Chief Justice proposes independent body to study judicial system

The Chief Justice said yesterday that an independent body should look into the judicial system, see what difficulties exist and propose remedies.Speaking at the opening of the Forensic Year, Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano said it was evident that the Commission for the Administration of Justice and the Judicial Studies Committee lacked the resources to carry out such a study.The ceremony, held at the Law Courts in Valletta, was attended by all the judges but only six of the 17 magistrates were present.Chief Justice De Gaetano spoke of the time it takes for cases to be heard and decided upon. A lot of progress had been registered in reducing the backlog of cases and this was mainly thanks to the big sacrifices made by the judiciary.In the case of the Civil Courts, he said the situation with regard to the backlog was different and this for various reasons, including prolonged sickness, the absence of support staff and the volume of work.Action also had to be taken in order to avoid summoning witnesses in court unnecessarily because their case would have been put off. "It is unacceptable that a case is put off and the witnesses called in for nothing because the defence lawyer decides at the last minute that he cannot make it to the sitting," the Chief Justice said. A system should be put in place whereby three or four days before the case is due to be heard witnesses are notified whether to attend or not.Referring to legislation regarding what the media can and cannot publish, the Chief Justice said it was time for the old law to be changed.There have been many complaints not just by the media but more so by the public about court orders to ban the publication of names of the accused. "I am of the opinion that if the publication of a name is banned by the court there would be sufficient procedures in place for any interested party to contest that decision," he said.He added that the Maltese courts, especially the Magistrates' Courts, can at times be insensitive to the social implications of certain sentences. Giving examples, he highlighted cases dealing with the protection of the environment and loitering for prostitution purposes. In these and other similar cases, the punishment considered as a deterrent should prevail over other considerations, the Chief Justice said.The president of the Chamber of Advocates, Andrew Borg Cardona, said it would be in the courts' interest to appoint an independent body to see whether things could run a little more smoothly and have cases heard and decided upon within a reasonable time.Referring to the recent media coverage of the legal aid system, Dr Borg Cardona said that because a few lawyers threw a bad light onto the system this should not reflect badly on the others involved.He said he felt obliged to remind members of the judiciary about the most vulnerable members of society, namely children. He knew that the members of the judiciary who handle such cases exercise great compassion but they should always keep in mind the fact that there are no games to be played with the future of children.