One set of rules for civil cases in lower, high courts from August 1

PUTRAJAYA, June 26 — Effective August 1, there will only be one set of rules applicable for the filing of civil cases in lower courts and high courts nationwide.

The Subordinates Court Rules 1980 and the Rules of the High Court 1980, combined into one common set of rules with simpler court procedures, is set to be gazetted on Friday, and would come into force on August 1.

Malaysian Bar president Lim Chee Wee (picture), who is also a member of the Rules Committee, said the new procedure placed emphasis on justice, simplicity and uniformity.

He said the rule simplified court procedures, and did away with technicalities and unnecessary applications.

The document was signed today by the Rules Committee chairman and Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, representatives of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), Malaysian Bar, Sabah Law Association and Advocates Association of Sarawak.

The Bar Rules Ad Hoc Committee chairman Tan Sri Cecil Abraham said the new rule, to be called Rules of the Court, simplified the methods of commencing legal proceeding from four methods to two.

Currently, the four methods a lawyer can file civil cases in court were by writ of summons, originating summons, petition and originating motion but the new rule downsizes the methods to only writ of summons and originating summons.

Abraham said, with the new rule, a lawyer did not need to decide which method to apply and there would not be any mentioning of civil cases in the lower courts.

He described the implementation of the rule as a radical development in the Malaysian judiciary.

Abraham said the Bar would be holding seminars to bring the rule to the attention of its members, adding that the public could also have access to the rule which would be displayed in the websites of the Malaysian Bar and the judiciary, once it was gazetted.

He said the Bar mooted the single rule about five years ago and the proposal was well received by the administrators of the judiciary.

“Finally, we have come up with a set of rules after many meetings and fine- tuning of the document,” he noted.

He said Singapore, whose legal system was similar to Malaysia, introduced the single rule about five years ago. — Bernama