Justice not a ‘cloistered virtue’, judges must accept honest criticism, Zaid tells CJ

 

Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim says there must be a frank discourse about justice to enhance the country’s democracy and rule of law.

PETALING JAYA: Zaid Ibrahim has called for the judiciary to be more open and invite a frank discourse about justice to enhance the country’s democracy and rule of law.

“Every institution in this country has to be open (and) accessible to the people. This is democracy,” the former law minister said, adding that the judiciary, like the other branches must be accessible to the public.

“If we expect accountability from the politicians (and) the executive, if we abhor tyranny of the politicians, we should (equally) find reprehensible the tyranny of the judiciary,” he said in a video posted on Facebook.

Zaid pointed out that contestations for justice invite different views which are offered every day.

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“The victor has his own views and the vanquished has his own views, and suffering, of course.

“Whatever it is, in this discourse there has to be some humility (and) some understanding of each other’s position.

“We are all humans. Of course, judges are special. But they are not so special as to be immune from the errors and failures of normal human beings,” he said, adding that tolerance, understanding and humility bring dignity to the quest for justice.

Zaid was responding to Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat’s statement criticising politicians for what she described as unfair statements made about a judgment without a full understanding of the court’s decision.

Tengku Maimun said the comments were based solely on sentiment and not on an understanding of the law.

“The one thing that I am concerned about (is her) statement (implies that) if you are not a lawyer or do not have a well-trained legal mind or do not have the intellectual depth of judges, then you are not allowed to make comments,” said Zaid.

He said ordinary people should not be afraid to comment on court decisions provided it is done honestly and in good faith.

Quoting the eminent British judge Lord Atkin, he said that “justice is not a cloistered virtue”.

“That principle still stands. It must be open to scrutiny, to comments, even to vigorous comments by ordinary people,” he said. - FMT