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November 20, 2009 22:04 PM
Penang Bar Objects To Disposal Of Minimum Cases As KPI For Judiciary
PENANG, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- The Penang Bar Committee on Friday unanimously objected to the disposal of minimum number of cases as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to measure the performance of judges, as this compromises the quality of the administration of justice for the sake of speed.
Its chairman Mureli Navaratnam said other indicators such as judicial temperament, fair and just hearings and quality of judgments which were also important aspects of the administration of justice must be given more emphasis.
He said due to shortcomings in the implementation of the new fast-track system, the Penang Bar had at its extraordinary general meeting here Friday, passed three resolutions pertaining to the matter.
In a statement released after the meeting, Mureli said the Penang Bar would immediately send a memorandum to Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi and the relevant authorities with actual details, examples and illustrations on how the new court system and directives had undermined the administration of justice.
"This has caused undue hardship and injustice to the public and members of the Bar," he said.
In view of this, he said, the Penang Bar urged the Penang Bar Committee and the Bar Council to take up this issue seriously with the Chief Justice and the relevant authorities, to find ways of working with the judiciary to improve the administration of justice without compromising the justice meted out to the litigants.
Mureli said the Penang Bar Committee met with the Chief Judge of Malaya, Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria, and the Managing Judge for the Penang Courts, Datuk James Foong, to discuss the grievances raised by members of the Penang Bar that resulted in them calling for today's EGM.
"While welcoming the initiatives taken by the Chief Justice in addressing the backlog of cases, the Penang Bar is of the firm opinion that the cardinal principles in the administration of justice should not be compromised for the sake of speed alone."
He said the courts had been refusing genuine requests for short adjournments or standing down of cases as the judges had been given a minimum number of cases to be disposed off in a day.
"This has resulted in many perverse rulings being handed down by the courts, for instance, a case being struck off although the lawyer was sick and the court informed that her medical certificate would be tendered," he added.
Mureli said the shortcomings were brought to the attention of the Chief Justice and Chief Judge of Malaya by the Bar Council and Penang Bar Committee at a recent meeting in Putrajaya and the committee was assured that changes would be implemented by the judiciary.
Among them, he said, was while judges would continue to be firm on adjournments, at the same time they would be given discretion to grant adjournments with compassion and in the interest of justice as prime consideration.
Another is that KPIs will only be used as a guide for the disposal of cases and not as the only measure to judge the performance of judges, and judges will be directed to allow lengthier written submissions by counsel with a right of reply (which was hitherto denied) to ensure that the judgements handed down are well-considered decisions of the court.
-- BERNAMA
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