Judge Michael Mallia, in his final sitting, said that the number of Judges and Magistrates is the lowest in Europe, asking whether European monitors and news reports took this into consideration when releasing painting a negative picture of the Judiciary.

Recently the European Commission released statistics branding Malta as one of the worst countries in Europe in relation to court delays.

The Judge stressed that he always gave judgements on time. “It was not easy, but these are the standards I placed on myself. This is why I was hurt when I read on the news that the European Commission painted a negative picture of the Maltese Judiciary and its operation”.

“Did statistics, for example, take into consideration the fact that Malta has the lowest number of judges per capita in Europe? Did it take into account the work load of each Judge and their disposal rate. that, regardless of huge difficulties, are making a genuine push to address waiting times. Yes there are problems and these must be addressed by both the Judiciary as well as the authorities, however the principle problem has always been the low number of judges when compared to Malta’s population size”.

The Judge also spoke of new amendments that will soon be published and said that the above problem will persist. He stressed that he is pleased that certain archaeic procedures will be simplified.

Pensions and remuneration

Judge Mallia also spoke of the remuneration package and Judges pensions. “I understand that the administration might find it hard to find people who would accept an appointment to the Judiciary, and this could be due to the weight of responsibility, and the unattractive remuneration package. It is true that recently the take home pay was slightly improved and is adequate for the time being, however more discussions on it are needed. On the pensions, however, nothing has yet been done. This is a huge preoccupation for every member of the Judiciary, especially those who are coming close to retirement. A drug trafficker subject to a freeze order (referring to a freeze of assets) can pull money from the bank in order to live decently, a larger amount that judges receive through their pensions”.

Judge Mallia said that early on he realised the trouble and anxiety persons pass through when waiting for their judgement. “For a case to take time before being heard is not the fault of a member of the Judiciary as it depends on many factors out of the control of that particular Judge. The actual judgement is the prerogative of the member of the judiciary and they must be punctual. I understand that this cannot be easy due to the amount of work, especially if they have inherited a backlog from elsewhere. Fortunately I have never had a backlog”.

The Judge spoke of moments of sadness, due to a decision he had taken in his personal life, that resulted in him losing out of a promotion that was offered to him.

Today marks Judge Michael Mallia’s last sitting on the bench, following 29 years on the bench.

Michael Mallia was born in Valletta on 31 March 1950. He received his primary education at St. Joseph's Convent School in Rabat and his secondary education at the Jesuit College of St. Aloysius (1960 - 1967) and at the Junior College of the Royal University of Malta (1968 - 1970).

He read law at the same university and obtained his Diploma of Notary Public in 1974 and in the following year graduated as Doctor of Laws with a dissertatition on the Right to a Fair Trial. Dr Michael Mallia was called to the bar in January 1976 and for the next ten years was in private practice, mainly litgation, with the firm 'Paul Mallia Advocates'. On the 8 January 1986 he was appointed to the Bench of Magistrate and assigned duties both in Malta and Gozo; since January 2001 he has served exclusively in Malta.

 On the 8 of June 2004 Magistrate Mallia was also nominated President of the Tribunal for the Investigation of Injustices, a post he held until December 2005, when all pending cases before the Tribunal were dealt with and the Tribunal ceased to function. On the 30 July 2007 he was appointed by the Chief Justice as Senior Magistrate for the purposes of the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure. Michael Mallia took the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance as a Judge of the Superior Courts on the 29 September 2009. He has served as an external examiner within the Faculty of Laws of the University of Malta. He is married to Lorna Wysmayer and has a daughter Danielle, who is a lawyer, and a son Nicholas who is an Architect and Civil Engineer.

Minister for Justice Owen Bonnici, PN Deputy Leader Mario De Marco was present during the proceedings, Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri and members of the Judiciary were present.

 

Dr George Hyzler gave a speech representing the Chamber of Advocates as the new President. He spoke of respect towards the legal profession and the judiciary. He told Judge Mallia that while on the bench he showed respect towards lawyers and judges, which in return was reciprocated.