The Nationalist Party has lamented what they call the government’s silence on the shortage of human resources in the law courts, saying that the Union of Judges and Magistrates has confirmed what the Opposition has been stating for a long time.

Twenty-four hours have passed and the Government has not yet responded to comments on the plight in our Courts of Judge Francesco Depasquale, the president of the Union of Judges and Magistrates, the PN said.

The party said that a new PN-led government will ensure the efficient functioning of the Courts to reduce the length of court cases.

The PN said that Judge Depasquale had confirmed everything that the Opposition has been arguing about in relation to the acute shortage of human resources in our Courts, “a shortcoming that is undermining the efficiency of this critical institution for our democratic system and the protection of the rule of law and the provision of an adequate redress to the citizen.”

The PN said that, as it had long been arguing, while Parliament is placing new responsibilities on the judiciary as happened in the recent rent law, the Government is not devoting adequate resources to the Courts.

“Not only is the number of judges insufficient, but the judges do not have the necessary assistance due to an acute shortage of staff”, the party said.

“Judge Depasquale also confirmed that the situation in our Courts, instead of getting better as expected, has worsened since the establishment of the Court Services Agency. The establishment of this Agency has apparently only served to increase bureaucratic processes while not making adequate use of digital tools to increase the efficiency of the Registry”, they said.

The failure to conclude a collective agreement with the Agency’s staff is also hampering the recruitment of the necessary staff, the PN said.

“Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis who has not yet shouldered any political responsibility for staying in contact with Yorgen Fenech after it became known that he was the owner of 17 Black must realize that serious action needs to be taken in order to improve this situation and therefore in the light of these statements by the president of the Union of Judges and Magistrates on the dilapidated situation in our Courts admit his failure and make room for others capable of addressing this situation”, the party said.

The PN said that Prime Minister Robert Abela also has no excuse for failing to take action in the face of such a critical situation in our Courts and must wake up from his slumber and acknowledge the urgency of this.

A Nationalist government led by Bernard Grech commits itself to ensuring the better use of public funds and devoting all the necessary resources towards the efficient functioning of our Courts in order to reduce the delays citizens are suffering due to this unhappy situation, the party said.

The statement was signed by the PN’s justice spokesperson Joseph Ellis.