Transmenu powered by JoomlArt.com - Mambo Joomla Professional Templates Club

©The Star (Used by permission)
by Shaila Koshy

KUALA LUMPUR: “Justice delayed is justice denied” is a cardinal principle in the administration of justice but “justice hurried can also be justice denied”, the Bar Council warned.

“Setting definite periods for magistrates and judges to complete cases is a good thing but it must be remembered that public confidence in the system is not based on how many cases are cleared but in a fair trial and reasoned judgments,” said its Criminal Law Committee chairman Datuk V. Sithambaram. 

“Statistics are important to show whether the criminal justice system is moving smoothly and efficiently but too much emphasis on meeting targets is not a healthy trend in the administration of justice.”

He was commenting on a statement by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum that there should not be more than three remand extensions for suspects and that criminal cases must be resolved within three months.

Sithambaram said that one or two remand applications and three months to complete a trial was practical in crimes such as straightforward theft.

“But for the serious and more sophisticated crimes, the prosecution and police may have to wait for chemical and DNA test results and this takes time. There aren’t enough experts to do them. That problem should be addressed, too.

“Also, in my experience, investigating officers are often handling more than three cases simultaneously, making it difficult for them to meet the proposed limits unless more officers are hired.”

Instead, Sithambaram suggested that if the new provision in the Criminal Procedure Code requiring the prosecution to show what it had (such as First Information Report, all exhibits to be tendered in court, any information in favour of the defence) to the defence was more widely practised, cases could be disposed of quicker.

“I can go to the accused and ask for his explanation. If he doesn’t have a good one, I would advise him to plead guilty and mitigate for a lighter sentence, or he would plead guilty to a reduced charge.

“Then again, if I know the prosecution’s case and I show them we have evidence to refute theirs, they can drop the charges completely.“

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed