Arifin: Judges, lawyers must write journals to develop legal principles
Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria says to achieve the goal, judges and lawyers should practice a lot of reading, especially English Literature.
PUTRAJAYA: Soon to retire Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria has encouraged judges and lawyers to write journals or annual reports to develop their legal principles in the country.
Arifin, who will retire from service as chief justice this Friday, said to achieve the goal, judges and lawyers should practice a lot of reading as it would be a lifelong learning process.
“When you read the brain (continues to) develop rather than watching television, I want to create an institution with a culture to love literature,” he said during a special interview at the Palace of Justice here yesterday.
According to Arifin, the habit of reading and writing can improve and develop one’s imagination, a trait highly required by judges and lawyers.
“When you read you can see in your mind and visualise it in your mind, that’s why reading is very important,” said Arifin, who turns 67 this October.
Arifin, who is from Kelantan, assumed his current post on Sept 12, 2011, replacing Zaki Tun Azmi.
He had joined the civil service as a legal officer in the prime minister’s department about 42 years ago before becoming a magistrate in 1976. He was then made legal adviser of Perak in 1988 and later became a Judicial Commissioner in 1992 before being appointed a High Court Judge in 1994.
Arifin was appointed a Court of Appeal Judge in 2002, Federal Court Judge in 2005 and Chief Judge of Malaya in 2008, before being appointed to his current position.
Elaborating on the additional skills required to become a good lawyer, he said a law student should study English Literature.
“This is great for improving confidence, because when they are in court, they need to be confident to argue each case that comes before them. In fact, I would like to see the lawyer doing a little play-acting,” he said.
Asked about Sections 3 and 5 of the Civil Law Act 1956 which is said to be plaguing the country’s legal system as it needs to refer to English law which applies in England and is considered outdated, he said the statement was inaccurate, because the common law in Malaysia always changed according to the situation in the country.
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“Our Common law system is not necessarily static, in fact it changes and it depends on the circumstance. The advantage of the common law is that it is flexible and can be adjusted according to the situation,” he said.