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GUEST  OF HONOUR

YA Datuk Dr. Haji Hamid Sultan bin Abu Backer*
Judge of the Court of Appeal, Malaysia

SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE GUEST OF HONOUR

Assalamualaikum, Salam Sejahtera and a very good evening to all the distinguished guests, judges, Honourable Jurists - Mr. Ranajit Dam, Managing Editor, Legal Media Group, Thomson Reuters; Mr. Thavakumar Kandiahpillai, President of the Malaysian Corporate Counsel Association and Mr. Sudharsanan Thillainathan, President of the Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators.
 

Ladies and Gentlemen,
 

It is a great pleasure for me to be here to meet and honour the noble jurists who have contributed as well as those who are contributing towards the Rule of Law.
 

Rule of Law in democratic nation generally means the State is governed by laws which are not arbitrary and are fairly applied and enforced.  Various authors and jurist have defined Rule of Law according to the ideals they are intended to achieve.  What is essential to note is that arbitrariness in formulating the law or the application of the law is an antithesis to the concept of Rule of Law as advocated by almost all great jurists.  Arbitrary formulation of the law and its application is an anathema to the Rule of Law and is often referred to as Rule by Law which basically relates to an authoritarian state.  Authoritarian states do not subscribe to democratic values as well as notion of fairness and justice of universal nature.  Thus, failure to subscribe to the Rule of Law entails oppression on humanity itself.

The application of Rule of Law is not an easy subject.  Day to day legislature, executives, judges, lawyers, businessmen, public, etc. be it public or private law, are often struggling to understand the scope and parameters of the Rule of Law and its application.  To compound the problem, the Rule of Law and its application in all nations are not one and the same.
 

For example, the Rule of Law in Malaysia relates to Constitutional Supremacy and the Rule of Law in England relates to Parliamentary Supremacy.  The distinction in its application and the end result in public law field is not one of an apple and orange but a marble and pumpkin.  English cases which we have often relied on, may not be relevant though there may be commonality when it relates to private law.
 

The concept of Rule of Law today dictates every person’s life, undertaking as well as fate.  A breach of the Rule of Law may lead to civil or criminal liability.
 

Rule of Law anchored on the concept of accountability, transparency and good governance often lead to a democratic, civilized and progressive nation, as opposed to Rule by Law.  Rule by Law is a concept often raised by misguided jurists in democratic nations to undermine the concept of the Rule of Law with a purpose to lean towards an authoritarian state.  The conflict between Rule of Law and Rule by Law is often been a subject matter which has been considered in judicial making process in many jurisdictions including England.
 

The beauty of the application of Rule of Law which is based on accountability, transparency and good governance is that it can change a nation perceived to be a desert to an oasis.  The danger of application of Rule by Law is that it can destroy a nation which is perceived to be an oasis to a desert.
 

In most civilized jurisdiction, having a constitution and subscribing to Rule of Law, requires the judiciary to be the supreme policeman to ensure the Constitutional provision are upheld by dictates of Rule of Law which promotes accountability, transparency and good governance.
 

To ensure Rule of Law is maintained, jurists must continuously do research as well as publish critical articles, books, etc. to guide the nation as well as administration of justice.  Malaysian jurists in this respect have done very well as this is reflected in the recent Federal Court judgment of Indra Gandhi Mutho v Pengarah Jabatan Agama Islam Perak & Ors and Other Appeal [2018] 3 CLJ 145, where Rule of Law related to Constitutional Supremacy was affirmed as opposed to Rule of Law related to Parliamentary Supremacy.
 

It is heartening for me to note that the renowned law publisher, Thomson Reuters, as a global contribution to sustain Rule of Law, identifies the top talents in law and rewards them for their outstanding work.  The awards given by Thomson Reuters plays a role in shaping the legal profession to assist in the administration of justice.
 

To the participants and award winners, please accept my heartfelt appreciation, congratulation and salutation for the remarkable contribution you have made towards the study, practice and administration of justice.
 

It is my judgment tonight that any service to the Rule of Law to sustain accountability, transparency and good governance is a service to humanity itself.
 

Well done.
 

Thank you.

DATUK DR. HAJI HAMID SULTAN BIN ABU BACKER

Judge, Court of Appeal Malaysia

 22 March 2018

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*YA Datuk Dr. Haji Hamid Sultan bin Abu Backer, Judge of the Court of Appeal, Malaysia and Honorary Visiting Professor of the Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU), India, is a barrister and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.  He is a graduate in Economics and an honours and masters degree holder from the University of London in Insurance, Shipping and Syariah Law.  He holds post-graduate diplomas in Islamic Banking and Finance and in Syariah Law and Practice from the International Islamic University Malaysia.  

He was a member of the Malaysian Bar Council for more than six years and has served as chairman in various committees. He has been invited as a visiting scholar of the University of Sheffield in United Kingdom and had spoken on enforcement of foreign arbitral awards at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London as well as City University of London; Attorney General's Department, Sri Lanka; The Tamilnadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, India; DSNLU Visakhapatnam, India; University of Leeds, England; Maison du Barreau de Paris, Paris; and EBS Universität Wiesbaden, Germany. He had also spoken on arbitration clause in Islamic finance facilities at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar. He participates in various activities of universities as an examiner of PhD thesis, external examiner and guest speaker. He had written on various subjects, inclusive of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Conveyancing, Islamic Banking, International and Domestic Arbitration and other areas of commercial law. His works enhance the libraries of law firms and the chambers of judges. His books are used not only as textbooks in all institutions of higher learning offering law, but also used as reference by those involved in the practice and administration of law in Malaysia. His doctorate thesis was on Civil Procedure and Justice.  He has written about one thousand judgments which cover most areas of law.

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