SHAH ALAM - Appeals at the Court of Appeal typically take about six months to be heard, but the timeline can be shortened in exceptional cases, particularly those involving human rights, according to senior Counsel Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla.
He said lawyers acting for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak could apply for an expedited hearing following the High Court’s rejection of Najib’s application to compel the government to implement the addendum order allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
"The issue in Najib’s application is to seek a reduction of his sentence from prison to house arrest and his remaining sentence is about three years after the reduction.
"Therefore, if the legal team pursues an expedited appeal, the court may fix an earlier hearing date than usual, subject to procedural requirements and the availability of dates at the Court of Appeal," he said.
Haniff said it was likely that Najib had already instructed his legal team to move swiftly after the High Court dismissed the application.
The application was previously rejected by Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Alice Loke Yee Ching, who ruled that the addendum order had never been discussed at the 61st Pardons Board meeting and was not issued in accordance with the procedures stipulated under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution.
Commenting further, Haniff said the ruling indirectly raised questions over the credibility and prerogative powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in matters relating to pardons.
However, he cautioned that all parties should await the full written judgment before drawing further conclusions, noting that the issue surrounding the validity of the addendum order is unprecedented and is the first of its kind to be considered by the courts since independence.