Contrary to the impression given by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, the minister does not have the support of all judges and magistrates with regard to the awarding of a warrant to lawyers with a previous conviction.

In a statement signed by association secretary Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, the Association of Judges and Magistrates made reference to an article in The Malta Independent with the title: “Minister to sign warrants of 2 lawyers with criminal record, backed by all judges, magistrates”.

The association said the article says that the minister spoke to four judges and magistrates. The identity of the four is unknown to the association.

The minister gave the impression that all members of the judiciary agreed with him about the awarding of the warrants. But a number of judges and magistrates informed the association that no-one had spoken to them about this.

It is therefore wrong to say that the Minister has the support of all the judges and magistrates, the association said.