Magistrate Joe Mifsud today agreed with a complaint by a defence lawyer regarding procedurally-imposed delays in criminal case proceedings.

Denis Cremona is charged with stealing cash from a service station in Attard on a number of occasions. He denies the charges.

Lawyer Joseph Brincat, representing Cremona, deplored the fact that he did not receive the case file from the Attorney General after six weeks, “and as such we cannot move forward.”

Brincat highlighted that the law as it is today, requires that six weeks pass from when a person is charged to another sitting.

In crimes punishable by over 2 years imprisonment, unless proceedings will be held summarily with the AG’s consent, sittings must be held at six-week intervals while the the Magistrates court compiles evidence for the Attorney General to decide whether to issue an indictment. During those periods of six weeks, the case file is sent to the AG, who can choose to send it back if he wants more witnesses to be heard on the basis of new evidence. The file often bounces back and forth for a long time. 

The six week system for those persons under arrest goes against what was censured by the European Court of Human Rights in the case Mikalauskas vs Malta, Brincat said.

He asked this verbal submission to be issued to the Attorney General as well as the Minister for Justice Owen Bonnici, so that in cases where persons are under arrest, the six week term would not continue to apply considering it goes against the principle of special diligence mentioned by the European Court.

Magistrate Mifsud, following the lawyer’s verbal submission, added that the note of renvoi  system as it operates is causing problems for the Court to decide cases within a reasonable time period.

The court believes that if a reform for there to no longer be a six week waiting period between one note of renvoi and another, the process would be able to speed up, where cases taking five years through this system could be decided in six months.

The court also noted that the case files, through this process, are reaching the court either the day before or on the day while the case is going on. “Effective management does not leave things to the last minute and case files should at least reach the court a week before, so that inspectors can summon witnesses that are being asked for within the notes of renvoi. “

The court ordered the verbal submission to be sent to the Attorney General Peter Grech, and the Justice Minister.