Aathi Shankar | Tuesday September 13, 2022
A human rights group wants the abolished jury system to be restored in Malaysia.
Malaysian International Humanitarian Foundation (MIHWF) president Datuk M. Devman Segar said the jury system would involve common people actively in the legal and judicial process in Malaysia.
If revived, he said the trial by jurors should cover both criminal and civil cases, including land acquisition matters.
“The trial by jury system may have its shortcomings as all other judicial and legal systems.
“But its value and advantages outweigh its flaws,” said Devman, adding that the jury system would encourage common men to be abreast with the legal and judicial processes in the country.
“The common people would be more involved in the legal system and judicial process, which will create a developed civil society in long run.
“A layman will delve into in-depth details of trials, particularly the high profile ones.
“Public involvement in the judicial process would make common men more conscious of their civic responsibilities to the society,” he said.
Malaysia abolished the ‘trial by jury’ system for criminal cases on January 1, 1995.
Since then the power of judgment has rested on a sole trial judge.
Devman said the objective of a trial by jury was to get defendants adjudged by their own peers, the laymen.
He said that legal history has proven that trials by jury have often resulted in fair and just judgments.
He said that having 7 to 13 common men as jurors to adjudicate a case would eliminate potential bias and prejudice judgment by one man on the bench, pointing out that it could hinder “outside interference by hidden hands”.
The MIHWF president allayed the fear of biased judgment by jurors, pointing out that the courts reserved the right to overrule when prejudice existed.
Moreover, he said the subsequent appeal process would provide the mechanism to rectify legal mistakes in trials by jury.
He said both sides in a trial would get a fair and equal chance to vet the jurors and to remove any potential juror who was deemed could fail to give a fair perspective to a case.
“The jury system would bring together a group of matured adults to scrutinise the merits of a case.
“It can result in a more fair and just outcome.
“Trial by jury would also unite Malaysians as the system would bring together people from different backgrounds,” said Devman.
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