A role model for Malaysian Judiciary- Lord Bingham of Cornhill

Recently I came across a judgment from Lord Bingham of Cornhill, and felt curious about His Lordship's background. Hence the finding as below:


Lord Bingham of Cornhill
There was never any real contest for the No 1 slot. Tom Bingham, 74, is regarded as the pre-eminent lawyer of his generation with a brilliant, incisive mind. On top of that, he has held the three posts of Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice and now senior law lord (retiring this year) each with consummate skill. Not for nothing was he made a Knight of the Garter in 2005 — the first judge to be granted the honour. As senior law lord, his influence is far-reaching, both in rulings and over decisions such as who will be his successor — Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers. Key judgments over which he presided include the ruling in the Belmarsh case: the law lords held that it was unlawful, and a breach of human rights, to detain foreign terrorist suspects without charge; another was the ruling that evidence against terror suspects obtained by torture was inadmissible. He went to Sedbergh School and Balliol College, Oxford, reading modern history (an unsuccessful bid in 2003 to be Chancellor at Oxford is his only known setback); then entered the Bar, joining the commercial set Fountain Court Chambers. He was a QC by 1972, appointed a High Court judge in 1980 and promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1986. In 1992 he became Master of the Rolls. His appointment (the choice of Lord Mackay of Clashfern) to be Lord Chief Justice in 1996 was unexpected and caused a stir because of his lack of criminal background but his abilities quickly won over any critics. He became senior law lord in 2000. He favoured incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law (the Human Rights Act 1998) and also divorcing the judicial branch of the House of Lords from Parliament, to create a separate supreme court — he admits to being “very sorry” that he will not be there to take the law lords into that court in the autumn of 2009.
(quoted from UK TimesOnline)


My opinion
Why I label His Lordship as a role model for Malaysian Judiciary? The answer is simply obvious by looking at his instrumental role in separating the Judiciary from the House of Lords (one of the twin pillars of Parliament of England, another House is the House of Commons), which had been a centuries-old constitutional tradition. In short, the bizarre label of 'Judicial Committee of House of Lords' was gone officially in July 2009, and the new Supreme Court totally separated from the House of Lords is born. Any figure in the forefront of supporting Separation of Powers is highly commendable. Status quo of law can never be a road block to a real jurist or judge to realize his aspirations of Rule of Law. Is there any such comparable figure in Malaysia after the then Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram left the highest court of the land? It remains to be seen. As an earnest law student, I will observe the trend of the judicial attitude with an open heart, as I still believe that constitutional democracy and rule of law are still alive in the heart of most Malaysians. Judges' wisdom is needed more than ever in Malaysian history, because politically speaking, a counter-balancing two-party system is gradually moulding up a new climate in terms of political democracy. What we are still lacking of is probably a full bench of independent judicial great minds who are wise in both legal knowledge and world view, yet not insensitive to local issues. Regrettably, one of the great minds has retired. My Lordships in the Judiciary, buck up! Prove to us that Malaysia is really Boleh, please!