Covid-19: The Effects of the Conditional Movement Control Order on Court Proceedings

16 October 2020

1. Suspension and Postponement of Hearings of All Civil and Criminal Cases

• The Chief Justice had ordered that a previously issued guideline on 17 March 2020² be applied.
• In summary, all trials and hearings of all ongoing civil and criminal cases will be suspended and postponed.

• Filing of new civil cases, notices of appeal and documents will be carried out as usual through the Court’s e-filing system. However, where e-filing is unavailable, new cases and documents can only be filed after 27 October 2020. For urgent cases to be filed at the Sessions Court, filing can be carried out at the nearest court where e-filing system is available.

• Any Case Managements for civil cases which are scheduled to take place via the Court’s e-Review system will proceed as usual via online. However, for cases where physical attendance in Court is required, the Case Management will be postponed to a further date to be fixed.

• Applications which are supported by a certificate of urgency will be processed by the relevant Court Registrar who will seek directions from the relevant judge or in the case of a lower court, the State Court Director.

2. Operations at Offices and Counter Services at the Courts

• The Chief Justice had ordered that a previously issued guideline on 3 May 2020 be applied. This guideline had listed court services that would be in operation from 4 May 2020 (which, presumably, will now refer to 14 October 2020).

• The following services will be operational:

1. Registration Counters;
2. One-Stop Centres;
3. Commissioners for Oaths Counters;
4. Powers of Attorney Counters;
5. E-Filing Services Bureau Counters; and
6. Finance and Management Divisions, at all Cost and Responsibility Centres.

3. Online Hearings

• The directive issued also states that online hearings for court proceedings will adhere to the guidelines which were issued on 26 March 2020³ and 24 April 2020⁴.

• In summary, parties in civil cases can apply for online hearings through e-Review system, exchange of e-mails and/or video conferencing provided that consent of parties are obtained.

• Proceedings that can be heard online are:-

1. Hearings at the Federal Court and Court of Appeal.
2. Proceedings in the High Court and the Subordinate Court in Peninsula Malaysia. Ex-parte or inter partes applications must be filed together with a certificate of urgency.
3. Proceedings in the High Court and the Subordinate Court in Sabah and Sarawak which include mentions, applications, trials, appeals, mediation, case management, clarifications and decisions where a date has been fixed.

• All applications for hearing via video conferencing must be emailed to the court at least three days before the date of hearing or as otherwise directed by the court.