PETALING JAYA: Open court hearings in the country will resume in stages from Wednesday.
This matter was announced in a statement by the Office of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court of Malaysia. It said the judiciary will enforce the following strict health and safety Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) and guidelines.
The guidelines:
> All persons are required to check their case status prior to coming to court. Parties are encouraged to file documents through e-filing at courts which have e-filing service.
> All persons who attend court are required to download and complete the Court Visitor Form from the judiciary’s official website for social tracing purposes. The Visitor Forms are also available at the court premises.
> Each and every court throughout Malaysia will only have one point of entry into their respective premises.
> Only who have business with the court will be allowed to enter the premises. In criminal cases, only one family member will be allowed to enter court premises.
> Only one client per party is allowed to be in the court building during the hearing of their case.
> It is mandatory to wear a face mask at all times within the court premises. The court will not provide face masks to persons attending court.
> The body temperature of each individual seeking to enter the courts will be taken and only those individuals with a body temperature of 38 degrees Celsius and below will be allowed to enter. Parties and the public are advised not to attend Court if they are unwell.
> All persons are required to conduct business at the designated counter or court without delay.
> Witnesses or parties to a proceeding will only be allowed into the court premises 30 minutes before the hearing of their case begins.
> Witnesses are required to liaise with their respective police officers or lawyers prior to their case for court attendance and other matters in the court premises.
> There is limited seating and space in Open court. All parties are required to sit within the borders marked on the seats to maintain social distancing.
> All persons are required to leave the court premises as soon as their matter is completed.
> We seek the cooperation of all parties to maintain the cleanliness of court premises.
> All persons are also requested to comply with all directions relating to Covid-19 issued by the Health Ministry of Malaysia (MOH) from time to time.
Further information on the Judiciary’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), can be found at the judiciary’s official website at www.kehakiman.gov.my.
