KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Lawyers need to present shorter and “concise” arguments in court to enable judges to better understand their points and therefore improve the judicial process, Federal Court Judge Tan Sri Abdull Hamid Embong said today.

The top judge told lawyers at the Malaysian Legal and Corporate Conference during his session titled “Understanding appellate advocacy” that long drawn out arguments in writing would not necessarily help their case.

“The contents of your written submission, you have to keep it simple and comprehensive yet well structured.

“Judges have a simple mind, even when it comes to a complex case, they look at it from a simple angle,” he said.

Abdull Hamid also stressed to lawyers the importance of following proper ethics in court.

“Among the other important things is good manners and behaviour. As lawyers, you are required to behave in court,” he said.

Abdull Hamid also said that lawyers while defending their clients should not get emotional but be patient in handling the questions from the Bench.

“You need to know how to handle questionings from the Bench. You find the way appellate judges conduct themselves is now in a very interactive session.

“There will be a lot of questions from the Bench and you have to handle it well,” he said.

The Malaysian judiciary system has come under much scrutiny over the years due to much criticism on the way cases are handled.

The Court of Appeal especially has been flagged by various legal groups and the public for overturning many controversial judgments from the High Court, most recently its decision last week to convict PKR member R. Yuneswaran for violating the conditions under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 in organising a rally, which went against the precedent set by the same appellate court.