Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri spoke about the media's role relating to the judiciary and although it plays an important role in society, must not pressure the courts as to the sentence it should give.

"The impartiality of a judge must be protected", he said. The Chief Justice argued that he welcomes objective criticism from the media, arguing that a judiciary constantly under scrutiny will always work harder to improve itself.

The Chief Justice also spoke about the need for more finances for the judiciary. He was pleased with the new office building for the Judiciary, arguing that this gave more space for judges and their staff, stating that this was a long-awaited development.

He touched the topic of legal reforms which have begun to be implemented and mentioned that a numberof new crimes have been introduced to the criminal code. "When such reforms and additions take place, the workload for the judiciary expands," he argued.

The Chief Justice then mentioned a specific proposed law regarding children and youths. If implemented, it would create a tremendous amount of work for the family court, he said. He appealed to policy makers to think about the consequences in courts before implementing laws in order to create tackle the problems before they begin to be faced in court.

He also discussed seminars being held for the judiciary which always sees good attendance. The aims of these seminars are to keep the judiciary up to date with changes to law.

A change in the appointments of the judiciary is needed - Chamber of Advocates

Judicial appointments should be more transparent, President of the Chamber of Advocates Reuben Balzan said, whilst addressing his final opening of the forensic year, and his fourth and final year as President.

Discussing the Judiciary he said that the majority are people of integrity and work efficiently.

He said that the Chamber of Advocates has, for a long time, argued for a change in how Judges are appointed. "The Chamber is of the opinion that the time has come for the appointment of judges to be done in a transparent manner, where candidates are screened to ensure that they are not only capable as dictated by law, but also takes into account their personal attributes".

"Every now and then I am afraid that the executive does not realise the repercussions of a bad appointment, one which results in controversy. This results in a loss of trust by society in the judiciary," he said.

"The government must always take care not to put in jeopardy the independence and autonomy of the judiciary", he added.

Dr Balzan reflected on two lives lost this past year, that of Judge Gina Camilleri and advocate George Cutajar.

"The legal services offered when I took this post are completely different from what they are now. The profession no longer solely relates to work done in court, but now incorporates special counselling services, especially related to financial services".

"He mentioned that there were many moments of frustration due to a lack of resources available for the Chamber, however he still looks back with satisfaction as to what the Chamber managed to accomplish".

"We always found an open door at the Justice Ministry," he said. The Chamber also participated in consultation meetings with the Reform Commission for Justice. "These proposals were a result of  a number of internal meetings by the Chamber," he said.

The Malta Law Academy was also created. This is a foundation dedicated to the continuous work of practicing lawyers, Dr Balzan explained.

"The Chamber also began work on a legal database, incorporating judgements, legal students thesis and other bits of information on interest for members of the legal profession".

"Work is also being done hand in hand with a large foreign company to explore the possibility of offering an alternative notification system of judicial acts and sentences, he explained".

"Discussing the Judicial reforms, , explaining that a number of reforms have already begun to take root.  For example, a number of amendments to strengthen the rights of the accused have already taken place".

He spoke of the use of technology, explaining that certain systems have already been implemented.

Discussing the Commission for the Administration of Justice, advocating for a needed reform. "This Commission is an essential mechanism that keeps check over the judiciary. This Commission needs to be given teeth in order to effectively carry out its function as a watchdog on the judiciary".

"This Commission also needs resources in order to be more effective. Unfortunately, it doesn't have this at the moment and without investment, it cannot function properly. It is unacceptable, for example, that members of the Commission be unable to attend a meeting of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary due to a lack of funds".