Postponement creeping back into judicial system: Chief Justice

KUALA LUMPUR: The 'no postponement policy' in disposing court cases early is a "serious matter" and not a "joke", said Chief Justice Tun Raus Sharif.
He said all lawyers must take heed and abide by the policy.
Raus said when lawyers keep requesting for postponements, it shows that they are not prepared.
"They might as well just withdraw the case because if they keep wanting postponements it means they are not prepared. If every judge is strict, then (the case) would proceed," he told a press conference after launching the 52nd Malaysian Judges Conference here yesterday.

Describing the culture of postponements as a "disease", Raus stressed that if all judges are strict at all times, then the implementation would proceed smoothly.
Earlier in his speech, he said judges should not subject themselves to the dictates of a counsel's tight schedule, readiness or availability in the conduct of their cases.
"The rule is that there shall be no postponement, except in the event of death or near death.
"This is definitely not a joke. It is a serious matter," Raus said.
On April 13, senior lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that Raus' caution regarding case postponements was "uncalled for" and meant to be "a joke".
However, reiterating his message on the Opening of the Judicial Year in January, Raus said judges should not entertain any application for postponements based on petty reasons.
On the concern of delay in the delivery of written judgements in the Court of Appeal, he said the judges are working on improving this.
However, Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, who was also present at the press conference, said it is wrong to generalise the delay as a shortcoming.
"In most cases where the decision is two-zero, which means when the Court of Appeal affirms the decision of the High Court ... it may come for leave from the Federal Court.
"(Then) we don't need the judgement. (But) in the event that the court grants leave, only then the judgement will be forthcoming from the Court of Appeal.
"So this is where you see the situation where the written judgement is late. But in cases where judgement is reserved, that is another consideration, where the judgement has to be well prepared and circulated to the other (panel) judges," he explained.
Earlier this year, former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram had raised concerns on the delay in the delivery of written judgements in the Court of Appeal.
He had reportedly said that the top judicial administrators should remedy the problem immediately.