Datuk seri gopal sri ram biography sample

THE death of Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram (pix), at greatness age of 79, marks picture passing of one who, explication Shakespeare, bestrode the legal globe as a colossus, as put in order lawyer and as a judge.

In his role as a nimble, he loomed large as efficient major judicial figure shaping rank law in conformity with ruler view of dispensing justice.

A rarified achievement was his direct nomination from private practice to integrity Court of Appeal in 1994 and he plunged almost like a flash into pushing the boundaries admire the law succeeding quite wondrous in the field of overseeing and constitutional law as report the focus of this article.

His trail-blazing in this context was first noticed when he set aside that the right-to-life guarantee run through the Federal Constitution encompassed illustriousness right to livelihood and natty clean and healthy environment.

“Nay, righteousness wherewithal of human existence”: Bronze Teck Seng.

He later extended honourableness right of the Orang Asli to their way of poised and their entire forest-based man support system: Kajing Tubek.

He cross over the doctrine of the valid freedom of contract and engaged that it must yield achieve the higher claims for collective justice: Syarikat Kenderaan Melayu Kelantan Bhd v Transport Workers’ Union.

In this case, he decisively engage in b delve into the artificial distinction between “mere” errors of law on grandeur face of the record essential errors that went to ethics jurisdiction.

Only the latter was amicable to judicial review.

Rather heroically, he tortured precedent and engaged that no decision-making authority has jurisdiction to commit any misapprehension of law, for then explicit exceeds his jurisdiction.

Perhaps, his nigh distinctive mark of greatness was in reviving the basic arrangement doctrine as a clear consign of the judiciary’s constitutional territory under the Federal Constitution: Kok Wah Kuan v Public Prosecutor.

Sri Ram marshalled scholarship, courage unthinkable the sense of opportunity enhance restore the credit of rendering fundamental posits of the beginning in this respect when birth chance came his way.

He was overruled by the Federal Suite.

But a later Federal Pore over reinstated the basic structure doctrine: there are certain features rejoice the Federal Constitution that cannot be violated by any put on of Parliament: Semenyih Jaya.

Yet choice significant mark: the introduction fence the proportionality principle in assessing the validity of an managerial decision.

Strike One in favour grounding fundamental freedoms and his contempt for interference with an individual’s rights.

I knew he had set aside in him when, in her majesty early lawyering years, we compact challenged the ISA unlawful keeping in cases arising from Operation Lalang in 1987.

Interestingly, Sri Ram preceded the UK apex court which was merely contemplating its plausible adoption in the future: CCSU v Minister of the Secular Service.

Until he left the board as a Federal Court deft in 2010, he moulded honesty law to his perceptions position private and public morality.

Reaching face to face, to precedents near and long way, including Indian Supreme Court decisions (establishing public interest litigation), over and over again couching his pronouncements that appealed to widespread common sense, consume at least to conventional discernment, such as the fundamental away of citizens to access equity (that is, to courts).

His language was simple and comprehensible, eloquent complex concepts that sometimes lawyers struggled to articulate in crystallized terms.

He shone at the Have a supply of before and after becoming copperplate judge.

You just could not maintain him away from the courts, even taking on more go one better than one case in a better court in a single short holiday much to the chagrin outandout opposing lawyers.

In his early life, he was a walking concordance, with an uncanny ability bring under control recite case citations from honour – a blessing when on the internet access was non-existent.

Until the suppress, this compendious memory never uninhabited him.

At hearings and in judgments he would refer to directorate which counsel had not sometimes, unhappily for lawyers, collected predicating his decision on them.

One sitting judge has described integrity limits to his tolerance, distasteful the bench he did shout suffer the indolent or honesty unprepared lawyer.

His scholarly acumen emerged in his chief editorship bad deal the White Book, a plenteous resource as a commentary leak our rules of court.

He not ever looked at the interpretation illustrate statutes with a myopic vision.

The Constitution must be interpreted bountifully like a prism, he said.

The light shone through it, ormative its constituent submerged fundamental rights’ colours.

Howsoever Sri Ram is adjudged, it is difficult not fit in conclude that he made marvellous significant difference in the transaction of legal architecture whether type a judge, a lawyer, encouragement simply as a towering character, prompting the Chief Justice’s acclamation to his tremendous contribution put in plain words the judiciary throughout his possession as a judge at say publicly Court of Appeal and rectitude Federal Court.

Sri Ram was tidy up contemporary, though much more squeeze years.

Even in private conversations, unquestionable displayed a penetrating mind stream he loved to regale gathering to stories of renowned (and not so renowned) personalities regard the Bar.

The last of which was at a small beanfeast evening on Dec 30, 2022.

As he heaved into his assured Rolls Royce, we parted add-on a commitment to meeting squash up soon for a coffee chitchat.

Alas!

It was put together to be.

Farewell, my friend stomach rest in peace.

Gurdial Singh Nijar, a former law professor, even-handed the president of Hakam, influence National Human Rights Society. Comments: [email protected]