The panel system is being introduced in the Supreme Court (SC) as part of ongoing judicial reforms that have gained further momentum after incumbent chief justice, Min Bahadur Rayamajhee, assumed the post in May.
In its bid to usher judicial reforms, the apex court has already established a directorate to monitor and implement court verdicts to improve its poor record of enforcing them. The non-implementation of the verdict has led people to loose faith in the institution. This reform measure was followed by setting up a hotline at the apex court to facilitate and encourage people to lodge complaints against judges, court staffs and the judicial system in case it was not functioning properly. Setting up close circuit televisions at the SC to monitor works of judges and court staffers is also a part of the reform drive. This measure is currently under trial.
In this context, myrepublica.com talked to Dr Ram Krishna Timalsena, registrar of SC, on ongoing judicial reforms, especially on the new justice delivery system – panel system – and overall upcoming reform programs in the judiciary.
EXCERPTS:
Myrepublica.com: Why is the panel system, which is being adopted from Sunday, needed?
Dr Ram Krishna Timalsena: There was a need for specialization in judiciary and this has also been reflected in the judiciary’s strategic plan. Specialization is not only necessary for making justice accessible [to all] but also for addressing the workload of courts. That is why the strategic plan has stressed on introducing the panel system.
There are two main reasons for introducing the panel system. First, the panel system aims at delivering speedy justice. Second, it is necessary to get cases heard by a group of expert judges.
Myrepublica.com: How does the justice delivery system change from Sunday onward with the panel system coming into effect?
Timalsena: Under the new system, pending cases will be tackled in a speedy manner. For instance, all the five-year old pending cases will be reduced to zero. The number of such cases is currently over 1,000.
Three will be three panels of judges at the SC from Sunday onward. One panel specializes in criminal cases while the second takes up only civil cases. The last panel will only hear writ and commercial cases.
We are hopeful that the panels will complete the hearing of the five-year old backlogs.
Myrepublica.com: What is the basis for people to believe that the new system will ensure speedy justice?
Timalsena: There are two aspects related to this system. First, this system makes judges accountable to the cases assigned to them. Accountability of the panel will also be monitored. Second, the panel cannot skip the hearing of the assigned cases. The judges will be provided with a summary of the cases before the hearing. They are supposed to study the summary prior to hearing, which enables them to directly begin hearing [soon after they enter the hearing chambers].
The panel system discourages judges to defer hearing because it will be their responsibility to complete the hearing of the cases assigned to the panel. The panel will decide how much time they should allocate to a particular case besides deciding hearing dates. The panel system is the best from the perspective of management as it encourages judge-control management.
Myrepublica.com: But there is a strong likelihood that justice might be influenced as clients would already know the judges who are going to hear their cases?
Timalsena: Fifty-four courts already have one judge each and court clients already know the judge who is going to hear their cases. Besides, in remaining district court as well, people know beforehand who is going to take their cases. It is our experience that judges should be trusted. If judges are not trusted, faith in the justice system erodes. Trust on judges makes them more accountable. In this situation, they cannot defer hearings on one or another pretext. Judges will be accountable for both their good and poor performance. Under this system, judges will try to perform better.
Myrepublica.com: In addition to the introduction of the panel system, are there other reforms on card?
Timalsena: We have identified the areas for reform. One area is increasing people’s faith in the judiciary. Delay and lengthy process have eroded people’s faith from the judiciary. Therefore, we are mulling new laws to simplify judicial process, ushering reforms on court management and causa list system. Besides, we are going to fix the work performance standard of judges.
Myrepublica.com: Any specific program for increasing people’s faith in the judiciary?
Timalsena: We have stressed on transparency. We have realized that people have suffered from the date system. We are going to address it through the use of information technology. Removing the date system or making it voluntary is on the cards. People will not have to travel to the SC or appeal courts for date.
Myrepublica.com: You talked about determining the work performance standard. Would you please elaborate it?
Timalsena: At present, we do not have any standard to gauge the performance of a particular judge. The current practice is that a judge tries to decide as many cases as possible. It is not clear how many case s/he should decide in a year. Once the standard is determined, judges who perform below the standard will not be promoted.
Myrepublica.com: Is there any work being done to determine the work performance standard?
Timalsena: The chief justice has formally told us and some of the judges that there should be a minimum work performance standard for judges and work staffers.
Myrepublica.com: Will such standard be meant for SC judges too?
Timalsena: Yes, the chief justice will monitor the performance of the apex court judges.
Myrepublica.com: Will all these measures make the justice-seeking process less expensive?
Timalsena: On surface, seeking justice looks expensive in our country. But if you look at the court fee structure, you will realize that it is not true. Traveling costs, fee to lawyers and a long time spent in waiting for justice have made people feel that the justice-seeking process is very expensive. If we simplify procedures of justice delivery and reduce time of delivering justice, it becomes less expensive.
Another thing is that there is no law that specifies the structure of lawyers’ fee. The current fee is based on free market and liberal theory. Lawyers’ fee should be made taxable. Clients should be told about tentative cost of litigation when the former approaches the latter for legal counseling. This enables clients to manage their finance for litigation.
kiran@myrepublica.com
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