In a recent statement, the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Shahrizat Abdul Jalil proposed the establishment of a Family Court to deal with matrimonial and family matters as part of the Malaysian Judicial System. The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Dr. Rais Yatim supported this proposal provided the Government is convinced that there is a need for the establishment of such a Court.
The Bar Council has considered the proposal and supports the idea as the establishment of such a Court would promote specialisation as well as to inject a more humanitarian aspect into the resolution of family and matrimonial matters.
Unlike other legal disputes before the Court, matrimonial and family matters involve, inter alia, issues of divorce, judicial separation, child custody and support, adoption, guardianship of infants and domestic violence cases. These disputes often involve children and young persons. The formal structure of the present Court System may not be entirely appropriate to help resolve disputes of this nature.
With the establishment of a Family Court, it is hoped that all matters may be heard in Chambers and that the Court may even be housed in a separate building away from the present Court houses so as to provide more privacy and confidentiality to the parties concerned. Informal proceedings in Court may prove to be less stressful and traumatic for the parties concerned and this in turn may encourage parties to resolve their differences amicably.
The setting up of such a Court would also promote specialisation by the judges who preside in such a Court. This would promote efficiency. The judges’ expertise will inevitably result in better judgements and lead to a better and faster disposal of cases. Speedy disposal of cases is crucial in family matters as prolonged proceedings would only bring about more hardship to the parties’ relationship and will be a strain on the children involved. This would also ease the workload of our present Courts and reduce the backlog of cases.
Further, a consequence of the establishment of the Family Court may be that the legal cost will be lower. This is important as high legal fees may drain the resources of the parties.
It may be useful for the Government to look at the structure of the Family Court in Australia to determine what is required for establishing the Family Court in Malaysia.
However, our reference to Family Courts in other countries only acts as a starting point. From there, issues of local customs, social norms and religion must also be considered in order for the Court to meet local conditions for the benefit of society as a whole.
It is the Bar Council’s view that the formation of a Family Court would be a welcome addition to our Court System.
In this respect the Bar Council will consider extending the mediation services presently provided by its Malaysian Mediation Centre for commercial disputes to matrimonial and family matters when the Centre is fully operational.
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Talk on Summary Judgement (25 May 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, this talk will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). The talk will be conducted by Ramesh Supramanian. Click on the link above for more details.
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4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
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