9/08/2007

The cost of justice

In our first world justice system, the cost of justice does not come cheap. But that is the price that we have to pay for a first world system. Good quality cannot be cheap. The Straits Times reported about a school teacher who had a relatively minor road accident and was awarded $188 for damages to his motorbike. The other party appealed and through a series of court appearances, this poor school teacher is now landed with a $45k liability which he could not pay and a legal fee of $80k which he owed his lawyer. And justice is still eluding him as he has to engage another lawyer to defend him from paying the $45k compensation. He must be consoling himself for living in a system where justice will be delivered to him eventually. But if he cannot pay, his two lawyers will stand to lose all their fees when he declares himself bankrupt. Now I understand why there is a call to pay lawyers higher salaries. They are faced with professional risk of clients not being able to pay for their professional fees.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

When you go to a lawyer, it is a win-win situation for the lawyer whether you win or loose. Everything has a 50-50 chance, so you can always fight, but beware the open jaws.

By the way, will somebody come out to say the word 'affordable' again?

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

As with any MONOPOLY, prices are high, due to the lack of (total non existence of) competition.

If the justice system was PRIVATISED, and thus allowing market competition between courts and judges, you will see prices fall.

Look up the work related to private justice by people like David Friedman and Hans Hermann Hoppe.

Whenever governments run by fuck-heads do things, they make the CONSUMER suffer. There is no reason to "keep the customer satisfied".

The private sector delivers better goods and services because there are BIG BUCKS to be made by the firms who get it right, and continually satisfy customers. Those business who don't, lose money as their customers flee and patronise the competition instead.

Anonymous said...

This place is getting crowded even as its people gets less tolerant of each other. If precedents elsewhere hold true, there will be more litigation and law suits as the middle class grows. We need more lawyers. It is the middleclass lifestyle. This is big business.

The paper should have given us a better picture about that girl, for example what she does .. I suppose alot of people would like to know how she did it and perhaps learn some tips about getting a good lawyer for instance.. but I tend to think that the girl is street smarts and maybe well to do, but definitely a winner right from the start. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned bruthers.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

she lost the case. she hit the school teacher. she appealed on another ground, that the mediator had no right to award judgement. She won and the school teacher was made to pay cost. not the mediator!

what has the school teacher got to do with it? the cost of the second suit was the decision of the mediator.

now this poor school teacher got blueblack without knowing what hit him.

justice is served.

Anonymous said...

I am thinking of qualifying to practise law just so, I can be my own lawyer. Then, I will be able to sue and sue. Better than joining the senior citizens for a round of ping pong. Sueing is brain gymnastics and will ward off alzheimers. People I like to sue for starters:

1. the town council for sloppy service and ineptness.

2. the asshole staying above me for hanging his mop to dry thus dirtying my balcony.

3. the dirty ice cream parlour for handling a banana with bare hands when I ordered a banana float.

4. importers of chinese products contaminated with life threatening chemicals.

5. the dentist who told me that nowadays they don't make dentures that will last forever as that would bankrupt him.

Plenty more I want to sue but will have to leave it until I finish the above 5 cases first.

Anonymous said...

Good luck to you. But don't end up like Durai who thought he could have his way with SPH like the way he demolished the two small frys. Depends on who is who when you sue.