Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs Parliamentary Secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici agreed with Dr Jose Herrera’s comment that the Attorney General’s office has too much work and does not have enough people to carry it out.

While discussing the amendment to the law regarding the posts of Attorney General (AG) and Attorney to the Republic, the government and opposition agreed that the AG’s office is under too much pressure and the salaries fail to attract young lawyers who have just graduated from university.

Speaking in parliament yesterday, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that the AG’s office is in dire need of reform to help the operations carried out run smoother. There is too much work, both within the civil and criminal court, and this can only be resolved by farming out certain jobs and by introducing a better financial package to entice more lawyers to join the office.

In response to Dr Jose Herrera’s comment that the lawyers working in the AG’s office are not respected, Dr Mifsud Bonnici explained that not only new recruits would benefit from improved salaries, but also those already employed there.

Since the lawyers in the AG’s office cannot keep up with all the cases, a decision was taken to delegate work to other lawyers within their area of expertise. Regarding this, Dr Herrera stressed the importance of the AG’s impartial decision when delegating these jobs.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici assured that the AG will be solely responsible for handing over the cases to lawyers outside his office. These lawyers, said Dr Mifsud Bonnici, will be chosen because they specialise in a particular area of the law and are good at their job. No minister will have a hand in the choice of lawyers, he continued, and therefore the decision will be free of any political ties.

Dr Herrera added that by farming out certain jobs the AG’s office is losing a certain amount of prestige. Dr Mifsud Bonnici disagreed with this and said that farming out will ease the pressure on the office and improve its situation.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici explained that reforms within the AG’s office are vital to keep up with the times. The AG and his decisions influence the island’s economy, he explained, and therefore the office must be strengthened to be able to fight local and international crime.

The parliamentary secretary said that another sign that restructuring is necessary is that 46 per cent of court cases have been pending for almost five years. For Malta to move forward, this situation must be amended as soon as possible, he concluded.