed Suffian Hashim and Tun Mohamed Salleh Abas, senior lawyers and NGO representatives.

The 121-page report concluded that there has been an increased threat by the government to the institutional autonomy of the Bar Council and that the relationship between the Bar and judiciary has become strained.

"In cases which are considered of political or economic importance to the executive, there are serious concerns that the judiciary is not independent and this perception is also held by members of the general public," it reported.

"The government must refrain from speaking out publicly against the Bar and its members. Such actions are of vital importance to the well-being of the entire system of justice in Malaysia."

The report highlighted a series of court cases which it said revealed that the legal system was being manipulated for political ends, including the defamation proceedings against Cumaraswamy, and the judgement in the case of former DAP Kota Melaka MP Lim Guan Eng.

Calling on the government and courts to heed the opinion of the International Court of Justice by affirming the immunity of the Special Rapporteur, it also noted that the awards of damages in defamation cases are of such magnitude as to be a means of stifling free speech and expression.

Cumaraswamy faces four libel suits filed by different plaintiffs for damages totalling RM425.6mil, for defamatory language in a 1995 interview he gave to the International Commercial Litigation magazine, entitled "Malaysian Justice on Trial".

The report also expressed serious concern about the fairness of Anwar's trial and the independence and impartiality of the trial judge.

"The use of contempt proceeding against lawyers practising their profession is a serious obstacle to their ability to render services freely and certain provisions of Malaysian legislation are extremely restrictive and well outside the ambit of international standards," the report said.

It also called for the repeal of the Internal Security Act and the Sedition Act and an independent law commission be established to review existing legislation and recommend amendments that are consistent with international human rights law.

Meanwhile, DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang, who was also met by the group during their mission here, described the report as "a terrible indictment on the rule of law and system of justice in Malaysia".

Lim called on Parliament to schedule two days for a special debate on the report, which he said, has again put Malaysia in the dock of international opinion as failing to protect and promote a just rule of law and independent judiciary.

He also urged the newly formed Human Rights Commission to act on the report.

"The ball is now in the court of the commission to demonstrate that it could immediately address a grave human rights concern in the country - the restoration of a just rule of law," Lim said.

The commission, headed by former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam is a 13-member committee set up following the gazetting of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 on Sept 9, 1999.

Full document of "Justice in Jeopardy: Malaysia in 2000" is available at: