Judge Jacqueline Padovani Grima and the President of the Chamber of Lawyers, Rueben Balzan, spoke about criticism levelled at the Courts of Justice as a result of which, and because the full picture is not given, people believe the courts do not get much work done.

Madam Justice Padovani Grima, who was recently promoted to the post of judge after having served as a magistrate for nearly 21 years, said that in 1946, there were 14 judges and magistrates and each was assigned 142 cases. Now there are 40 members of the judiciary and in 2010, they decided on average 537 cases each.

That year, 22,700 new cases were filed and 21,500 were decided. Last year, over 22,000 cases were filed and some 21,600 were decided.

Up till March this year, 7,178 cases were filed and 7,410 were decided, meaning that more cases have been decided than new ones filed.

Addressing President George Abela, Justice Minister Chris Said, Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, judges, magistrates, lawyers, the press and family members in her fist sitting, Dr Padovani Grima said that before studying law, she was certain she wanted to become a pianist, yet after a stay in Salzburg, she came back to Malta and studied law.

She graduated and was eventually nominated as a judicial assistant. She also lectured at University and was a thesis examiner before being appointed the first female magistrate in 1991.

In her address, Dr Padovani Grima took time to mention every family member who influenced her, including her father – a man for whom her esteem grew by time – and her mother, who brought her and six siblings up with much love. Judge Emeritus Giovanni Bonello was her role model.

When the late Prof. Guido de Marco appointed her magistrate, she worked very hard to merit his trust and that of the people and she continues to do so today in carrying out her duties and obligations.

She pointed out that only Divine Justice can reach the perfection of absolute justice but definitely, justice is not arbitrary power, it cannot be bought and is not oppressive. It embraces the truth, moderation, goodness, courage, rectitude, impartiality and equity.

“The world rests on three things: Justice, Truth and Peace. The three are one, for when justice is done, truth prevails and peace is established” – she said quoting the Talmud.

Discussing the backlog of work before the courts, she noted the judiciary’s strong will to decide cases in a timely manner.

Meanwhile, there is more to be done and she believes duty magistrates should have an additional clerk to speed up the process of inquiries and verbal processes. Magistrates, like judges, should have a judicial assistant to help in their duties.

An intensive study is to be carried out in the system known as rinviji – the referral of acts back to the Attorney General’s office and by which a criminal process spends more time there than at the courts. The engagement of more lawyers at the AG’s office and a lawyer from the same office at every court room, would definitely speed up the system.

She also called for a PA system to be installed and for fines ordered in district cases to be calibrated according to Inflation Indices as some are ridiculous. Moreover, she gave suggestions on how to save money in cases related to theft and to double the number of court rooms without spending millions.

Finally, she said the security system needs to be improved to prevent cases like the attempted murder at the Gozitan court from repeating itself.

Dr Balzan focused on the media and the fact that as a result of certain editorial policies, the emphasis of things said in criticism at the justice system is changed.

He feels this led to the impression that all the judiciary does is wrong. People expressed their criticism when the judiciary requested better payment for its services, when people facing criminal proceedings were released on bail, when people found guilty were not given sentences as harsh as they pretended them to be and criticism regarding the length of cases and judgements.

He pointed out there are judges and magistrates who make huge efforts to give the best public service and the majority of them are hard working, giving an excellent service. He believes the Chief Justice’s exercise to highlight shortcomings in the system and try to find solutions was not given enough attention.

To improve things, cases can be heard by appointment and a centralised diary system can be kept and used by all judges and magistrates without exception.

The executive needs to shoulder responsibility for other problems, including lack of resources. He thus appealed to all stakeholders to do their part for things to improve.

It is not in a country’s interest for the public to lose trust in the judiciary, he said.