KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — Federal Court judge Tan Sri Zainun Ali has been appointed as one of 10 members of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) inaugural Global Judicial Integrity Network.
According to the UNODC, the advisory board will help to identify priority challenges and emerging topics in judicial integrity, and assist judiciaries in addressing those challenges as they arise.
“The Global Judicial Integrity Network is an initiative of paramount importance in strengthening judicial integrity and preventing corruption in the justice system,” said Dimitri Vlassis, chief of the UNODC Crime and Corruption Branch at the closing of the two-day meeting last Tuesday.
“It will be an honour to work with you all as we continue to encourage other judiciaries and stakeholders to join us on this important journey,” he added.
Besides Zainun, fellow members of the network include judicial representatives from other countries.
In 2012, Zainun was elevated to Malaysia’s highest court, making her the fifth female judge in the country to be accorded the honour.
Among the notable cases that the 65-year-old has handled was that of the unilateral conversion of Hindu mother M. Indira Gandhi’s three children to Islam.
Apart from that, Zainun also made a landmark decision last April when she ruled that the 1988 amendment to the Federal Constitution to check the powers of the judiciary was against the country’s supreme law.
