The Minister for Justice Owen Bonnici this morning officially launched the new Court Service Charter which lists the rights and duties of those who are arrested or who have to appear before the courts.

In a press conference, the Minister said that this is only the first step as the government aims to set up a new document with detailed timelines of court proceedings. The charter addresses issues which affect both the citizens and members of the Judiciary. The new document is split in two. One part highlights the rights of the citizens and another section provides for the rights on those with criminal arrest. It also provides basic information such as dress code and list of contacts information.

During the press conference, the Minister also gave a six month review of the court cases. The number of civil pending cases has reached a 16-year-low of 9,560.

The number of criminal pending cases is at 14,301, which is 546 cases lower than in June 2014, but almost a 100 more than what was pending in 2013. Disposition time in the criminal courts improved by 8%, with 267 days.  

Dr Owen Bonnici said that the members of the judiciary must increase if we want the case load to be reduced further. He said that the Ministry is working to set up three new halls in the courts so as to be able to process more cases. 

The Court Service Charter is also accessible online.