COMMENT | One of the outstanding features of any legal system is its faithful adherence to precedents. Judges follow precedents in ensuring like cases are treated alike, or in Latin, it is described as similia similibus.

If we were to draw an analogy based on the aforesaid maxim, the current Chief Justice (CJ), Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who will be officially retiring on July 1, 2025, shouldn’t face any problem in having her tenure extended.

Is the extension of the CJ’s judicial tenure without any precedent? The answer is a resounding no.

After all, the tenures of her predecessors, such as Abdul Hamid Mohamad, Arifin Zakaria, and  Richard Malanjum, were all extended. I would characterise such an extension as a good and sound precedent.

Yes, our legal history is also unfortunately mired in a bad precedent.