In living memory, there was no other time in which there was so much attention on the law courts, particularly by the media.

Big cases always attract attention, but there has never been a period in which so many compilations of evidence of great importance were taking place at the same time.

The number of such cases was already unusually high before the arrests and charges on 20 March. Now that the compilations of evidence on the charges made last Saturday have also started, we must have reached a record.

It is difficult to keep track of what is what and where something was said as various magistrates deal with the various cases that are dealing with charges of corruption, money laundering, fraud, forgery and, of course, the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The latter, it must be remembered, also led to a public inquiry, the result of which is still to be made known.

To top it all, in this latter case we also saw one of the accused plead guilty as he pledged to provide information on another murder. Another two men accused in the Caruana Galizia case have also requested a presidential pardon in exchange for details on other criminal activities that could potentially also be massive in their impact on a national level.

Almost no day passes without a compilation of evidence in one these cases taking place. And the matter could go on for months, if not years.

The thing is, we expect more and more cases related to those that have already started to be uncovered. There are other people who are under investigation, and it should not come as a surprise if others are arraigned on charges similar to the ones in place in cases that have already been opened.

In some of the cases mentioned above, many months have passed since the start of the compilation of evidence and, although there have been some dramatic developments, we appear to be nowhere near the conclusion. We understand that magistrates have other cases to deal with, but we urge them to speed up the process in these particular cases.

Some time has been lost because of the Covid-19 restrictions that were in place in the first half of last year, but the magistrates should do everything in their power to see that these cases are closed as early as possible.

All cases are important, but there are some whose bearing on the national psyche is greater, and the cases we are referring to certainly form part of this group. One must also consider that, apart from the cases per se, they have an impact on national politics, with the government on the defensive while the opposition attacks it from every angle.

The complications emerging from the evidence being provided in each case – your word against mine – are giving the magistrates a tough nut to break.

What is very clear is that the web is so intricately woven that it will be a very difficult task to untangle it.