Virtual court hearings have been extended along with the movement control order until April 14, but no criminal trials will be heard during this period.
A notification from Federal Court chief registrar Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh, detailing various modes of online hearings, was forwarded yesterday by Malaysian Bar secretary AG Kalidas to lawyers on the peninsula.
“These are only for civil hearings not trials,” said Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer Lee Shee Pin.
“Criminal trials can’t be held online because of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires the accused to be there in person.”
Lee said civil cases could continue because many interlocutory matters could be dealt with via written submissions.
“If that’s the directive from the court and both parties agree, there’s nothing against that. Like using e-mails as a proper (court) service – as long as both sides agree, it’s legal.”
All trials have been halted since March 18, when the movement control order came into place.
High-profile corruption trials such as Najib Razak’s, which was scheduled to resume on March 19, have since been deferred to continue in mid-April.
Other trials that were vacated include the corruption trials of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former Federal Territories minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.
There are concerns over online hearings with some believing that court cases could wait until the MCO is lifted to be heard.
“My view is that it is a hasty exercise undertaken by the judiciary,” said Yee Fan Lai, a civil litigation lawyer.
“The circular specifies that online court hearing (OCH) is applicable for cases that require urgent disposal. However, there’s no clear definition as to what type of situation would be regarded as urgent.”
The lawyer was also unsure if consent is required from opponent solicitors on the use of online hearings and doubted if most users are ready as no training on the use of such facility has been provided.
“There’s no clear indication as to hardware and software requirements needed from us. In fact, a lot of us are unsure which platform will be used for OCH purposes.” – TMI