Nallini Pathmanathan (born 23 August 1959) is a Malaysian lawyer who has served as a judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia since November 2018. She is the first female judge of South Asian ethnicity to be elevated to the highest judicial office in Malaysia.[1][2]
Nallini Pathmanathan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia | |
| Assumed office 26 November 2018 | |
| Monarchs | Ahmad Shah (2018-2019) Abdullah (2019–2024) Ibrahim Iskandar (since 2024) |
| Prime Minister | Najib Razak (2018-2019) Mahathir Mohamad (2019–2020) Muhyiddin Yassin (2020–2021) Ismail Sabri Yaakob (2021–2022) Anwar Ibrahim (since 2022) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nallini Pathmanathan 23 August 1959 Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) |
| Citizenship | Malaysia |
| Alma mater | University of London (BSc) University of Westminster (Diploma) |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Early life and education edit
Coming from a family consisting largely of doctors, Nallini initially wished to study medicine. However, she was unable to do so and opted to pursue a degree in physiology.[2][3]
Nallini graduated from the University of London with a Bachelors of Science (BSc) in Physiology in 1982. Upon finishing, she realised that she did not want to further a career in Physiology. On her father's suggestion, she began a law conversion course at the University of Westminster in 1983 and obtained a Diploma in Law.[2] Subsequently, she was called to the English Bar (Middle Temple) in 1984 and to the Malaysian Bar on 15 February 1986.[4]
Career edit
Nallini commenced legal practice in 1986 with Skrine, a law firm in Malaysia, and in 1995, became a partner at the firm. She served as the chairman of the executive committee of Skrine for a few years.[4]
After being appointed as a judicial commissioner on 1 March 2007, Nallini served at the Shah Alam High Court in Selangor. On 14 October 2009, she was elevated as a High Court judge, and served at the Kuala Lumpur High Court. Then, she was elevated as a judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia on 12 September 2014. On 26 November 2018, Nallini was appointed as a judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia. She became the first female judge of South Asian ethnicity to become a judge at the superior courts of Malaysia.[1][4][5]
Nallini served on committees of the Malaysian Bar Council and was a member of the Disciplinary Committee Panel of the Advocates & Solicitors Disciplinary Board. As of 2007, she is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.[4] She is also the chairperson of the Malaysian Middle Temple Alumni Association.[3] She is also the secretary of the Judges' Forum of the International Bar Association.[6]
In 2023, Nallini was appointed to Malaysia's Judicial Appointments Committee for a two-year term.[7] The Judicial Appointments Committee also identified Nallini as a potential candidate for the role of Chief Judge of Malaya, the third highest judicial office in the country.[8]
Notable cases edit
In February 2021, Nallini was part of a seven-member Federal Court bench presiding over a high-profile case aimed at determining if the news portal Malaysiakini, and its editor-in-chief, were guilty of contempt of court over the publication of readers' contemptuous comments. She was the sole dissenter to the decision to impose a RM 500,000 fine on the news portal, stating that the applicant (the Attorney General of Malaysia) had failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that both Malaysiakini and its editor-in-chief knew of said comments and intentionally wanted to publish them.[9]
In November 2021, a five-member panel of the Federal Court, which Nallini was a part of, granted Malaysian citizenship to a 17-year-old stateless teenager who was born in a hospital in Kuala Lumpur and adopted by a Malaysian couple.[10]
In April 2022, Nallini was part of a three-member bench which rendered a unanimous decision to reject an appeal by a Muslim-convert mother and the Federal Territory Registrar of Muallaf to reinstate her unilateral conversion of her two children to Islam. This was in line with a previous Federal Court ruling that the consent of both parents was required before a child born in a civil marriage could be converted to Islam.[11]
In January 2023, Nallini led a five-member panel of the Federal Court in unanimously dismissing two appeals challenging the Election Commission of Malaysia's decision to hold the 15th Malaysian general election in November 2022.[12]
In January 2023, Nallini was part of a three-member bench chaired by the current Chief Justice, Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, which unanimously dismissed an application to appeal and challenge the legality of a royal pardon granted to the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, in 2018.[13]
In August 2023, Nallini and two other Federal Court judges, as part of a three-member panel, unanimously allowed Sisters in Islam (SIS Forum Malaysia) to proceed with its appeal against a fatwa issued by the Selangor religious authorities which labelled the organisation as deviant from Islamic teachings.[14]
Honours edit
Honours of Malaysia edit
Malaysia :
Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2023)[15]
Federal Territory (Malaysia) :
Commander of the Order of the Territorial Crown (PMW) – Datuk (2014)[5]
References edit
- ^ a b "Middle Temple | The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple". www.middletemple.org.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ a b c "The Expansion of Malaysian Jurisprudence" (PDF). AdREM: Journal of the Selangor Bar. 1. Selangor Bar Committee: 60–69. 2022.
- ^ a b "International Women's Day 2021: interview with Judge Nallini Pathmanathan of the Federal Court of Malaysia". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Lawyer Nallini made Judicial Commissioner - The Malaysian Bar". www.malaysianbar.org.my. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ a b "The Hon. Justice Tan Sri Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan". Office of the Chief Registrar, Federal Court of Malaysia. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Officer Listing". www.ibanet.org. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ Reporters, F. M. T. (8 March 2023). "Federal Court judge Nallini Pathmanathan made JAC member". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ Anbalagan, V. (29 September 2023). "3 women frontrunners to be next Chief Judge of Malaya, say sources". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ "Mkini pays RM500,000 fine for contempt of court". The Malaysian Reserve. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Federal Court declares stateless teenager a Malaysian citizen". The Malaysian Reserve. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Muslim-convert mother fails to get leave to appeal to reinstate kids' conversion to Islam". thesun.my. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ "Former Klang MP loses final bid to challenge EC's decision to hold GE15". The Edge Malaysia. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ "Lawyer fails to get leave to challenge Anwar's pardon". The Malaysian Reserve. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Federal Court grants SIS Forum leave to proceed appeal against fatwa labelling it as deviant". thesun.my. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ Khaleeda, Nabilah (5 June 2023). "839 terima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan 2023, ini antara senarainya". Astro AWANI. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)