The need to have an independent, fair and efficient system of justice has been a recurring concern for Malaysians in the past 2 decades. It is precisely such a system that the Malaysian Bar has been consistently advocating, hoping that it will become a reality in the foreseeable future.
The New Straits Times today highlighted a case that commenced in the Kuantan High Court in 1979, and which was concluded at the High Court only in 1997. Thereafter the appeal was heard and decided by the Court of Appeal in 2003, and the process finally completed at the Federal Court in August 2005. The time it took for that case to be finally disposed of was, unquestionably, far too long. The report also carried comments attributed to the Attorney General to the effect that lawyers are generally the main cause of delay in civil cases.
The fact that the present justice system requires vast improvement in numerous aspects is not in dispute. In seeking to improve any system, one of the first tasks is to identify the causes of its current deficiencies. To that end, Suhakam had recently organized a forum on “The Right to an Expeditious & Fair Trial”. It became clear at the forum that the delay currently experienced at the courts is due to a multitude of factors, including the acute shortage of judges, judicial officers and support staff such as interpreters; and cumbersome and time-wasting procedures such as judges having to painstakingly hand-write notes of proceedings. Suhakam has since released a detailed report, in which it makes several useful recommendations to improve the efficiency of our justice system, which deserve support and serious consideration by the authorities.
While it is not denied that individual lawyers do from time to time contribute towards delay in the disposal of certain cases, it is equally clear that lawyers are not the main cause of delays in court proceedings, civil or criminal.
The Malaysian Bar has for many years been urging the authorities to review our system of justice, including increasing the capacity of its legal infrastructure in order to cope with the ever increasing volume of cases that the system has to handle. This call is again renewed.
It is no doubt important that cases should be disposed of in a speedy and efficient manner. However, in so doing, it must never be forgotten that the need to give a fair trial to each and every case cannot be compromised in the process. Delaying justice is certainly not a desirable state of affairs, but speedily dispensing injustice will be far worse.
2012 Hotel Corporate Rates Attending seminars? Going for a holiday? Click on the link above to check out the list of hotel corporate rates for Members of the Bar, which is updated regularly.
Talk on Intellectual Property Law (10 Feb 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, the talk on “Intellectual Property Law” will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 10 Feb 2012 (Friday). The talk will feature Bahari Yeow Tien Hong. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on the Fundamentals of Bankruptcy Proceedings (21 Feb 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, the seminar on “The Fundamentals of Bankruptcy Proceedings”, featuring Sanjeev Kumar Rasiah, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 21 Feb 2012 (Tuesday). Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on the Fundamentals of Conveyancing (24 Feb 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar featuring Jeremiah R Gurusamy will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 24 Feb 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Mediation Skills Training Course (29 Feb to 4 Mar 2012) Organised by Bar Council, the Mediation Skills Training Course will take place at 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, at Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 29 Feb to 4 Mar 2012 (Wednesday to Sunday). Deadline for registration and payment is 17 Feb 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on “Land Fraud: An Australian Perspective” (13 Mar 2012) Organised by IGIL, GSGSG and UUM COLGIS, this free talk featuring Quintin George Rozario of Delta Law, Brisbane, Australia, will take place at 9:00 am, at Dewan Seminar A, Pusat Konvensyen, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, on 13 Mar 2012 (Tuesday). To RSVP, contact Mr Abutt (04-928 4397; abutt@uum.edu.my).
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The need to have an independent, fair and efficient system of justice has been a recurring concern for Malaysians in the past 2 decades. It is precisely such a system that the Malaysian Bar has been consistently advocating, hoping that it will become a reality in the foreseeable future.
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Circular No 023/2012: Talk on ISO 9001 | 2008 Quality Management System Certification
