Description
The publication of His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah: A Tribute would not have been possible without the unstinting support and encouragement of His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin Shah.
The editing of this publication was both different from and more difficult than others that I had undertaken before. This book is meant to be a tribute to an extraordinary person and his significant contributions, particularly in the area of law. Naturally, reservations and concerns were ever present in our minds as to whether justice could be done in this short publication. It was also an emotional journey. I have to acknowledge at the outset that this publication is but a modest attempt to reflect the passionate interest that His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah had for the law. It is my earnest hope that this publication will be a meaningful gesture in remembrance of His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah, who was indeed a unique Monarch.
The contents of this publication endeavour to offer an insight into a particular aspect of His Royal Highness' contribution to the Nation, namely in the area of the law. It is published in conjunction with the 28th Lecture of the annual Sultan Azlan Shah Law Lectures, the lecture series so aptly named in honour of His Royal Highness, and in which, over the past 27 years, His Royal Highness took a keen and personal interest.
The first part of the publication offers a humble perspective of His Royal Highness' commitment to the law. It includes quotes and highlights from the many important judgments His Royal Highness delivered whilst he was a Judge, Chief Justice (Malaya) or as Lord President of the Federal Court (now renamed Chief Justice of Malaysia), and from the many speeches His Royal Highness delivered during his reign. Whilst most of these speeches have been published in a separate volume (HRH Sultan Azlan Shah, Constitutional Monarchy, Rule of Law and Good Governance, 2004), the well-received speech entitled "Fifty Years of Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law", which His Royal Highness delivered subsequent to the publication of that work, is included in this volume. This volume also includes a chapter entitled "A Perspective of HRH Sultan Azlan Shah's Contribution to the Development of Malaysian Law", comprising the reflections of academics from the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya, that explore and record the significant contributions of His Royal Highness in various branches of the law gleaned from the judgments delivered by His Royal Highness.
The second part of the publication contains the texts of lectures given in His Royal Highness' honour, primarily the Sultan Azlan Shah Law Lectures. It contains the texts of the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Law Lecture delivered by the Right Honourable Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe on 1 December 2011, on the topic "Would it have Made Any Difference: Cause and Effect in Commercial Law"; the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Law Lecture delivered by the Honourable Lord David Pannick QC on 5 September 2011, entitled "Scandalising the Judiciary: Criticism of Judges and the Law of Contempt"; and the 27th Sultan Azlan Shah Law Lecture delivered by the Right Honourable Lord Sumption on 20 November 2013, entitled "The Limits of Law".
