A magistrate’s position should be seen as a career in itself and not as a mere stepping stone for higher office, newly-promoted judge Anthony Vella said in a speech marking his inaugural sitting in his new role.

Vella, who was elevated to the post of judge after a 14-year period on the magistrate’s bench, said that the time had come for the elimination of the distinction in the treatment of magistrates and judges. New extended competences have significantly increased the workload and burden of the Courts of Magistrates, said Vella, explaining that meant that the difference in treatment of the two judicial posts was no longer merited.

Magistrates were not “second-rate” or “lesser mortals” he said. “To the contrary, the career of a magistrate should be a career in its own right and not remain relegated as a form of indefinite probation period whilst waiting for promotion to higher office.”

The newly-appointed judge fondly greeted the magistrates who packed the courtroom as colleagues, saying that “deep down, part of me will remain a magistrate.”

Judge Vella thanked all those who he had worked with over the years, from social workers to the police but in particular his staff, who he said had worked tirelessly behind the scenes. “If I could, I would give them a medal and build them a monument,” he said of his staff, “but for the time being their reward will be many more years of work.”

Having worked in the family courts for many years, Vella had advice for the streamlining of related proceedings. He called for the perfecting of the largely successful mediation procedure, which he said could be detrimental in a small number of cases. He emphasised the importance of not only listening to but paying attention to what children had to say in Family court cases, whilst taking care to ensure that what they say is not coming from an adult. The judge proposed an annual seminar for all those who work in the Family courts.

A former student of St. Aloysius College, he thanked the Jesuits for a “complete spiritual and educational formation.” 
The judge had words of gratitude for his father, who had fought a legal battle for his son’s inclusion in the law course.

The law had three fundamental values, he said: truth, justice and the common good, pledging his loyalty to these principles and promising to continue working with “full commitment, total dedication and attention to the needs of the people, in particular children of separated parents.”

He ended his inaugural address with a call to build on the “abundant good” that there already was in the judicial sphere.

 

Photo from the swearing-in ceremony earlier this year.