The use of criminal investigative powers against lawyers representing their clients strikes at the heart of the administration of justice.

This risks turning the machinery of law into an instrument of intimidation against those entrusted with upholding it, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said in welcoming the Court of Appeal’s intervention in the case involving businessperson Albert Tei’s lawyer, Mahajoth Singh.

LFL said such practices amounted to harassment and intimidation, with implications that extended well beyond the lawyers concerned to the public’s fundamental right to effective legal representation.

A three-member Court of Appeal bench yesterday unanimously allowed Mahajoth’s appeal, paving the way for his judicial review challenge against the MACC to be heard on its merits.