[JURIST] The Federal Court of Malaysia [official website] ruled Monday that former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim [BBC profile; personal website] can challenge the constitutionality [Constitution, PDF] of his 1998 removal from office by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad [BBC profile]. Anwar was widely expected to succeed Mahathir as prime minister, but Mahathir dismissed him following disagreement on the handling of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The Federal Court will also consider whether Mahathir was authorized to dismiss Anwar without giving notice to the Malaysian head of state. AP has more. Bernama has local coverage.

After his dismissal, Ibrahim was prosecuted, jailed and banned from politics on corruption and sodomy charges [JURIST reports]. The ban on his political activity ended [JURIST report] in April. Since his release from prison in 2004, Anwar has held teaching positions at various universities, most recently at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in the United States, before returning to Malaysia in December 2007. He has also played a significant role in sparking protests of judicial corruption in the country by releasing video excerpts [JURIST reports] allegedly showing former Malaysian Chief Justice Dzaiddin Abdullah admitting to accepting bribes in return for judicial appointments.