Rule of Law NGO Repubblika on Monday criticised the government’s proposed reform in the justice sector, and has put forth 10 proposals that it said would lead to genuine reform. One suggestion is for compilations of evidence to be eliminated from the judicial system.

The government launched a public consultation document on a new law reform, seeking among other things to accelerate Compilation of Evidence procedures with a maximum limit of a one-year time frame, and terminate the referrals between the courts and the Attorney General used to correct defects in cases against the accused.

Attard announced the reform to the law with the aim of strengthening the justice system as well as reducing stagnation in the courts. The draft law is open for public consultation until 31 May.

In a press conference held at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice, Repubblika president Robert Aquilina said that while the proposals are not necessarily bad, they don’t even begin to solve the problems of justice that abound in our country.

“Someone said that this reform is a step in the right direction, but that’s only if you have no sense of direction,” said Aquilina.

 

Compilations of Evidence

With regard to compilations of evidence, these were never intended to last more than a year. “This occurs for various reasons; they are heard for a few hours every couple of weeks, the presiding magistrates are inordinately busy with other judicial duties, and the compilations have become ‘rehearsals’ for juries with the endless examination and cross-examination of witnesses.

“It should be pointed out that the prosecution is of such poor quality when it comes to complex crimes that this also stands in the way of justice being carried out,” Aquilina explained.

We see this in the case of the Pilatus Bank and the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) of the bank, whose poor quality of prosecution has even been noted by the presiding magistrate, Aquilina said.

“The government has not solved any of these problems but is, instead, imposing a one-year deadline for evidence, meaning that evidence that today takes more than a year to listen to will not be able to be used against the accused in a court of law.”

Compilations are not needed and are a colonial legacy that England has long since abandoned, said Aquilina. It would be enough to have clear rules of discovery where the prosecution gives all the evidence it has to the defence and ensure that depositions are taken in written or video form. 

“We therefore propose to abolish the compilations,” Aquilina said.

Referrals between Courts and AG

Defects arising from a lack of coordination between the AG and the police, coupled with the poor quality found in the AG's office, lead to delays in justice.

“While terminating the referrals may reduce the delays, what will the government do to ensure the prosecution is of a better quality?” asked Aquilina.

Further problems

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has held that between the first time the police speak to a suspect and the conviction at first instance, this period should last no more than 4 or 5 years.

“The Sion Grech trial, wherein the people immediately arrested for her murder were taken to trial 18 years later, shows an abuse in the rights of the accused as well as cruelty to the relatives of the victims. This is not to mention the case of Lassana Cisse, where those accused are free and God knows when their jury will be heard,” said Aquilina.

Pending trials are another area of concern. “There are in excess of 100 pending trials and, since less than a dozen juries are made in a year, if no more serious crimes are committed from today, we will catch up with the backlog in another 10 years.”

“I think all Maltese and Gozitans would agree with us that these delays are inexcusable,” said Aquilina.

There are also problems with magistrates who have to wear many different judicial hats, namely conduct magisterial inquiries, preside over judge civil and criminal cases, arbitrate on procedures in the compilations of evidence, all without specialization. “Delays in one area extend to all the other areas,” he said.

“The communication between the police and the AG is in disarray and there is a serious lack of clarity about who is responsible for what.” He went on to say that the prosecution service is “weak” and “lacking in competence and experience.”

In light of these shortcomings, Repubblika said it is putting forth 10 proposals to reform the judicial sector:

True independence of the AG, the government should stop interfering to protect politicians and those who buy them;

A clear separation between investigators and prosecutors and incentives for the AG to employ the best lawyers in the country;

Better training for the police regarding court work;

Specialised magistrates and a separation between civil and criminal court magistrates;

Where possible, evidence should be heard outside of court;

More resources for the court: new halls (in different buildings for different courts), more transcribers, archivists, experts, and registrars;

Judicial police that work for the Inquiring Magistrate;

The independence of the Magistrate who decides when to close an inquiry even if another agency (police or AG) begins the prosecution;

Modernization of the judicial process;

Courts, resources, and dedicated jurors for trials.

“Justice needs reforms to become more efficient and effective. If the government does not immediately tackle these two aspects, and if it does not look at the whole judicial system as it is and make holistic reform, the current situation will continue to worsen.

“We assure the government of our willingness to participate and contribute in every opportunity for dialogue, in order to truly make the reform that our country needs.”

“However, this reform that the government is proposing today is nowhere near what we believe needs to be done," concluded Aquilina.