Tenure of office of Chief Justice and other judges of High Court

121. Tenure of office of Chief Justice and other judges of High Court (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person holding the office of Chief Justice or other judge of the High Court shall vacate that office when he attains the prescribed age. (2) Notwithstanding that he has attained the age prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1), a person holding the office of Chief Justice or other judge of the High Court may continue in office for so long after attaining that age as may be necessary to enable him to deliver judgement or to do any other thing in relation to proceedings that were commenced before him before he attained that age. (3) The Chief Justice and any other judge of the High Court may be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause) or for misbehaviour and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this section. (4) The Chief Justice and any other judge of the High Court shall be removed from office by the King if the question of his removal has been referred by the King to a tribunal appointed under subsection (5) and the tribunal has advised the King that the Chief Justice or the judge ought to be removed from office for inability as aforesaid or for misbehaviour. (5) If the Prime Minister or, in the case of a puisne judge, the Chief Justice represents to the King that the question of removing a judge under this section ought to be investigated, then - (a) the King shall appoint a tribunal which shall consist of a Chairman and not less than two other members, selected in accordance with the provisions of subsection (6) from among persons who hold or have held high judicial office; and (b) the tribunal shall enquire into the matter and report on the facts thereof to the King and advise the King on what action is to be taken in relation to the Chief Justice or other judge. (6) When the question of removing the Chief Justice is to be investigated the members of the tribunal shall be selected by the Prime Minister, and when the question of removing a puisne judge is to be investigated they shall be selected by the Chief Justice. Page 68 (7) if the question of removing the Chief Justice or a judge from office has been referred to a tribunal under subsection (5), the King, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister in the case of the Chief Justice and acting in accordance with the advice of the Chief Justice in the case of a puisne judge, may suspend the Chief Justice, or as the case may be, the judge, from the exercise of the functions of his office and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the King, acting in accordance with such advice as aforesaid, and shall in any case cease to have effect if the tribunal advises the King that the Chief Justice or the judge should not be removed from office. (8) The prescribed age for the purposes of subsection (1) is the age of seventy-five years or such other age as may be prescribed by Parliament: Provided that an Act of Parliament, to the extent to which it alters the prescribed age after the appointment of a person to be Chief Justice or judge of the High Court, shall not have effect in relation to that person unless he consents that it should have effect.