CLA News / The International Anti-Corruption Court: To Be or Not To Be? Webinar Welcoming Speech by Steven Thiru, President Commonwealth Lawyers Association
The International Anti-Corruption Court: To Be or Not To Be?
13th November 2025
Panel:
- Justice Richard Goldstone,
- Professor Prosper Maguchu,
- Cynthia Gabriel
- Diana Constantinide, our moderator for today’s session.
- Juliette Ibekaku-Nwagwu, Co-Convenor of the CLA Anti-Corruption Committee; and
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to welcome you to this webinar titled ‘The International Anti-Corruption Court: To Be or Not To Be?’, which is our collaboration with the Coalition for the International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC).
Ladies and Gentlemen, it was during my tenure as President of the Malaysian Bar in 2015 – 2017 that the 1MDB scandal first began to unfold, long before charges were ever brought to the courts. We witnessed a sitting Prime Minister implicated in what would become one of the largest corruption scandals in the world, one that shook not just Malaysia’s financial institutions, but the very faith of our people in governance.
When the government eventually changed in 2018, the new administration took decisive steps to reopen the files against the former Prime Minister, culminating in his conviction and imprisonment in 2020.[1] For those of us in the legal profession, we were frustrated by the delay in the judicial process but understood why the prosecutions took time.
However, for many ordinary Malaysians the delay felt intolerable. They saw the machinery of justice turn slowly, while corruption appeared unchecked, and the promise of accountability remained frustratingly distant.
This scenario is not unique to Malaysia. Across the globe, there are countless situations where the trappings of power conceal wrongdoing, where prosecutions hinge on the willingness of a successor regime, and where justice remains elusive, beyond the horizon.
It is precisely because of this gap in domestic accountability that a discussion on establishing an International Anti-Corruption Court is both timely and necessary. While instruments such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) have laid the foundation for global anti-corruption norms and inspired the development of national legislation and institutions, they remain limited in their ability to enforce accountability for grand corruption at the highest levels. Without concrete international mechanisms to prosecute and adjudicate such cases, corruption can too often evade justice, especially when domestic systems are compromised or constrained.[2]
The Commonwealth Lawyers Association has recognised the importance of addressing this gap. I would like to thank Dr. Juliette Ibekaku-Nwagwu, Co-Convenor of the CLA Anti-Corruption Committee, for her leadership, and commitment to this work. Through initiatives such as today’s webinar and collaboration with the Coalition for the International Anti-Corruption Court, we continue to create platforms that encourage robust debate and informed discussion on the potential establishment of such a court. These efforts are vital to promoting accountability, strengthening the rule of law, and inspiring confidence that no one, regardless of position or power, is beyond the reach of justice.
I shall not prolong these introductory remarks, as it is far more important that we turn to the matter at hand and benefit from the insights of our distinguished experts who will guide today’s discussion.
But before I yield the floor, allow me to close with a quote from the late Judge Hilary Squires, the esteemed judge responsible for sentencing Schabir Shaik in 2005 to 15 years’ imprisonment for fraud and corruption at the Durban and Coast Local Division.[3] On the subject of corruption, His Lordship observed:
‘I do not think I am overstating anything when I say that this phenomenon can truly be likened to a cancer, eating away remorselessly at the fabric of corporate probity and extending its baleful effect into all aspects of administrative functions, whether State official or private sector manager. If it is not checked, it becomes systemic, and the aftereffects of systemic corruption can quite readily extend to the corrosion of any confidence in the integrity of anyone who has a duty to discharge, especially a duty to discharge to the public, leading eventually, and unavoidably, to a disaffected populace.’[4]
Ladies and gentlemen, while few would dispute the force and truth of this observation, it prompts reflection. Consider how the World Health Organization (WHO) combats cancer: through comprehensive global strategies focused on prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring, coupled with support for national action plans, standard-setting, and technical assistance to strengthen health systems. Partnerships and capacity-building enable countries to effectively reduce mortality and address specific cancers.[5]
And yet, when we turn to the scourge of corruption, one must ask: what comparable international mechanism exists to remediate this systemic disease?
Thank you.
Steven Thiru
President, Commonwealth Lawyers Association
[1] Al Jazeera English. (2020, July 28). Timeline: How Malaysia’s 1MDB financial scandal unfolded. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/7/28/timeline-how-malaysias-1mdb-financial-scandal-unfolded
[2] Lamb, S. R. (2025). Recent progress toward a proposed International Anti‑Corruption Court: Key features of the draft statute (Policy Brief Series No. 186). Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher. https://www.toaep.org/pbs%E2%80%91pdf/186%E2%80%91lamb/
[3] Old Diocesan Union. (2019, August 2). Passing of friends: Judge Hilary Squires (1949S) | 1932‑2019. Retrieved from https://www.odunion.com/news/passing-of-friends/489/489-Judge-Hilary-Squires-1949S-1932-
[4] S v SHAIK AND OTHERS 2007 (1) SACR 142 (D) p239 https://corruptiontribunal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/AD9-S-v-SHAIK-AND-OTHERS-2007-1-SACR-142-D.pdf
[5] World Health Organization. (2007). The World Health Organization’s fight against cancer: Strategies that prevent, cure and care. World Health Organization. https://www.afro.who.int/publications/world-health-organizations-fight-against-cancer-strategies-prevent-cure-and-care
