00:00Writing Judgments is part and parcel of the judgecraft.
00:12Our duty to give reasons for our decisions ensures that parties, especially those who are dissatisfied with the outcome,
00:21are able to understand why they won or lost their case.
00:25Where appropriate, they can exercise their right of appeal.
00:28I understand and I listen to the frustration of litigants who may wish to file an appeal
00:34only to discover that the decision was delivered long ago,
00:38but the written judgments are often not ready within the stipulated time frame of eight weeks.
00:45To address this, the Academy will first take a paternalistic approach
00:50of understanding the challenges faced by the judges rather than penalising them.
00:56Having said that, I am aware of the increasing number of unwritten grounds
01:02of judgment of the High Courts. The former Lord President, Tuan Sofian, once remarked,
01:07a judge's duty is to dispense justice without fear or favour.
01:13I would add that we must also dispense it without undue delay.
01:17A judge who carries a backlog of ten or more outstanding grounds of judgment is carrying a heavy burden,
01:24not just for the system, but on their own conscience.
01:29You know who you are.
01:32We will do everything in our power to assist those who are struggling,
01:36but we must be honest.
01:38There is a limit to existence.
01:41The bench is a place for those who can stand the heat of the fire.
01:45I have to be fair to the litigants.
01:48I have to be fair to the Court of Appeal Judges who cannot proceed with the appeal
01:53just because the grounds of our High Courts are not available.
01:56For the sake of the public who await our decisions,
01:59we cannot allow the machinery of justice to be clogged.
02:03To put it bluntly, and I rarely say this,
02:07the kitchen is open, but the service must be timely.
02:10If the heat is no longer to your liking,
02:14the exit remains a dignified option.
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