Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah, now temporarily carrying out Chief Justice's duties, will herself retire in four months' time
Malaysia's judiciary has four top judges:
Chief Justice (CJ) — now vacant
President of the Court of Appeal (PCA) — now vacant
Chief Judge of Malaya (CJM) — held by Hasnah, who will retire this November
Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (CJSS) — held by Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Sebli, who will retire this month
The CJ post became vacant when Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat's six-year tenure ended on July 1, while the second-highest post PCA fell vacant when Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim's tenure of more than two years and five months ended on July 2.
Both Tengku Maimun and Abang Iskandar had retired as they had reached the mandatory retirement age for judges of 66 on July 2 (yesterday) and July 3 (today) respectively, and had not been offered a six-month extension.
Hasnah herself turned 66 on May 15 this year, but is currently serving as CJM on a six-month extension until November 14 this year.
Abdul Rahman turned 66 on January 25, and will continue serving as CJSS until July 24 this year, which is the day before he reaches the age of 66 years and six months.
Under the Federal Constitution's Article 125, Federal Court judges' tenures shall be until 66 years old, but their tenures can be extended by six months if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong approves it.
The top four judges in the judiciary regularly sit as Federal Court judges when deciding on cases at the Federal Court level, besides carrying out their administrative duties in ensuring the smooth running of the Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court.
At the time of writing, there has been no announcements of who will be the next CJ and the next PCA, which are the two top posts in the judiciary.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil was yesterday reported saying that the Cabinet had in its weekly meeting yesterday had only briefly mentioned the matter of the next CJ and that the issue was not discussed in depth
While waiting for the next CJ to be selected and appointed, the judiciary today announced that Hasnah will be performing the CJ's duties until then.
Hasnah will be doing the CJ's duties while also handling the CJM's administration duties involving the High Courts throughout Peninsular Malaysia.
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