The judiciary should not be complaining about being judged in the court of public opinion and accept this as a norm, said NGO Lawyers for Liberty (LFL).
LFL executive director Eric Paulsen said this in response to Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria who last Friday complained about people running down the judiciary and said they should first read the judgments before passing judgment on it.
"The judiciary must get used to this reality of being judged in the court of public opinion where controversial or high-profile cases attract the most comments.
"In today’s demand for greater transparency and accountability, the judiciary cannot escape close scrutiny of its conduct and judgments, as the public has high expectations of its role as the custodian of justice and the Federal Constitution," said Paulsen.
He added that in democratic countries like the UK, Australia or Canada, the judiciary there does not tell the citizens to read judgments before commenting.
"The judiciary can only command public confidence and respect through its conduct, in and out of court, and in judgments to give the appearance of impartiality, independence and integrity.
"Any criminal investigations or charges in defence of the judiciary, whether directly or indirectly, can only reflect negatively upon the judiciary and bring further public scrutiny and criticism," said Paulsen.
Charged for criticising
Paulsen added that contrary to Arifin's statement that no one had ever been arrested or charged for criticising the judiciary, a slew of people are currently facing such charges.
He said they include N Surendran (two charges), Zunar (nine charges), Mohd Fakhrulrazi, R Sivarasa, Ng Wei Aik, Lawrence Jayaraj, Hassan Karim, and S Arutchelvan.
Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim, who last week criticised judges in a Court of Appeal decision as "heartless" for refusing to intervene in the unilateral conversion case of M Indira Gandhi's children, is also facing investigation.
The probe comes after Arifin publicly complained about the "heartless" remark which he described as uncalled-for.
"It is quite incredible for the chief justice to claim that no one has ever been arrested or charged for criticising the judiciary when numerous persons have been investigated, arrested or charged for comments related to the judiciary.
"In dispensing justice, the judiciary must not fear or resent public criticism including unjustified, intemperate or even crude ones.
"No comparable democracies around the world have as many lawyers, elected representatives, opposition politicians and activists in the dock for statements made against the judiciary, as Malaysia," said Paulsen. -Mkini
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