Livestreaming seems to be the solution for events in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Movement Control Order (MCO). It looks like the Malaysian Judiciary will be making use of this method as well. The public will be able to watch livestreams of open courts via the judiciary body’s website.
According to a statement posted on the Malaysian Judiciary’s Facebook page, this is a pilot project to allow the public to watch hearings live the way they would in an open court. The process starts at 10AM 23 April 2020. The statement also says that a number of prior hearings have already been done online since the MCO came into effect.
On a related note, Chief Justice Tengku Maimum Binti Tuan Mat said that the Malaysian Judiciary is still running. Judges and Judicial Officers have been working from home throughout the MCO as well. This is despite courts not being classified as an essential service in Malaysia.
Since the start of the MCO up to 15 April, the Federal Court has processed 401 cases, while the Court of Appeal has processed 1813 cases. As for the High Court, over 7000 cases have been processed, with 18 cases have been heard via video conferencing.
(Source: Malaysian Judiciary / Facebook [1], [2]. Image: Malaysian Judiciary / Facebook)
