I wish to thank all those who have reacted to my first blog which was my frank reaction to the Chief Justice's discourse at the opening of the Forensic year. It sparked a small discussion on our justice system. In blogs, one is expected to react to comments in the same blog, underneath the comments made but due to the quality of the comments received, I thought it more expedient to write a new blog on the subject.

Someone made a reference to the acquittal of hard working Justice Minister Dr Owen Bonnici. Yet, as pointed out by another blogger, the timeframe for the magistrate in question to give justice in this case exposes the problem within our justice system. I am here not commenting on the sentence itself. I am sure that the sentence is just. The problem lies not with his acquittal but in the speed shown by the Magistrate's court to deliver the sentence. This goes beyond politics.

When a similar case happened some years ago, and the accused was another minister, this time from the Nationalist Party, the Magisterial Court behaved in the same way. I am referring here to the criminal proceedings against Dr Chris Said. Judgment too was passed in record time. He was acquitted after a few weeks. Therefore, delays in court are not simply caused by lawyers but our magistrates play a part too. At least, now we have a pattern and when a case involves a government minister, irrespective of his or her political allegiance, the Court is capable of efficiency when it comes to deliver judgment.

This brings me to the third comment received privately from a woman. From the way she wrote her comment, it shows that she has been hurt by an unjust sentence. She spoke from the heart and told me "truly, the hurt of injustice by the judiciary is worse than that of the perpetrator. Facts are real and the victim knows them well."

Her comment speaks volumes. Each time that our honorable elite deliver an unjust sentence they are behaving worse than those individuals who the same court locks up behind bars at Corradino and for whom, some persons want to have the key of their cell thrown away.

In his address the Chief Justice referred only to criminal cases, it should be pointed out that in civil cases the delay can be also serious and the damage  equally irreparable.  

We need to stop kidding that our justice system is the salvation of our society. It has become another business-making machine, where the laws of the economics of scale are turned upside down and inefficiency means more profits for those involved in this business rather than the other way round. Definitely, delays can serve those who are in the wrong but they are nightmares damaging the innocent or aggrieved party, irrespective whether it is a civil or a criminal case.