Nur Syafiqah binti Mohd Sofian

On the court record

Nur Syafiqah binti Mohd Sofian appears in the corpus in high-profile constitutional and administrative litigation, argued in the High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) and the Federal Court (Mahkamah Persekutuan), concentrated on the judicial review of a royal pardon and on the associated questions of procedure and contempt. Two Federal Court matters, appearing for the respondent, arose at the leave stage of a judicial review and engaged several questions of real constitutional weight. They examined the role of the Attorney General under Order 53 rule 3(3) of the Rules of Court 2012 — whether there is a duty to confirm or disclose documents and where the burden of proof lies on disputed evidence, and the distinction between the Attorney General's procedural and respondent roles. They engaged the admission of fresh evidence at the appellate stage under rule 7(3A) of the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994, and whether that rule codifies or displaces the common-law test in Ladd v Marshall, including the threshold of a 'determining' as against an 'important' influence. And, at their heart, they raised whether a decision of the Pardons Board on a royal pardon is justiciable and subject to judicial review, and whether fresh evidence may be introduced to challenge a pardon under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution. A related High Court matter, appearing for the applicant, concerned leave to commence committal proceedings for contempt, where the alleged contempt arose from the stand taken to oppose leave in the judicial review — it being said to be inconsistent with a knowledge of the existence of an Addendum Order — and engaged the test for granting leave to bring contempt proceedings, the Attorney General's duty of candour at the leave stage, and whether any delay in instituting the proceedings was fatal. Across the appearances the practice is concentrated on the frontier of constitutional and administrative law, where the reviewability of the pardon power and the conduct of the parties at the leave stage are decisive.