High Court to decide legality of Najib's royal addendum, house arrest - Law experts
The decision will be made by the judge after evaluating the facts and laws.
SHAH ALAM - The Kuala Lumpur High Court will finalise the issue concerning the royal addendum over Datuk Seri Najib Razak's house arrest, including whether it should be implemented immediately if the decree by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong is found to comply with legal provisions.
Constitutional law expert Professor Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmood said the decision will be made by the judge after evaluating the facts and laws, following the Court of Appeal’s ruling on Monday, which allowed the former prime minister to initiate judicial review proceedings to confirm and address the existence of the additional decree.
"Whether the royal addendum is valid or not is a legal question that only the court can decide after hearing arguments from both sides.
"This is because there is no provision regarding a decree outside the (Pardons Board) or the royal addendum of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, as it is not stated under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution.
"So, if it exists outside of that, it is up to the court. The court will interpret whether the prerogative powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong also include decisions outside the Pardons Board," he told Sinar.
He this when asked whether the royal addendum would be valid if it was not brought into a meeting of the Pardons Board, even if it indeed existed.
On Monday, senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan informed the Court of Appeal that the royal addendum had never been discussed or raised during the 61st Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting on Jan 29, last year.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the Prisons Department had never received any order from the Pardons Board to allow Najib to serve the remainder of his prison sentence at home.
Previously, Najib's defence team submitted a copy of the royal addendum obtained from the personal record of the Sultan of Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
They also submitted a letter from the Pahang palace confirming that Al-Sultan Abdullah had approved Najib's house arrest during his tenure as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The Court of Appeal subsequently set Jan 13 for case management at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Kamal said based on the arguments presented by both the government and Najib's defence, the High Court would determine the validity of the decree.
"Once again, I stress that further questions regarding the royal addendum can only be answered by law, that is, the court. So, let us await the proceedings at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
"We must understand that the issue of the royal addendum is unprecedented and it is also not stipulated under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution. Therefore, the arguments in court will be highly significant," he explained.
Another constitutional law expert, Associate Professor Datuk Dr Wan Ahmad Fauzi Wan Husain said the Court of Appeal only granted the judicial review application but has not yet ruled on the legality of the royal addendum.
"Based on the arguments of the federal counsel, the pardon decision was signed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong first and did not involve the royal addendum. So, can Najib's defence challenge the Pardons Board's decision through a judicial review?," he said.
He added that the High Court would also decide whether His Majesty has absolute power to issue the royal addendum if it was indeed made outside the Pardons Board meeting.
"The government is not questioning the existence of the royal addendum, but whether it constitutes a prerogative decision of His Majesty under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution is something that will be determined by the High Court later," he said.
