PUTRAJAYA (Sept 19): The Malaysian Bar on Monday (Sept 19) failed in its review application at the Federal Court, of last October’s decision that found the Bar had breached its statutory duty in accepting and publishing a motion to censure senior lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and in awarding damages to be assessed by the High Court.

The move by the Bar to criticise Shafee after it accepted and published a motion against the senior lawyer who had held roadshows in early 2015, followed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s conviction then of sodomy II.

The motion was supposed to be debated during the Malaysian Bar's annual general meeting (AGM) in March 2015 but was stopped from being presented in the AGM due to an injunction imposed and obtained by Shafee.

A three-member bench, led by Federal Court judge Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof, unanimously ruled that the bench was not satisfied that the Malaysian Bar's application to review the earlier decision falls within its powers. The earlier decision was made by another three-member bench chaired by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Rohana Yusuf.

“After due consideration we are not satisfied that this is a fit and proper case that falls within the limited grounds and exceptional circumstances of which the power to review made be exercised as expounded in the landmark decision of the Asean Security Papermill Sdn Bhd,” Zabariah said in dismissing the appeal with no order as to costs.

Zabariah said the case presented before the bench appeared to be an appeal of the earlier panel decision which this panel was not empowered to do.

She said it was not this court’s job to determine whether the previous panel had or had not made a correct decision on the facts and the law as these are matters of opinions and interpretation of the law.

The other members of the Federal Court bench are judges Datuk Seri Hasnah Mohamed Hashim and Datuk Mohd Zabidin Md Diah.

With this decision and dismissal, the High Court can continue to assess damages to be awarded to Shafee.

Last October, Federal Court judge Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli, in writing the unanimous decision, said the Malaysian Bar should have before tabling and publishing the motion against Shafee — for all 15,000 members to view — made a complaint against the senior lawyer for misconduct as stipulated under Section 99(1) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 to the disciplinary board.

The fact that the motion was accepted — published in February 2015 — and made known to its members for it to be debated in the AGM despite Shafee obtaining an injunction to stop it affected his reputation before the matter was brought to the disciplinary board.

For this reason, the apex court ruled Shafee was entitled to claim for defamation.

The Bar led by senior counsel Lambert Rasa Ratnam and Andrew Chiew had applied for a review under Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules, of Abdul Rahman's and the earlier apex court bench’s decision, arguing that the point of breach of statutory duty had not been brought up in the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysian-bar-loses-review-application-shafee-entitled-damages