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Newly-formed committee to push for judicial reforms
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Zaid reaches out to media for law reforms
©New
Straits Times (Used by permission)
PUTRAJAYA: The much talked about judicial reforms are not only centred on the
setting up of the Judicial Appointments Commission, restoring judicial powers or
even making ex gratia payments.
"The reforms are much broader," said Minister in the Prime
Minister's Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
"It has a lot to do with setting up a justice system which is people-friendly."
And following years of debates and discussions on the reforms, Zaid now wants
action.
"This is the time to implement those reforms, not to conduct more studies."
Zaid said since he took over the law portfolio two months
ago, he had set up a high-powered committee to implement the changes needed to
restore public confidence in the judiciary.
The committee, comprising members from the Attorney-General's Chambers, the
judiciary and legal fraternity, has met once and has started work on
implementing the changes.
They are looking at drafting new laws and changing existing ones to ensure the
judiciary is more people-friendly.
Zaid said the committee's first meeting was not merely discussions on what
reforms needed to be introduced but rather how to implement them.
"There will be those who will not be happy with the changes. A lot of people
won't like it. They will try to find excuses. My position is very clear. You
cannot use the law as an excuse to cover your inefficiencies.
"We want to reform the court system so people will think it is accessible, quick
and efficient. This is the crux of reform."
The reforms include:
- Preventing unnecessary postponements of cases which delay trials.
Zaid said lawyers must take a serious view on such matters and only ask for
adjournments for valid reasons. The courts, too, must not be seen as easily
granting postponements.
- The issue of bail and remand prisoners.
Zaid said the government was concerned about this and wanted to know if the bail
amount imposed by the courts was too much, to the extent that the accused could
not raise the money.
Zaid said if accused cannot post bail, they would be in prison and this would be
a financial burden on the part of the government.
"I have suggested to the authorities that we should be more realistic. It is a
burden on taxpayers and we cannot afford to continue building prisons," he said,
adding that this issue had been raised with the chief justice (Tun Abdul Hamid
Mohamed).
- Resolving civil cases by way of mediation.
Zaid is placing much importance on mediation as a way to clear up the backlog of
cases. He said existing laws needed to be changed to make mediation work.
"Judges, too, must be receptive to this change."
- Plea bargaining.
This is where the prosecution and the defence come to an agreement before the
case goes to court. This is to prevent lengthy trials.
"This is an area I am interested to develop. We have to make amendments to the
criminal procedure code but there must be a process for this system to work."
- Pre-trial conference or criminal case management.
Zaid said that the justice system must be transparent at every stage, the court
premises must be a friendly environment and the public easily understand the
proceedings.
"The court cannot be a cloistered place and changes can only take place if there
is accountability and transparency," Zaid told a media briefing.
On another matter, Zaid said judges were not untouchable and that the public
expected them to do their duties like anyone else.
"We don't tell them how to decide or how to write their judgments. You (the
media) must make judges accountable, just like elected representatives."
He said the public had the right to know if judges did not write judgments.
"It is only through a judgment, we can see his intellect, thought process and
sense of justice. These are qualities of a judge. If you cannot write
(judgments), then you should not be a judge."
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