The Chamber of Advocates agrees with Magistrate Francesco Depasquale that the procedures related to compilations of evidence are “archaic” and need to be changed.

It does not make sense that a criminal case takes longer at the Attorney General’s office than it takes before the judge, the chamber said in a statement.

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale on Tuesday hit out at the Attorney General over his “intransigence” in dealing with a December 2012 assault case. The Magistrate said that the Courts are regulated by an “archaic” system which benefits the Attorney General. The Magistrate said the case could easily have been decided over a year and a half ago, but the Attorney General failed to give the go ahead to proceedings.

The Chamber said that this procedure was introduced in 1854 and was intended for the AG to be in a position to know what evidence the police would be submitting in cases in which the AG was the prosecutor. Over time, while the number of jury cases dropped substantially, the AG’s power remained unchanged. This meant that the AG has the power to monitor and control over all the parties involved, including the same magistrate who is hearing the compilation of evidence.

The Chamber called on the Justice Minister to carry out the necessary reforms to revise and cut down the AG’s exaggerated powers of investigation.

Magistrate hits out at archaic system