PUTRAJAYA, Jan17 (Bernama) -- Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi Saturday reminded judges that a just and impartial judicial system can only be created if the people are confident that no member of the government or parliament or anyone at all has the privilege to dictate and influence the decisions of judges.
He said that if judges allowed their decisions to be influenced by anyone, it would tantamount to corruption or abuse of power.
"When this happens, they may choose to neglect their own duties and responsibilities which they have undertaken. They will then indulge in sinful deeds and actions. Sadly, these corrupt practices will affect the public as a whole," Zaki said in his speech at the opening of the Legal Year 2010 at Putrajaya International Convention Centre, here.
The event saw the Judiciary, the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Malaysian Bar gather at the centre and their respective heads giving speeches outlining their expectations for this year.
The event, aimed at bringing together members of the legal fraternity and those connected with it, started off with a short parade led by Zaki. All members wore their ceremonial robes.
Also present at the event were the Chief Justice of Singapore, Chan Sek Keong; the Chief Justice of Brunei Darussalam, Datuk Seri Paduka Kifrawi Datuk Paduka Kifli; the Chief Justice of Guam, Robert Torres, and the President of the Law Society of Singapore, Michael Hwang.
In his speech, Zaki said the Judiciary, Attorney-General's Chambers and the Malaysian Bar must work together to deliver justice in order to make the adversarial system successful.
"The judge, the prosecutor and the defence must play their respective roles in order to deliver justice. It does not start in court. It starts with the law enforcement agencies. No single party can deliver justice without the support of the other," he said.
The chief justice and all the judges also gave their commitment to continue to improve their delivery system as well as assurance that justice will be delivered to the public.
Zaki also reminded the judges to deliver decisions or judgments in court cases as he said that a case without any decision or judgment was considered most unfair compared to making inaccurate decisions after considering the facts of a case.
He said that this year the Judiciary would continue to pursue its main priority in overcoming the delay of disposal of cases and improve its delivery system, including the introduction of a number of innovations to ensure expeditious deliverance of justice to the public.
Zaki said that in order to achieve its aim of disposing of backlog cases, the Judiciary would continue to practice its policy of strict granting of postponement of cases despite the existence of disgruntled parties.
"There are disgruntled parties, I do not deny, but from the figures produced, the Judiciary can hold its head high. I suspect there are not many cases where parties had unfair refusals for requests for postponements," he said.
Zaki also said that it was time for the Judiciary to discuss the possibility of opening its legal system to foreign counsel to pave way for the Judiciary to learn from them.
He said the Judiciary must be able to provide good legal service which was comparable to that provided in the advanced countries if Malaysia wanted to attract more investors.
"The world is going global now. People are not looking at what happens in their own country but to other parts of the world. Malaysia should not be left behind," he said.
Bar Council Chairman Ragunath Kesavan made a call to liberalise the legal services sector by allowing foreign law firms to enter the country on a joint-venture basis.
In his speech, he said the Bar pledged to support the Judiciary's efforts to sustain improvement in its system as well as affirmed its commitment to continue nurturing an open and cordial relationship with the bench and the Attorney-General's Chambers.
"We are heartened to note that our judiciary is revitalised," he said.
Article source:
http://www.kwongwah.com.my/news/2010/01/17/104.html
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