The government has proposed a number of changes to the Criminal Code which address anomalies in the law and which will also facilitate the work of judges and magistrates to ensure the proper administration of justice.
These changes include the removal of the possibility of imprisonment for journalists found guilty of libel and also the introduction of a concept “accepting” sharing as a form of drug trafficking.
With regard to the latter, the government is proposing that someone found guilty of drug trafficking by sharing for the first time, may not necessarily be jailed, but this is at the discretion of the presiding magistrate or judge.
Justice Minister Tonio Borg said the changes to the criminal code was the fruit of several months of discussions and public consultation following the publication of the White Paper with proposals aimed at achieving a better and faster administration of justice in Malta.
Dr Borg said the bill amending the Criminal Code, also known as Chapter 9 in the Laws of Malta, will be published today and discussed in parliament on Tuesday.
The government is proposing changes in connection with the testimony of accomplices. As things are at the moment, the testimony of an accomplice of a crime is not admissible in court except if this version of events is corroborated by another independent witness.
The proposed amendment suggests that the need for corroboration for this testimony to be admissible should be removed. However, the presiding judge will have the right to inform jurors about the witness or warn them that they may or may not believe the witness.
Proposals have also been made with regard to bail. It is being proposed that someone who has already been convicted of certain crimes and is then brought to court to face proceedings on a similar case within a nine-year period, he or she will not be able to be granted bail until three months have passed from the date he or she was charged.
However, the accused may appeal before a judge for bail before the three months have elapsed. These cases include those which are considered as serious crimes and those crimes which shock society such as hold-ups, robberies and offences involving the elderly and children.
In order to facilitate proceedings in court, run-off-the-mill witnesses, such as a police official confirming that an accused does not have a licence to hold a gun, will not have to testify in all the stages of the criminal proceedings – magisterial inquiry, compilation of evidence and the trial by jury. By way of these amendments, these witnesses will just have to testify in the first stage.
Another amendment will introduce the possibility of the court ordering someone accused of a crime to pay part or all of the expenses, not only related to court experts but also expenses incurred by the government to hold a trial by jury, which usually runs into thousands of liri.
Moreover, the court may also order an accused to pay compensation to a victim of his crime. These will be placed in a fund from which the victims will be paid without having to file a civil case against someone convicted of the crime.
Another change being proposed will make it easier for someone to regain possession of a court exhibit if it is no longer being used. For example, if a motorcycle is stolen and a person is charged with stealing it, the owner of the stolen motorbike will be allowed to take it back before the case is over.
In cases where children have to testify, they will only need to testify once during the whole criminal proceedings and this will be done on video.
Another proposal will introduce changes to what is known as the White Slave Traffic Ordinance. Until now, if someone is caught exporting people from Malta for prostitution purposes, this is considered a crime. By way of this change, bringing people over to Malta for prostitution is also being considered as a crime. Moreover, the Police Commissioner has the power to order the closure, for a period of three months, of any establishment which is being used for prostitution purposes.
The government is also proposing an increase of one or two degrees when an offence is racially or religiously aggravated. In other words, and taking a recent example, if a journalist’s door is torched because he or she has written in favour of irregular immigrants, the person who is responsible for this criminal offence will have his punishment increased by one or two degrees.