The Justice Reform Commission yesterday presented its final report, and while the 450-odd proposals that were put forward are important, Parliamentary secretary Owen Bonnici hit the nail on the head when he diverged and brought up some numbers.

Dr Bonnici pointed out that according to a Eurobarometer survey, only 45 % of Maltese people had faith in the system. This means that only a minority of the general public feel they can trust our judicial system. This is of grave concern. Of course, the two go hand in hand. The justice system needs to be reformed before measures can be taken to improve the trust that people have in it.

Malta has seen a fair number of scandals involving members of the judiciary, perhaps the worst of the lot being when a former chief justice was found guilty of taking backhanders.  There were other cases that went in a similar vein, and this caused trust and faith in the system to be eroded even further. The fact that 45 % of the population do not trust the system is shocking and alarming. But is it only about trust in members of the judiciary? No. Of course, the acts of which some judges were found guilty did contribute to a lot of the general feeling, but there are other factors at play here. Some of them include the length of time to go to trial and for cases to be heard and for judgment to be delivered. Other factors include the delaying tactics that go on in civil cases, where cases can go on for 30 years or more before being brought to a conclusion and for justice to be done. The maxim that justice needs to be done and needs to be seen to be done is an important one.

There have also been cases where people have been found guilty of growing their own marijuana plants getting far harsher sentences than people that have raped or killed. There are also factors at play which just rankle anyone that has had any contact with the judicial system – for example, people that have been called to testify in trials who have to wait for day after day before being called to give testimony. These people have jobs to go to and have to take time off to ‘do their duty’.

Parliamentary secretary Bonnici said the government’s first aim was to “at least” ensure that a majority of the general public had faith in the system. We could not agree more. But when we compare the figure of Finland, insomuch that 85 % of its people had faith in the system, we realise just how steep a mountain we have to climb. The Commission’s chair, retired judge Giovanni Bonello, said that the task of finding the balance between an independent judiciary and the need for it to retain its autonomy was a mammoth task. He also said that there was no silver bullet solution to the woes which afflict it. But he also made it amply clear that solutions need to be found and they need to be found fast. We are sure that this move by the government was in the right direction. To overcome problems (deep-rooted as they are), you must first acknowledge that there is a problem. Rome was not built in a day, and so, the long task of rebuilding trust must start.