[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 10 Sep 1999
Time: 19:06:30
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'Ensure Param's immunity is upheld' PETALING JAYA: The Geneva-based Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers has raised its concern over the Malaysian courts not striking out the suits filed against UN Special Rapporteur Datuk Param Cumaraswamy, whom the World Court had ruled as being entitled to immunity from legal proceedings. The centre, a component of the International Commission of Jurists, urged the Malaysian Government to see that the relevant Malaysian courts upheld Param's immunity.
"It seems that although the Attorney-General informed the Malaysian Chief Justice of the World Court's Opinion, one judge who is considering two of the Special Rapporteur's cases stated that she did not have a copy of the Opinion in her file.
"The attempt to not give effect to the World Opinion became evident on Aug 20, 1999, when one case against the Special Rapporteur was fixed on Sept 29, 1999, for case management for trial directions," it said in a statement issued from Geneva on Wednesday.
It said that the court had previously stayed the proceedings pending the decision of the International Court of Justice.
It said the courts here had not respected the World Court's decision delivered at The Hague on April 28, which was binding on them.
The decision had, by a 14-1 vote, ruled that Param was entitled to immunity from legal proceedings.
Param faces several defamation suits from different plaintiffs for words he had allegedly spoken in an interview he gave to the International Commercial Litigation magazine in 1995.