It said Raus then proceeded to Istana Negara on the same day to take his oath of office before the king to remain as Chief Justice.
The statement said the administration of oath for additional judges was done in accordance with Article 124 (4) of the Federal Constitution.
That provision states that a person taking the oath on becoming a judge of the Federal Court shall do so in the presence of the Chief Justice or in his absence, the next senior judge available of the Federal Court.
As COA president Zulkefli is the second most senior judge after the Chief Justice.
The statement was issued in response to Friday’s FMT report about whether Raus and Zulkelfi had taken separate oaths as additional judges before assuming their administrative positions.
The statement said Zulkefli took his oath as additional judge before Raus on Sept 28 in his capacity as Chief Justice.
“On the same day, Zulkefli took his oath of office before Court of Appeal senior judge Mohtarudin Baki as provided under Article 124 (2A),” it said.
That provison states that a person taking the oath on becoming the President of the Court of Appeal shall do so in the presence of the senior judge available of that court.
“The Chief Registrar’s Office hereby states that Raus and Zulkefli took their oaths as additional judges before proceeding to take their pledge as chief justice and COA president,” the statement added.
Last week, lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdullah sought clarification whether Raus and Zulkefli had taken their judicial oath as additional judges of the Federal Court.
The lawyer said there appeared no confirmed reports that both judges had taken a separate oath before taking a pledge as chief justice and COA president.
“There may be another constitutional crisis because all their functions in those seats thus far may be unconstitutional and invalid,” he said in a blog posting.
The lawyer said judges were required to take the oath of office as prescribed under the Sixth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.
Haniff said there were no reports of Raus and Zulkefli taking oaths as additional judges, unlike the publicity generated on their reappointment as chief justice and COA president.
On April 1, Raus and Zulkefli were appointed to their current positions.
On July 7, the government announced that the king had consented to the advice of former chief justice Arifin Zakaria to make Raus and Zulkefli as additional judges of the Federal Court under Article 122 (1A).
Such appointment is exclusively reserved for those who have held high judicial office in Malaysia.
It also announced that Raus would be reappointed chief justice for three years from Aug 4 while Zulkelfi would be made COA president for two years effective Sept 28.
Both were supposed to retire on Aug 3 and Sept 27 respectively, after a six-month extension upon turning 66.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, represented by Haniff, and Sabah based lawyer Marcel Jude M S Joseph have filed judicial reviews to revoke the appointments of Raus and Zulkefi.
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