This, they added, is because the move was carried out without first adjusting the law to fit the new electronic court filing system (EFS).
More lawyers are now questioning the legality of their suits, saying the digital version of the court seal in place of the actual stamp on court papers was an open invitation for criminals to commit fraud.
“It could lead to fraud because anyone can imitate that electronic mark,” lawyer Derek Fernandez told The Malaysian Insider when contacted.
The actual court seal — depicting two upright tigers flanking the nation’s coat-of-arms topped by a crescent moon and a 14-point star and a banner within a circle stating the court of origin — is harder to fake because it leaves a mark that can be traced with one’s fingers when stamped, Fernandez explained.
Section 6 of the CJA states, “The [Federal] Court shall have and use as occasion may require a seal or stamp of such nature and pattern as the [Chief Justice] may, by notification in the Gazette, prescribe”.
But some lawyers pointed out that the CJ is still bound by the law and cannot arbitrarily introduce changes as and when it suits him.
“The CJ is not the law. He is only implementing the law,” senior lawyer Sankara Nair said to The Malaysian Insider.
He stressed that Zaki, who will be retiring in three more months, must gazette his ideas first before it can take effect.
Nair, who has represented Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim several times in court, said Court of Judicature Act besides several other court rules, such as the Rules of the High Court, would also need to be revised.
Since its launch at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex three months ago, lawyers have been complaining of mass confusion over the complex EFS procedures.
Criticism against the paperless system continues to mount as its coverage expanded last month to include courts in Shah Alam, Penang and Johor Baru.
A junior lawyer, whose case recently went to trial, said judges were still requesting hardcopies from lawyers in the courtroom.
“He said he could not print out the filed documents from his computer,” the lawyer related on condition of anonymity as his case is still ongoing.
Asked if hardcopies were still needed, the lawyer said that the legal process required documents submitted as evidence be marked in a specific manner for the court’s record purposes.
He added that few judges were technologically-savvy.
Members of the public, too, have faced problems. Those who tried to obtain the digitised documents from the computers have said they were unable to do so, even at the kiosks set up in the courthouses for that purpose.
Court papers, once filed with the registry, are open to public scrutiny.
According to court clerks, a person only has to type in the appropriate case number to gain access to the documents.
“Yeah, I tried. I couldn’t open it. It told me to download something else,” a woman searching for a recently filed suit against the Registrar of Societies told The Malaysian Insider when approached.
It was not the first time it happened, added the woman who did not want to be named.
Bar Council chief Lim Chee Wee acknowledged the rise in the number of complaints over the EFS even as he rooted for the courts to go paperless, including questions on the validity of the court seal.
“That is being looked into as well,” he told The Malaysian Insider when contacted today.
He added that the Bar Council is planning an open forum with the service provider, Formis Resources Berhad and the judiciary later this month to iron out the wrinkles over the EFS.
