THE Legal Aid Department is looking at reviewing its fee structure to attract more senior lawyers to act for accused persons in criminal cases.

Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in her address today at a national colloquium on access to justice in Kuching, said while access to justice is important, lawyers must also be adequately compensated for their time and resources.

“At present, we do not have that many senior counsel taking up legal aid work or assigned cases,” she said.

“So should the revision prove possible, then it would provide better incentive for senior counsel to assist in criminal cases.”

She cautioned that when it comes to matters of finance, they are “slightly more complex” because they involve executive and legislative policies.

Accused persons facing capital punishment are assigned legal counsel free of charge by the Chief Registrar’s Office. – January 16, 2020.