Parliamentary Questions asked by PN MP Jason Azzopardi resulted in a rather interesting discussion about Malta's legal system.

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said that a new system, a pilot programme, is being introduced in one court, that of Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, for cases to be heared in absentia.

Firstly, a new IT system is introduced that will allow for staggering of cases, rather than having everyone come in at 9 am. In addition, police will no longer be the ones to tell the people of their court case or deliver court documents. The persons who will do this must go to peoples home twice to try and find him, once must be on a Saturday. If not found, the documents will be posted into the persons mailbox and published on a local gazette.

"If the person does not show, then the person will be placed under arrest". The idea behind this, the Minister said, is to avoid wasting time in court. If for some reason the person misses his court date, such as if he is in hospital, all he needs to do is go to his lawyer and post it on an online system, or go to his local police department and inform them of his reason.

Most of the cases where these people don't show up are cases regarding districts or traffic, he explained.

The Minister emphasised that this is a pilot project and that lawyers, through the it system in the court, would be able to retrieve judgements quicker than they are able to now.

PN MP Jason Azzopardi then, in a supplementary question, asked the Minister to look into laws regarding separation, and suggested making persons who don't pay their required maintenance, or those who don't pay education or medical costs as stipulated by the court to their former spouse, be a criminal offence. The Minister said that this is an interesting point which will be discussed, however one must keep in mind that there are people who would spend more on certain things just to make their former spouse pay more.

"Lets get out of the comfort zone," Minister Owen Bonnici said, saying that this has been an excuse Malta has been using for a long time.