In his speech at the beginning of the Forensic Year at the Law Courts yesterday – a ceremony that was attended by President Eddie Fenech Adami and parliamentary secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici – Chief Justice De Gaetano said this was one of the most important measures that have to be introduced in order to for the courts to be more efficient. He said it worried him that when a member of the judiciary is sick or otherwise indisposed, the process is brought to a grinding halt.

“This is what happened at the end of August when Mr Justice Raymond Pace, who was dedicating so much time and energy to the Family Court, became seriously ill and could not report for work. In order to make up for this loss, and since my request for another judge on the Family Court fell on deaf ears, I had to assign his duties to another judge who already had his own duties,” he said. Chief Justice De Gaetano dedicated part of his long address to the Family Court and the problems it is facing on a daily basis. He added that legal notice 397 needed fine-tuning and, in certain aspects, substantial changes.

He said that among the radical changes needed to reduce the backlog of pending cases, the courts needed to make better use of arbitration. He was, he said, convinced that the efficient use of arbitration could be an advantage for all concerned and also, although indirectly, for the best administration of justice. Moreover, he said, this was also the right time for Malta to start considering alternative ways of resolving disputes. Chief Justice De Gaetano also mentioned the staff at the Law Courts, adding that it is thanks to these people that the work does not stop. However, he pointed out that some of those working at the court were not the right people for the job. As an example, he mentioned court assistants who cannot type or use a computer.

In his speech, the Chief Justice also spoke about the idea of having an Act on the Legal Profession. While he agreed that such an act is needed, he hoped that it would include reforms in the examination by which graduate lawyers are granted their warrant, which must include some questions on ethical issues.

Ex tempore judgements were another subject on which the Chief Justice gave his opinion. He explained that ex tempore judgements are judgements that are handed down there and then by the judge or magistrate, after having listened to the evidence, rather than adjourning the case to write the judgement, which is also known as a reserved judgement.

He said he is convinced that ex tempore judgements could be used to hand down judgements on more cases in less time.

The Chief Justice referred to the fact that he had assigned a magistrate to specialise in hearing cases which in any way involved arguments between married couples or between parents and their children. The next step in this regard is for a magistrate to be assigned to preside over cases dealing with abuse or the corruption of minors.

The members of the judiciary were also addressed by the president of the Chamber of Advocates Robert Mangion. In his speech, Dr Mangion mentioned the Act on the Legal Profession, which, he said, would not only be used to regulate lawyers but would also give more importance to the chamber as a regulator of the profession.

He also spoke about the code of ethics by which lawyers have to abide. Dr Mangion said the difficulties lawyers were faced with on a daily basis are not always appreciated and taken into account. There is an urgent need for guidelines to regulate the lawyers’ attendance in court when he is called to appear in different court rooms at the same time. This was not only a problem for the lawyer but also for the parties for whom the lawyer is appearing, he said.

Dr Mangion also spoke about bills issued by the court registry. If these bills contain a mistake, this mistake cannot be corrected without a court judgement, which increases the costs and expenses for the parties concerned.

Meanwhile, Dr Jose Herrera yesterday boycotted the ceremony launching the Forensic Year. In a letter to the president of the Chamber of Advocates, the lawyer, who is also a Labour MP, complained strongly about the number of reforms that have been introduced in recent months.

He also complained about the fact that the chamber did not complain about these reforms, which he said were making the lives of lawyers more and more complicated because they could not give their clients the service they expect.

Dr Herrera said he, and other lawyers, were considering resigning as members of the chamber.