JUDGMENT

Thoman LP:

[1] This is an appeal from a decision of the High Court dismissing an application by a Mr Munusamy for an order of certiorari to bring up and quash a decision relating to him made by the Public Services Commission and for an order of mandamus against the Commission.

[2] The facts of the case are not in dispute.

[3] Early in the year 1957 the then Government was engaged in preparing for Independence which was expected later in the year and did in fact come into effect on 31 August. In this connection it was known that under the new Constitution the general public service (and certain other services) would be controlled by a Public Services Commission and that staff would have to be recruited for the diplomatic missions which would have to be set up abroad.

[4] With regard to the first of these matters the then Government nominated a body of persons who would become the Public Services Commission under the new Constitution with a view to their obtaining experience of their future duties. This body of persons was called the "Public Services Commission (Designate)" and had no legal standing. It dealt in an advisory capacity with applications for appointment and other matters but appointments were actually made by the Chief Secretary to the Government.

[5] With regard to the recruitment of persons for overseas missions an advertisement was inserted in the Malay Mail on 19 February 1957. That advertisement commenced as follows:

Applicants are invited from Federal Citizens for posts of ASSISTANT PASSPORT OFFICER for service in Federation of Malaya Government Overseas Missions. Applicants will be selected according to the following order of preference: (i) Serving Assistant Passport Officers and serving Junior Assistant Passport Officers in the Immigration Department who have had not less than five years' service and possess School Certificate. (ii) All serving Government officers who have had five years' service and who possess School Certificate. (iii) Persons not in Government Service who have School Certificate with a credit in English, and who attained the age of 22 but have not attained the age of 30."

[6] It then set out the terms of appointment and concluded by stating that applications should be sent to "the Secretary, Public Services Commission (Designate)".

[7] With regard to that advertisement I pause to make two observations.

[8] First, applications were invited not only from serving public servants but also from persons not in the service of Government.

[9] Second, applicants were required to possess a "School Certificate". By that expression it is said, and this of course is probably true, that the persons issuing the advertisement intended to refer to what is known as the Cambridge School Certificate and it is also said that this certificate is well known to represent a certain standard of educational attainment for persons wishing to be appointed to the service of Government. Perhaps, however, it was not as clear to prospective applicants as it might have been that in this particular case it was such a "School Certificate" that was what was intended. There was room for misunderstanding on the point. At the time there was a great deal of recruitment of public servants. The anticipated expanding activities of an independent Government called for increased staff and, moreover, it was known that large numbers of locally domiciled persons would be required to replace Government servants of foreign domicile who would shortly be departing. Again, in other advertisements relating to Government employment which were published about the same time the expression "Cambridge School Certificate" was used. In the circumstances it was perhaps not so clear as it would be to-day that "School Certificate" meant "Cambridge School Certificate" and, to put it at the lowest, it might not have been wholly absurd to think that for the time being normal educational requirements were being relaxed.

[10] To proceed, on 21 February 1957,