Terrific whip hand of court clerks

Many believe  annunciation is good for a  person so I profess ,pardon  me, Readers, if the rubric of this article blows your top .The job  as a court clerk is a tedious  baffling  job. Many aspire for  court clerks job since they  are recognized as extension  of   judges , only those doggoned get  decreed . They   perform  many roles that are crucial to the fair and efficacious administration of justice so they are  indispensable and play an integral role in the administration of Court. Administration of justice  is not the work of judge alone but of judge and party. Party  in the sense  clerks and subsidiary.

There are, of course, plenty of simple, direct, declarative  affirmations about what  court clerks do, and what they should not do, but my approach has the advantage of burrowing just a little bit deeper, underneath the hornbook and platitudes of conduct and discipline and into the realm of what  lawyers  and litigants really think about  court clerks and the role these court  clerks play in the judicial system . No doubt heavy workloads and a dwindling workforce combine to create an environment in which long hours, overtime and weekend work are the norms. I do not mean to suggest that Court personnel’s  are tools, they are  human beings who have differing personalities, outlooks and attitudes; and who are naturally vulnerable to human weakness.

The job of court clerk is a public trust, as they ought to be, the criterion should be what  Public (litigants) welfare demands, what satisfies public interest. For it is axiomatic that  litigants needs should best be attended  . Even beyond the bounds of the legal system, the institution of clerk  has proven its mettle as a strong and shiny metaphor.  He knows  what factors weigh most heavily with the judges as he watches the decisions of the Court  and has the potential to directly influence  judges through their professional relationships in Chambers ,so there are  reasons  for being so rude and condescending.  Even  people who had high power and high status, are sangfroid ,But it is people who had power and lacked status used their power to require other persons to engage in demeaning behavior. When people have a role that gives them power but lacks status and the respect that comes with that status  lead to  chagrined behaviors. One might  feel bad to be in lowness position and the power that goes with that role gives them  room to respond on those negative feelings by delivering banalities  through clenched teeth.

We can see litigants  and  lawyers  who have business in court  seek information from the clerk  concerning when their matter will be heard. There are  instance where Court clerks take decisions about dates and assignment of time for hearing ,fixing  dates for their cases, numbering petitions , expedite court deposit payments, judgment copies, etc. They tend to flout administrative routine  .There are instance where  case bundles   have been mislaid  for cases to be slowed down or  to delay the enforcement of judgments.Readers may have their own list so I don’t want my bios to get locked up in legal hassles.

The clerks well –disposed  network gives the litigants  a back channel for communicating or gathering intelligence, professional tidings  about  an Advocate .Dread of scaremongering  Advocates grovel in gratitude ,bowing with hands clasped in salutation . clerks cerebrate that they have a great deal of power over the lives and fortunes of Advocates who stand before them.This lead to the culture of sycophancy and is deeply rooted in the psyche of judicial clerk bureaucracy . This is a ghastly precedent to  the legal fraternity  .Why the baronial profession suffer the   ignominy  of this boot-licking display?   

Good clerks can become our friends, our companions and our comrades in shared belief,they are part of our judicial family but they should not transgress the Lakshman Rekha . Why not a code of conduct that they should never disclose to any person any confidential information received in the course of the clerk's duties, nor should they employ such information for personal gain.

Judges have to  rely on them  since they are sort of the external hard drives for the judge’s mind so they’re headstrong and impervious to fear . They’re used in doing their own stuff. There is inexcusable negligence when they fail in the performance of their duties with degree of diligence, prudence and circumspection which the law requires in the rendition of their duties . Negligence implies inefficiency , incompetence, ignorance and carelessness. 

As court officers  they are  expected to mind their p’s and q’s . There is no date  of expiration on that obligation. Indeed, it is incumbent upon him to devise an efficient and systematic recording and filing procedure in his court to avoid disorderliness which can adversely affect the flow of cases and their speedy disposition. He cannot take refuge behind inefficiency or mismanagement of his underling  for he is the one directly responsible for the proper discharge of his official functions. Needless to say,  judicial officers have powers to discipline ,demote, or dislodge recalcitrant clerks  but  under compelling circumstances judicial officers  confide in and forced to receive advice from their clerks.The harsh fact  is  the  appointment of  court managers   for  checks and balances is being  subverted  by the rise of  judicial clerk bureaucracy with increasing inhibition and  court managers have been sucked into the maelstrom and there is a dearth of action to remedy this situation. Without hesitation it needs to be accommodated that our system of checks and balances is  inefficient to protect  against the unwarranted seizure of power .

Every one is entitled to basic courtesy and respect .Any display of animosity should be excoriated. Court personnel’s should be exhorted  to act with strict propriety and proper decorum to earn public trust for the judiciary. A sort of ethical commandment  to everyone in these roles , Don’t  utter 'Wait a minute, Come later on- it is the most abused phrasal idiom.

K.SURESH BABU

ADVOCATE

9,RAJA COLONY,SECOND MAIN ROAD,

COLLECTORS OFFICE ROAD,TRICHY​