Malaysia's Param Cumaraswamy has been awarded this year's Justice Prize by the Peter Gruber Foundation in recognition of his struggle for human dignity and judicial independence within and outside the country.

Recipients of the yearly US$200,000 (RM760,000) cash award and gold medal - to be presented in September at Columbia University Law School in New York City - are chosen by a panel of jurists after worldwide nomination of candidates.

"We are extremely pleased to honour Param Cumaraswamy for standing for justice in his own country and around the world," said foundation chairperson Peter Gruber in a statement.

"His record serves as a call and as an inspiration to all."

The panel includes Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Rosalie Silberman Abella, Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations Christine Chanet; and former Chief Justice of Zimbabwe Anthony Gubbay.

Param, who is president of the Malaysian chapter of Transparency International and vice-president of the International Commission of Jurists, said when contacted that it was a "pleasant surprise" to be awarded the prize.

"I'm glad that whatever little I did has been recognised," said Param.

Founded in 1993, the foundation's awards recognise discoveries and achievements "that produce fundamental shifts in human knowledge and culture".

Defence of judges

In its statement, the foundation recounted how Param in 1986 called on the Kuala Lumpur Pardons Board not to discriminate against a poor labourer's petition for commutation of a death sentence, a statement that landed him in court for sedition. He was later acquitted.

"The people should not be made to feel that in our society today, the severity of the law is meant only for the poor, the meek and the unfortunate, whereas the rich, the powerful and the influential can somehow seek to avoid the same severity," Param had said then.

Despite those charges and other numerous defamation suits for his public comments on external influences on the judiciary, Param was among the first in 1988 to come out in defence of six Supreme Court judges whose independence was threatened by executive powers.

As UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Param has traveled to and reported on Colombia, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Slovakia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and many other countries.

He has also spoken around the world on human rights and judicial independence and intervened in cases of reported violations in more than 100 nations.

Lost pillars

Despite the 17 years that have passed since his "now famous public statement" and the progress made in other countries in the region such as Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand, Param says Malaysia remains far from achieving an ideal level of political and civil rights.

"That landmark judgment (acquitting him of sedition) as far as freedom of expression is concerned was landmark then. The judiciary was very independent then," said Param.

"Since around 1987-1988, we've lost some very important pillars of democracy, such as judicial independence and freedom of the press."

Param was referring to the 'Ops Lalang' crackdown of 1987, which saw a total of 107 arrests and the temporary closure of three newspapers - The Star , Watan and Sin Chew Jit Poh.

"We inherited (from the British) a good structure, a good judiciary, civil service, police and free press. These are the basic tools for democracy. They have not been destroyed but damaged," said Param.

"Now, the struggle is to reinstate and put them back to where they ought to belong."

Asked what he was going to do with the cash prize, Param said a lot of work remains to be done to strengthen the independence of the judiciary not merely within Malaysia but around the world.

"I haven't given (it) much thought, but there's a lot to be done at the international level on building a just system of rule of law, helping judiciaries to be independent, (especially) small countries where their structures need to be improved," he added.