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The Bar Council views with serious concern the present shortage of judges and judicial commissioners which has produced a severe backlog of cases and calls for fresh appointments to be made as soon as possible.

In August last year, seven judges of the High Court were elevated to the Court of Appeal in order to fill up the ful quota of 15 judges provided for by the Federal Constitution. While cases at the Court of Appeal may now be disposed of at a speedier rate as a result of these appointments, members of the Bar have expressed frustration at delays experienced at the High Court because no further appointments of judges or judicial commissioners have been effected to fill the ensuing gap.

It is timely that the Chief Judge of Malaya Datuk Haidar Mohd Noor has highlighted the problem. The Bar Council calls upon the Government to consider recommendations on appointments to fill the vacancies and act accordingly before the backlog becomes too difficult to overcome. Already courts at Johor Bahru and Ipoh are short of two judges each, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan need one more judge each and Selangor is also short-handed. In addition, several states require more judges and magistrates to sit in the Sessions and Magistrate Courts.

Although cases are expected to be disposed of more quickly in general by the creation of more courts and the implementation of Fast Track and Normal Track systems in Kuala Lumpur last year, the insufficient number of judges to preside over cases may render these laudable improvements nugatory in the overall scheme of things.

Recently, the Bar Council submitted a Memorandum entitled 'Judicial Appointments in Malaysia' to the Chief Justice. The Memorandum proposes certain criteria that should guide the appointments of judges and proposes that the appointment process be entrusted to an independent body to be established called the Judicial Services Commission. In addition, the Memorandum suggests how the process of appointment should be made and addresses the importance of security of tenure in the judiciary. Many of the proposals presented in the Memorandum find their origin and inspiration from the Latimer House Guidelines for the Commonwealth.

It is hoped that the shortage of judges in the courts will be addressed urgently, and that the proposals outlined in the Memorandum will be adopted in the process of appointing new judges to the Bench.