Chief Justice Vincent Degaetano yesterday called for more forethought when parliament approves amendments to court procedures as “certain amendments that might try to arrange anomalies will solve certain problems, but simultaneously

create others that were not anticipated”.

Chief Justice Degaetano was giving the traditional address at the official opening of the forensic year of the judiciary.

President Eddie Fenech Adami and the Parliamentary Secretary in the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, were also present during the ceremony.

Chief Justice Degaetano said that amendments enacted in parliament make certain things easier but “often create more problems that were not thought of”.

“It is very easy to criticise, but we have to focus on what is essential because we are not only restricted by time but also by money,” he said.

The Chief Justice said there were two main priorities that needed to be focused on – a more efficient administration of justice and constitutional and institutional independence between the judiciary and the executive.

“It is a pity that many court employees who went out on maternity leave cannot return to work because they have nowhere to leave their children,” he said.

He said that members of the judiciary do their best to administer their time and justice while choosing cases that these deem to be the most urgent.

“One must note that court employees change and often the new ones are not trained well and as a result everyone suffers,” said Chief Justice Degaetano.

The majority of court employees were dedicated and often found themselves limited by lack of resources and civil bureaucracy, he added.

Furthermore, he said, the court administration needed to work in the civil service with all its limitations.

At least 976 cases were concluded in the magistrates court during the past 12 months, and these did not include the VAT, district and health cases, he said.

“There is a massive volume of work in the magistrates court – one magistrate alone is needed to take care of VAT cases,” he said.

Furthermore, said Chief Justice Degaetano, duty magistrates spent a lot of time at the police headquarters.

“We need another courtroom, more prosecutors, back-up staff and a judge to hear jury trials regularly,” he said.

Compilation of evidence took up a lot of time of both the court and the police – “I am not pointing fingers at anyone, but this is due to lack of coordination and an attitude problem,” he said.

The Chief Justice said that a new internet portal would be set up that will help inform the public of the exact role of the judiciary.

Furthermore, he added, earlier this year “I made a formal request to set up a child care centre for court employees close to court, so that they will be able to continue working after they take maternal leave.”

The president of the Chamber of Advocates, Andrew Borg Cardona called for the four branches of the state – judiciary, executive, parliament and the media – to give lawyers the respect that they deserved.

“We expect to be shown the same respect that we give to members of the judiciary, as at the end of the day we are both pulling the same rope – for justice to be done,” he said.

He pointed out that although a few lawyers – a small enough number to be counted on the fingers of one hand – did not deserve this respect, it did not mean that the others have to suffer.

Dr Borg Cardona then spoke about the problems lawyers faced where the executive is concerned.

“There is structural inertia in the executive – a lack of will to solve problems,” he said.

Comments that lawyers were the main cause of the backlog because they go out of their way to lengthen the process, did not help, he said.

Dr Borg Cardona pointed out that not only lawyers drew out the process – “far from it.”

“There are administrative problems that hold up the cases – these cause many problems that can easily be avoided,” he said.

He said that the reciprocal respect between police inspectors and lawyers in the criminal court was decreasing.

“There is a lack of recognition that both sides have to do their work,” he said.

Dr Borg Cardona then spoke about the third arm of the state – parliament.

“There seems to be a bad feeling towards the lawyers and there is the impression that we are less important than other people. However, no one has higher privileges,” he said.

Lawyers also received a lot of criticism from the media – it is expected and these, in turn, had to realise that lawyers would react, said Dr Borg Cardona.

“Lawyers are part of the judicial system and, as a result, need to be protected. We are not special, but we are not less important than anyone else,” he said.

Dr Borg Cardona called for less bureaucracy in the law courts and more efficiency in court administration.

“The system is one that reflects the 19th century instead of the 21st – we are working in a medieval environment and this needs to be changed,” he said.

He suggested that the court registry should remain open till 1pm in summer and he called on Chief Justice Degaetano to consider leaving the registry open until later, especially when several hours are wasted outside court due to a bomb scare.

Unfortunately, he said, the court has a problem that is usually associated with state departments.

“We cannot be treated as beggars for a service because of the problem that civil servants have – starting from messengers to the director general,” he said.

Dr Borg Cardona also called for practical help for people who worked in court and have children.