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

IF YOU have been reading the newspapers, you would notice that there are some drastic moves to improve our court system, especially in the area of trying to expedite court cases.

Our Chief Justice has taken proactive measures to overcome this problem, one that has haunted our country for many years. The Chief Justice must be lauded for taking this initiative.

No doubt that for the past many years, in the eyes of the public, our court system is most of the time a disappointment.

If you ask those who had experienced litigation in court, they will say: “Our court only knows how to postpone cases.”

Each time a case is up for hearing, there are reasons for postponement. The request can come from either the plaintiff, defendant, the lawyers involved or even the court.

It is a normal Malaysian culture that if something happens, fingers will start to point – at everywhere save for ourselves.

If we are to look at the whole picture and take it on a case by case basis, sometimes there are situations where lawyers are at fault. There are also situations where parties or witnesses are at fault.

Maybe the system is such that numerous court attendances need to be part of the process before a hearing date can be fixed.

Regardless of whose fault it is, the fact is the case gets delayed and the complaints continue.

On the other hand, despite the mass complaints against our judiciary, it is also a fact that the number of new cases are increasing all over the country.

Once I was approached by a man in court and while waiting for our case to be called, he started complaining about the court and began relating his bad experiences.

After hearing him out for a while, I asked if he had considered settling the matter out of court since it sounded like he had nothing good to say about the court.

He gave me a surprised look and asked: “Can I do that?” I told him that there was nothing to stop him from settling his matter out of court.

In my view, this is the best thing one can do for oneself when faced with a dispute. If both sides can come to their senses and humble themselves to just sit down and talk with an open heart, many issues can be settled at the table rather than fighting it out without any idea if the matter will be heard soon or even if you are going to win at the end of the day.

The fact that people fail to see the importance of table talk to settle disputes is disheartening. Sitting down at the same table with the right attitude is important so that we can explore all possibilities before we say “see you in court”.

What does table talk mean? It is when both sides recognise that they are equal and they sit down together to talk things out. It is not an “I talk and you listen” situation.

The fact that you are sitting or standing on the same height is significant. It is at the table that communication will start and where the discussion will develop. It may very well be that both sides will soon realise that they are not so much in dispute after all. They do have some common points, interest, view, etc.

Talking can go a long way to strengthening or improving a relationship. Talking can lead you from being a stranger to a friend. The power of sitting down at the same table to eat and drink is a sign of recognising we are all of equal status.

Have you witnessed people fighting to pay the bill? It is a good fight. At the end the waiter is the “victim” as the parties fighting to pay will push him all over. He has to be the middleman for some time before one side decides to let go. However, they continue to laugh and talk after the fight.

Sometimes we come across people who think they are superior to others. The mentality of “I can do this to you but you can’t do the same to me” is really beyond me. Aren’t we all human beings?

For me, the moment we decide to have a table talk, there is a great chance to settle the matter out of court. It is not easy as it need determination, hard work, courage and humility.

However, it is worth trying as it is arguably a much better way of resolving disputes compared with litigation. The basic formula is it takes both hands to clap.

> The writer is a member of the National Young Lawyers Committee of the Bar Council. Putik Lada, or pepper buds in Malay, captures the spirit and intention of this column – a platform for young lawyers to articulate their views and aspirations about the law, justice and a civil society. For more information about the young lawyers, please visit www.malaysianbar.org.my/nylc.