By Neville Spykerman - The Malaysian Insider
Bar Council chairman, Ragunath Kesavan speaking to the media after chairing the EGM in Kuala Lumpur today . - Picture by Jack Ooi
Council chairman Ragunath Kesavan said that while the council welcomes the move for early hearing and disposal of cases in court, it opposes the fact that disposal of cases seems to have become the main KPI criteria for judges.
Ragunath was speaking to the press after the Bar held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to address mounting complaints by lawyers that judges were not willing to grant postponements even for valid reasons.
“Quantity (of cases disposed of) has overtaken over quality of judgment dispensed.
“Justice must never give way to speed.” he said, adding that some judges have stopped exercising their judicial discretion on when to adjourn cases.
The call to reduce the backlog of cases is part of Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi’s initiative to reform the judiciary but concerns have been raised that the KPI is also reducing judicial independence to ensure justice.
The Bar today resolved to meet Zaki and urged him to revoke any administrative directions which are contrary to the principle of judicial independence or which have caused hardship to lawyers and their clients.
“The backlog of cases was compounded over the last 10 or 15 years and we cannot expect the problems to be resolved in just six months or even a year,” said Ragunath, who added that the matter should be handled realistically.
Ragunath added that the Bar, in passing the resolution, was not on a collision course with Zaki or judiciary but was actually urging the chief justice to work with lawyers to ensure integrity in the administration of justice.
“We want to ensure justice is in no instance sacrificed in any obsession for speed or expediency.”
Over 560 lawyers attended the EGM today.
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