Bar chairman Steven Thiru said the proposal by the Chief Justice, to put judicial officers under the sole jurisdiction of the judiciary, would resolve any apparent conflict of interest.

He said the proposal would “inspire more confidence in the decisions of Sessions Court judges and magistrates, whether or not they decide for the prosecution”.

Yesterday, the Chief Justice, Arifin Zakaria, said a draft proposal had been submitted to the Judicial and Legal Service

Commission to place the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court as administrative head of magistrates and Sessions Court judges.

The commission is a unified service commission for both judicial officers such as magistrates and sessions judges and legal officers such as federal counsel and deputy public prosecutors.

All are appointed as legal officers but may be posted to the Judicial Division or the Legal Division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

While the commission oversees appointments, discipline and promotions, the two divisions come under the administrative control of the Attorney-General. He is a member of the commission, together with the heads of the three superior courts and a judge from each superior court.

Arifin said the proposal to provide a separate administrative head for judicial officers would avoid a negative perception of judicial freedom.