Special Commercial Court to be set up

Measures are being taken to set up a special Commercial Court to speed up the hearing of commercial cases, said Chief Justice Tan Sri Zaki Tun Azmi.
He said the setting up of the special court was made by the Justice Department to improve foreign investors’ confidence in the country’s judicial system.
“We should handle commercial cases faster, with honesty and integrity so that we can woo back foreign investors to this country,” he said in his speech during the opening of the Judges Conference 2009 here on Monday.
The meeting that started Monday ends on Wednesday.
Zaki said that the department had increased the number of judges for the Commercial Court in Kuala Lumpur and the Appeal Court to handle such cases.
He said foreign investors hoped for speedy resolution of their cases because they could lose a lot of profits if the cases were delayed.
Zaki also advised judges to change the way they “think and work”, and at the same time learn to manage their cases better.
He added that judges should publish their judgements in the department’s website so that it could be read by the public.
“We also need to speed up the hearing of criminal cases to prevent the accused being detained for long periods of time,” he said.
Zaki said that two judges from the Court of Appeal have been appointed to manage cases at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
He added such judges have also been appointed in all courts nationwide to manage the movement of cases and also to manage court proceedings.
Zaki reminded all judges that they should stick to their case schedule and avoid any delay in hearing the cases.
“We need to do this to bring back the confidence of the masses in the judicial system,” he said.