The opening of the forensic year in court always incorporates a speech by the sitting Chamber of Advocates President.

It is customary for the chamber to wait for this opportunity to put forward any ideas or suggestions that it may have in relation to improving the administration of justice, as well as the practise of the legal system itself.

Malta is lucky insomuch that by and large, members of the judiciary are of good crop. They are impartial, independent in thought, practice the law down to the letter and maintain a good and respectable public persona.

But there have been instances where some judges became corrupt. Some would argue that it was because of temptation. Others argued that it was because they were always corrupt. Others have been rapped by the Commission for the Administration for Justice for misbehaviour that warranted resignation or impeachment. Some paid by serving time, others paid the ultimate price. Others got off the hook.

The important point that the Chamber of Advocates made yesterday was that more forethought was needed. He said the chamber believes there needs to be more transparency in terms of the appointment of people to the bench. He suggested screening to ensure that they are not only capable in terms of law, but also in terms of their personal attributes.

The chamber said, and this was not in relation to any one particular government, that often the executive does not realise the repercussions of a bad appointment, one which leads to controversy. He is right. The government should look into the myriad proposals which it received from the Commission for Justice Reform and see what the advice was in terms of judicial appointments. Perhaps it is time for us to adopt the European practice of 'grilling' in this regard. An independent commission could be set up to perform the grilling and then made its decision public. In that way, the executive would nominate and the court - being an independent institution of the land - would have representatives on a Commission to evaluate and ultimately decide whether a person is fit for the job, or not.

The Chief Justice also spoke and said the impartiality of a judge should never be put in jeopardy and that the media should not pressure courts on decisions. As a medium, we agree that impartiality should never be put in doubt, but at the same time, the courts need to decide that media has today become a reflection of society, more than ever before, and this largely due to the advent of citizen journalism and online interaction.

nless laws are changed and updated, then judges must act within the existing parameters of the said laws. One cannot take interpretation of the law into one's hands and this is why judges are bound to act within them. It is up to executive to legislate, and then the judiciary must administer justice as the law prescribes. As with everything, the legal system in Malta is evolving. Some say that it is outdated, but anyone can see that this government is pushing hard for reform and that reform is being accepted and built on by the judiciary and the administrative arm of the law courts as well as prosecution and defence.