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| LRWC OPINION |
LRWC viewed the charge against Karpal Singh as:
- a grave violation of the privilege that protects lawyers, judges and litigants from criminal and civil liability for words spoken during court proceedings,
- an alarming precedent that not only undermined Mr. Singh's right and duty as a lawyer to fully represent the best interests of his client, but also infringed his right to freedom of expression and
- a violation of international human rights standards.
The Law Society of British Columbia and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, as regulators were concerned:
- about the global independence of lawyers and wanted to communicate that concern to the Bar Council of Malaysia, it must be of concern to us
- that lawyers in Malaysia, a substantial trading partner of Canada's, did not appear to enjoy even the basic constitutional and advocacy rights Canadians lawyers take for granted.
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| LRWC ACTIONS |
- Fact Summary - Preparation of a summary of the facts and legal proceedings relevant to threats to Karpal Singh's right and duty to fully represent his client.
- Letters to the Malaysian Human Rights Commission and the Attorney General of Malaysia, amongst others expressing concern.
- Correspondence with other human rights organizations promoting and protecting advocacy rights including the Bar Human Rights Council of England and Wales, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Bar Association and Amnesty International.
- Press Release - Preparation and distribution of a Press Release.
- Legal Analysis - LRWC produced an article, Lawyers and the Rule of Law of Trial: Sedition in Malaysia" examining the validity of the sedition charge against Mr. Singh within the contexts of: Malaysian national law, international laws and standards, common law principles including rule of law principles and lawyers' privilege and contemporary jurisprudence.
- Investigation - Richard Gibbs Q.C. attended the Karpal Singh sedition trial in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on January 14, 2002.
- Collaboration - The Executive Committee of the Law Society of British Columbia
(LSBS) asked Richard C. Gibbs, Q.C., then Vice-President of the LSBC to attend Karpal Singh's sedition trial as a joint representative of
LRWC, LSBC and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and to report on the independence of the Bar in Malaysia, the independence of the Judiciary in Malaysia, and the fairness of the trial.
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| INVESTIGATION |
Richard Gibbs Q.C., then Vice-President of
the Law Society of British Columbia, attended the Karpal Singh sedition
trial in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on January 14, 2002. Mr. Singh's trial had
previously been adjourned 3 times: from July 2000 to May 2001 and finally
from October 2001 to January 14 2002. David Gibbons Q.C., Bencher of the
Law Society of British Columbia and defense counsel Richard Fowler were
scheduled to attend to hold a watching brief of Mr. Singh's trial both in
July 2000 and May 2001. When the trial commitments of Gibbons and Fowler
precluded their attendance at October 2001 scheduled trial date, Mr. Gibbs
offered to attend.
On October 16, 2001 the trial was again adjourned when lawyers
representing the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, (BHRC),
the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Western Australia
Bar were already in Kuala Lumpur to monitor the trial. Mr. Gibbs not yet
left B.C. when the adjournment was granted. Counsel attending for the BHRC
reported that after Mr. Singh had made an application to have the foreign
lawyer-observers on record, counsel retired to the judge's chambers. Upon
their return to the courtroom it was announced that the trial had been
adjourned by agreement to January 14, 2002.
Mr. Gibbs attended Mr. Singh's January 14 2002 trial as a representative
of LRWC, the Law Society of BC and the Federation of Law Societies of
Canada. The Federation of Law Societies of Canada and the Law Society of
B.C. each adopted resolutions that Mr. Gibbs attend Karpal Singh's trial
and report on the independence of the Bar and the Judiciary in Malaysia
and the fairness of the sedition trial of Karpal Singh.
On January 14 2002, after much argument about the status of both Malaysian
and foreign observers, Malaysia's new Attorney General Datuk Gani Patail
(previously the lead prosecutor in PP v. Anwar Ibrahim) announced that the
sedition charge was being withdrawn! The Attorney General's statement
began by acknowledging that the office of the Public Prosecutor had
"received numerous representations from domestic and international
legal bodies…seeking a reconsideration of the pending charge…"The
Attorney General concluded by saying that after reconsidering the
representations, the public interest and 'circumstances' he was
withdrawing the charge against Mr. Singh.
LRWC believes that 'representations from international legal bodies'
refers to two legal analyses: Michael Birnbaum QC & James Laddie, Re
Karpal Sing: An Opinion, (2000) written for BHRC and G. Davidson, T.
Friesen & M. Jackson, Lawyers and the Rule of Law on Trial: Sedition
in Malaysia (2000) for LRWC.
The continuing willingness of LRWC and other international lawyers groups
to send lawyers to monitor and report on the trial may well have been one
of the 'circumstances' that resulted in the sedition charge being
withdrawn.
While in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Gibbs met with members of the Malaysian bar and
the Bar Council and with the Canadian High Commissioner to Malaysia.
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| RECENT DEVELOPMENTS |
| The Sedition Act is still in force in Malaysia although no other charges have been laid against lawyers since the charge against Mr. Singh was withdrawn in January 2002. |
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RECOMMENDED READING |
Lawyers and the Rule of Law on Trial: Sedition in
Malaysia, G. Davidson, T. Friesen, M. Jackson,
Q.C, (LRWC, Vancouver, May 2000).
Re Karpal Singh: An Opinion, Michael Birnbaum, Q.C. and James Laddie. (2000).
www.barhumanrights.org.uk
Justice in Jeopardy: Malaysia in 2000. International Commission of Jurists, Commonwealth Lawyers' Association, and Union Internationale des
Avocats. (2000). www.ibanet.org |
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