Lawyer calls for appointment of more Court of Appeal judges

 

There are only 27 Court of Appeal judges even though the Federal Constitution allows for 32 judges to be appointed.

PETALING JAYA: A lawyer has called for the appointment of more judges to the Court of Appeal, often described as the “engine” of the justice system.

A Srimurugan also said judges who can preside over both civil and criminal cases should be promoted.

“Lawyers would like to see the number of judges in the appellate court increased and, at the same time, the promotion of versatile candidates,” he told FMT.

Srimurugan said the general view in the legal fraternity is that the 27 serving Court of Appeal judges are overworked.

The Federal Constitution allows for the appointment of 32 appellate court judges, but the vacant positions have yet to be filled.

Srimurugan said the volume of cases is on the rise as Malaysia is becoming an increasingly litigious society. Crime is also on the rise due to population growth.

Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali said judges are burnt out from disposing appeals and have little time to provide written judgments.

According to a court practice direction, Court of Appeal judges must make available the written grounds of their decision within eight weeks of the filing of a notice of appeal to the Federal Court.

“Judges are also expected to write judgments in cases of public interest to guide subordinate courts judges in matters like corruption, sexual and violent crimes,” he said.

Rafique said one solution would be to install a specialist panel that only hears appeals originating from the subordinate courts for a period of six months.

“This will give them experience and time to deliver their grounds of judgment in matters that originate from the magistrates’ and sessions courts,” he said.

Lawyer Shahruddin Mohamed called for the government to employ research officers to assist judges in writing their judgments. - FMT