“I am not 100% satisfied but we will strive to improve as we go along,” he told reporters after the launch of a book featuring a compilation of his selected judgments.
Arifin, who is retiring at the end of the month after serving the bench for 25 years, was responding to a question to solicit his opinion on the quality of written judgments delivered in civil and criminal cases.
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) chairman said the written grounds of a High Court judge or judicial commissioners (on probation) was monitored when there was an appeal brought before the Court of Appeal.
“We discuss in detail the quality of the written grounds and then design courses for the concerned judges,” he said.
Arifin said at least two judicial commissioners were not elevated as High Court judges due to non-performance.
“The JAC also scrutinises their performances,” he said, adding that judicial officers must be accountable in their judgments, such as in applying the law to the facts of a case.
Arifin said even Federal Court judgments were scrutinised by panel members before they were delivered.
On another matter, he said Court of Appeal judges were given three months to deliver their judgments once an appeal was filed in the Federal Court.
“If the bench exceeds the deadline, the Court of Appeal president will be notified of the delay,” he said.
However, magistrates, Sessions Court and High Court judges were given eight weeks to complete their written grounds once an appeal was lodged in the superior courts.
“In the case of High Court judges, we give them some flexibility if the trial was a complicated case,” he added.
The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, officiated the event at a hotel here .