A new bill of law has been published in the Government Gazette instituting new changes that will facilitate the workings of the legal system, particularly in the field of “eternal adjournments.”

Parliamentary secretary Carm Mifsud Bonnici made the announcement yesterday during a press conference at the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that one of the public’s biggest gripes was that of going to court and then having the case put off for a year (in the First Hall of the Civil Court). “As a result, we are putting a new mechanism into place whereby an adjournment can only be made two months down the line,” said Dr Mifsud Bonnici.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that one could never make wholesale changes in court as they would not take place. “Everything would grind to a halt, which is why we always try and do things one step at a time. But with the changes we have made, we are making progress, such as with the introduction of the executive official letter,” he said.

He also pointed out that the number of cases pending for more than three years has decreased from 70 per cent to 57 per cent in one year.

“Another thing we are planning is to open a Property Court. This would be along the lines of the Family Court where all such cases are presided over by a couple of judges and that would be their speciality,” said Dr Mifsud Bonnici.

He said that a staggering 1,400 cases out of the 6,000 workload were in fact related to property. “These cases are long and complicated. But we should not have a situation that we saw in 2004, when a judgment was given on a case that started in 1944. It set off an alarm bell, we cannot have situations like that,” said Dr Mifsud Bonnici.

He said that another issue on the agenda was addressing the lengthy periods it takes for cases to be dealt with in the First Hall of the Civil Court. He said that for starters, it took a long time for them to be given a hearing date and that adjournment periods were just far too long. He also pointed out that some cases were over three years old, and that they can be put off for judgment and still the court decision is not handed down.

“We have therefore come up with some changes. Once instituted, cases must be given a hearing date within two months. Moreover, adjournment periods cannot be longer than two months and that if a case goes on longer than three years, either party can request the judge to be changed,” said Dr Mifsud Bonnici.

He continued: “We just cannot have such lengthy procedures. Lawyers and the judiciary need to understand that the legal system is there for the people and not anyone else.”

Asked by The Malta Independent whether there would be any tracking of what judges (if any) are asked to retire, Dr Mifsud Bonnici replied in the affirmative, saying that the Chief Justice is obliged to file a report to the Commission for the Administration of Justice.

There will also be changes to the appeals system. “Many people file an appeal to simply waste time. We have 900 pending appeals and we never manage to get the number down. However, we have changes in mind,” said Dr Mifsud Bonnici.

He said that the deposit which is payable when filing an appeal must be done within six months of instituting the case rather than up to the last day before a hearing date is given, which can take up to a couple of years. However, on the other hand if a person does pay the deposit, the case is appointed within six months.

The last two changes were for the competency of magistrates to be increased to the Lm10,000 threshold from Lm5,000, whereas the other is that the Minister would have the right to increase the value covered by executive Judicial Letters through legal notice.