Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said it was vital that judges should always endeavour to write grounds of judgment.

She said it was so especially in the context of judges who were not able to respond to criticism, adverse or baseless allegations.

"It has been said that we could not publicly respond to those comments and that we as judges may only respond through our judgement," she said in her speech at the launching of the Malaysian Judiciary Yearbook 2018 and the Journal of the Malaysian Judiciary 2019 at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya.

Tengku Maimun (above) said some might say the ground of judgment was more significant than the decision itself.

"In this regard, it is important that we, as judges, shall always endeavour to write our grounds of judgment," she said.

On the books, Tengku Maimun said the Journal of the Malaysian Judiciary is a compendium of scholarly articles of various areas of the law.

She said the Yearbook discloses a complete overview of the significant events and activities of the judiciary for the year.

Also present at the launch was Federal Court judge Rohana Yusuf, who has been appointed as acting Court of Appeal President from Nov 25.

Rohana will perform the duties and powers of the Court of Appeal President until the position is filled.

Former Court of Appeal president Ahmad Maarop retired on Nov 24.

Also present at the launch was Federal Court judge Idrus Harun, who is also the managing editor of the books.

- Bernama