COMMENT | The requirements – legal or otherwise – in seeking justice in a court of law are aplenty. If rules and regulations have to be complied to the letter, there have been occasions when an obscure requirement would surface, raised by one party.

When there’re none in written form, the courts sometimes fall back on precedents and in some cases, the Hansard is referred to understand what the lawmakers had intended.

But litigation lawyers will tell you about the unexpected perils in the course of their work. Key witnesses could turn hostile, others may claim that they were coerced into making certain statements or admissions and in many instances, witnesses’ oral testimony does not commensurate with their written statements.

Then there are postponements and adjournments for an assortment of reasons. Counsel involved in another court is one of the reasons. In many instances, especially in criminal cases, the reports from the Chemistry Department are not ready.

Litigants or accused persons and even counsel being indisposed is another reason. Hence, a case can go on for...