©New
Straits Times (Used by permission)
by V. Anbalagan
KUALA LUMPUR: The Bar Council wants additional judges appointed at the Appellate
and Special Powers Division of the High Court here to expedite hearing of cases.
This follows feedback from lawyers that a judge in that division fixed cases registered this year to be heard in 2015.
Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said this was a very important
division because civil cases from the lower courts, judicial reviews arising
from arbitration and industrial court awards were heard here.
"The workload is very heavy and the council feels that additional judges should
be appointed to share the burden of the existing two judicial officers."
She said this in response to lawyers who complained that it was ridiculous for
cases registered this year to be heard seven years later, in 2015.
Meanwhile, the council's Industrial Court Practice Committee
deputy chairman Anand Ponnudurai said that in the 1990s, the division had four
judges to dispose of the high number of cases
"For reasons unknown, it was reduced to two but the number of cases registered
is extremely high."
Anand said justice would be denied if cases were heard after a long delay.
He said that in a case filed recently, a judge in that division could only fix
trial in September 2010 even though a certificate of urgency was attached.
Anand said it was reasonable for the court in this division to hear judicial
review applications within two years after an action was filed, but seven years
was unacceptable.
He said most employers filed judicial reviews to quash the awards of industrial
courts made in favour of workers in unfair dismissal cases.
"The worker will not see the fruit of his litigation at the industrial court
when such matters went to the High Court. What more if a judicial review
application is heard seven years later," he said.
Anand said that a worker had to pay costs should his employer win the case at
the High Court.
"The longer the delay in disposing the case, the higher the costs borne by the
worker. But monetary compensation is not a problem if the employer's case is
dismissed."
Anand said an employee in an unfair dismissal case would have sometimes died by
the time the matter stretched to the Court of Appeal.
"This is the greatest fear we face when the High Court (Special and Appellate
Powers division) takes time to dispose of judicial review applications," he
added.