KOTA BAHARU: The judicial system is not responsible for or involved in the hike in legal fees caused by the numerous new systems implemented by the court, which includes cutting down the hearing period of cases.
Chief Justice Tun Zaki Tun Azmi said improvements on the judicial system is more beneficial in terms of providing a faster and more efficient service to the public.
In a bid to expedite cases, courts have updated their administrative system to become more efficient and be more strict in case postponement so that they are not left for too long.
“We don’t want a case to be postponed too many times because it is a contributing factor to the backlog of cases. As a result, now courts no longer have
a backlog of old cases,” he told reporters after a working visit to the Kota Baharu Court Complex yesterday.
Tun Zaki was commenting on Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan’s statement that legal fees are expected to increase by up to 400 per cent and shorter case hearing periods resulted in more work for lawyers.
Therefore, Tun Zaki said he hoped faster case hearings would boost public confidence in the nation’s judicial system as well as reduce time and litigation costs. — Bernama