Bring Back Physical Hearing Of Civil Cases Says Ex Ag

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Online hearings in a virtual courtroom were introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.PETALING JAYA: Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas has urged the judiciary to revert to physical hearing for civil cases now that the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
Thomas said online proceedings began in 2020 as a temporary measure at a time when the pandemic was raging unabated.
However, with Covid-19 now regarded as just another disease, he said the time has come for the courts to return to in-person proceedings.
Ads by Kiosked“Open, transparent and accountable justice requires courtrooms to be open to the public and the press. This is fundamental to the administration of justice,” he told FMT.
“We must immediately return to the open system that has served us well for centuries.”
Thomas, who was the attorney-general from June 2018 to February 2020, was commenting on a Court of Appeal decision which ordered an injunction application to be reheard after the judicial commissioner who was presiding had his video camera turned off during an online hearing last year.
A three-member appeals court bench, chaired by Justice Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, said the hearing conducted through Zoom while the judicial commissioner’s video was turned off had impaired the propriety of the case.
The court heard that the hearing had commenced with the video cameras of the judicial commissioner and all parties switched on. However, a few minutes into the proceeding, the judicial commissioner’s video camera was turned off, resulting in the parties being able to hear but not see him.
Those who appeared before the judicial commissioner brought the matter to his attention but were told to proceed anyway. A property developer whose injunction application was refused filed the appeal.
Ads by KioskedIn contrast, former Malaysian Bar president Ragunath Kesavan said he had no issue with civil matters being heard online as virtual hearings save time and costs.
“Expenses were involved when lawyers travelled all the way, say from Kota Bahru or Johor Bahru, to the Court of Appeal or Federal Court in Putrajaya.
“Even overseas witnesses need not travel here to give evidence during trial,” said Ragunath, adding that so far, there have been no complaints about witnesses being coached during their testimony.
He said there is also a general consensus that lawyers are happy to conduct cases online when only documentary evidence is involved.
Ragunath said virtual hearings are also especially appreciated by senior lawyers and witnesses with limited mobility.
Lawyer Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar said the finer art of advocacy cannot be showcased to an optimum level through an online hearing.
Ads by Kiosked“Virtual hearings prevent judges from giving attention to matters such as one’s body language and intonation,” he said.
He said junior lawyers were also less likely to repeat breaches of court protocol and mistakes if they were reprimanded in person by judges.
“There is a lot to learn, including by way of painful lessons, from physical hearings,” he said.
Syed Iskandar said both senior and junior members of the Bar also miss the camaraderie during and after court sessions.
“The juniors will also lose the opportunity to soak up the experience of senior lawyers in the courtroom,” he said.
In January, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said virtual courts and online hearings introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic will remain part of the judicial system. - FMT

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