PETALING JAYA: More senior lawyers involved in criminal litigation work should take up court-assigned cases and appear for accused persons facing the death penalty, a former Bar president said.
Salim Bashir said that in the past, experienced counsel had expressed a reluctance to handle murder and drug trafficking cases, leading to the same small pool of lawyers being burdened with the task.
“We need more competent and experienced lawyers to assist the trial and appellate courts in coming to a fair and just ruling,” said Salim, a former co-chair of the Bar Council’s criminal law committee.
He said judges also look forward to lawyers with good legal acumen and advocacy skills appearing before them, as incompetent counsel tend to do their clients an injustice.
Salim estimates that there are presently between 400 and 500 lawyers who are actively involved in criminal litigation in the peninsula.
He said this in response to a circular issued by Federal Court chief registrar Hasbi Hasan increasing the fee payable to lawyers conducting trials nationwide from RM6,000 to RM9,000.
Lawyers handling appeals in the Court of Appeal will be paid RM6,000 (up from RM3,000) while those appearing in the Federal Court will earn RM7,000 (previously RM3,500).
Lawyers must have at least seven years’ experience and must have handled a minimum of five death penalty cases to qualify.
They must be vetted by their respective state bar committees before their names are sent to the chief registrar’s office.
The court will assign counsel for all accused persons facing capital offence charges who are unable to afford a lawyer of their choice.
Sabah Law Society president Roger Chin said some 150 lawyers engage in criminal law practice in the state, but only about 100 are active in the field.
“We welcome the raise in the getting up fee as it will motivate more lawyers to participate in the scheme,” he said.
Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali was glad to see that the judiciary has acceded to the Bar’s request for a substantial increase in payments.
Rafique, who has also co-chaired the Bar Council’s criminal law committee, said many accused persons come from families who cannot afford to pay for lawyers out of their own pockets.
“At the appellate stage, the minimum payment to secure the services of a lawyer could be RM50,000,” he said.
Rafique attributed the recent fee increase to Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tun Mat’s desire for more competent counsel to make themselves available to ensure the fair conduct of criminal trials.
Two years ago, the top judge led a panel which acquitted a Yemeni national of a drug trafficking charge as his counsel at trial was found to have been “flagrantly incompetent”.
Rafique said both at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court, counsel with sufficient legal prowess would be able to raise constitutional and procedural issues which may establish legal principles capable of becoming precedents for future reference. - FMT
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