Judicial Accountability: A Comparative Note on India and Malaysia

Abstract

India and Malaysia are the countries having similar characteristics of the political system. The self-governed model of Judicial Accountability has been given impetus importance in Malaysia contrary to the Indian legal system. The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill 2012 being a replica of the Judges Enquiry (Amendment) Bill 2005, has been pending before the Parliament for many years. On the other hand, the Malaysian legal system adopted the judicial standards way back in 1986. Inordinate delay on the part of the Indian legal system seems to be a major setback for the image of the biggest democratic country. The severe allegations against judges of the Supreme Court of India and High Courts and aborted efforts of the Parliament in ensuring judicial accountability have inspired the author to take up a comparative study of the topic. The paper starts with a cursory view of the judicial system in India and Malaysia followed by a conceptual analysis of judicial accountability. It outlines the status of judicial accountability as contemplated under the constitutional and legal framework of both countries. It concludes by identifying the similarities, dissimilarities, and best practices of both systems in the context of ideal practices required for judicial accountability.