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KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- There is a need to set up a specialised court in Malaysia to deal exclusively with shipping and maritime-related matters, said Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum.

He said the establishment of an admiralty court was necessary to cope with the country's booming shipping industry and maritime services sector.

"By setting up the admiralty court, we are telling the world that we are lifting the anchor and setting sail," said Malanjum in his opening speech at a forum organised by the Bar Council entitled "Admiralty Court - The Way Forward".

Malanjum said this was his personal view and did not represent that of the judiciary or any governmental authority.

The forum held at the Bar Council's auditorium was attended by the legal fraternity, officials from the Attorney-General's Chambers and people in the shipping and maritime industry.

Currently, the Commercial Court 3 in Kuala Lumpur is designated to hear admiralty matters.

Malanjum said in order to meet international standards and expectations, judges expert in maritime law should be appointed to the court to ensure that cases were settled judiciously according to correct legal principles and provide litigants with the confidence that their cases were being looked at with a "trained eye".

He said the admiralty court could be used to deal with disputes relating to collisions, salvage, towage, cargo documents, charter parties, marine insurance, ship financing and disagreements concerning seafarers' contracts.

Malanjum said in order to have an efficient and useful admiralty court, it must be fully computerised to enable users of the court system to interface with court personnel through a website, provide user-friendly service where documents could be filed online, applications could be made directly to the admiralty judge via web conferencing and writs issued over the Internet, assuring the people in the industry of a speedy and reliable service.

"After 50 years since independence, it is about time (to set up an admiralty court) and the statistics in the shipping and admiralty business justify it," Malanjum said, adding that he would "lend his strong support to the idea of an admiralty court".

"I see the growth of the maritime services sector. I recognise its potential to grow further. I hear about the needs of the maritime industry. I also see the maritime law as not moving in line with the times and the weaknesses in the present legal structure."

He said the admiralty court could also be a vehicle for judicial reform of the country's maritime law, and that Malaysia would have its fair share of cases that would raise issues for judicial consideration, thus adding to the value of the country's maritime jurisprudence.

"Once such admiralty court has been established to the standard that is acceptable by the industry players, I believe it will help make Malaysia a respected forum to resolve maritime disputes. Gradually we will aim to develop into a forum of choice, just like London, New York and Hong Kong."

After the forum, Bar Council vice-president Ragunath Kesavan said it would be a great opportunity for Malaysia to capitalise on the maritime industry as the court would attract people to relocate in Malaysia instead of Singapore or Hong Kong.

On computerisation of the civil and criminal courts, Ragunath said the courts in Sabah and Sarawak were way ahead of the courts in the peninsula in terms of document filing, video conferencing and keeping track of files.

"What we are trying to impress on the government is that, `you have a system that is working although on a small scale, so why don't you use it in the peninsula'?" he said.

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