Simplify Written Judgments, Judges And Magistrates Told
Judges and magistrates were reminded not to dawdle in writing lengthy judgment that would hinder the Judiciary’s effort in clearing backlog cases. Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi said the current development in the judiciary did not accord judges to write lengthy judgments as compared to previously because lengthy judgments would require judges to take more time in their preparation.
“I am encouraging judges to simplify their judgment instead of 100 pages to reduce it to five or 10 pages,” he said at a briefing at the Palace of Justice for delegates comprising presidents and members of law associations of the Asia Pacific countries. He said it was unnecessary to include the facts of the case in the judgment because the facts were contained in the affidavits or record of appeals.
Zaki said judges should instead only concentrate on issues disputed by parties in the court proceedings. However, Zaki viewed that it was up to the judges to write “beautiful and prosperous” judgment but said they should not delay in preparing it. “We will be monitoring. The Chief Judge of Malaya will not grant leave unless he clears his judgment,” he said.
The Chief Justice gave a briefing entitled “The Malaysian Judiciary: Performance, Achievement and Future Planning” to 80 delegates followed by a question-and-answer session.
He said most judges and magistrates were afraid to write short judgments but judges from other countries had been long practicing writing brief judgments. Zaki said he had read judgment from the New Zealand Supreme Court containing only half a page whilst a majority of the judges in the United States of America also wrote brief judgments.
Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria said only a few judges had arrears of judgment while the rest of the judges were up to date.
At a media conference after the briefing, Zaki was steadfast in being strict in granting postponement of cases. He said the Government was losing by the millions if a case were postponed. On a question that expeditious disposal of cases affected justice, the chief justice replied it was on the contrary because a delay in clearing cases would bring injustice to parties particularly the accused person in criminal cases who had to be incarcerated for five to seven years before his case was being heard and disposed off.
He said the judiciary was moving forward by clearing all backlog of cases, improving efficiency, reducing the number of judges, thus saving the Government’s money. Zaki said it was estimated that RM1 million was spent for one judge per year including his salary, the secretary’ salary, the registrar’s and also office expenses. “If I can save on one judge, the government would save RM1 million per year,” he said.
July 27, 2010 22:25 PM
PUTRAJAYA, July 27
BERNAMA
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