The Chamber of Advocates has made clear that while it will not be drawn into the wider debate over Malta's jury system at this stage, it has no reservations about one immediate reform: jurors should be paid more for the vital civic role they perform.
The Chamber told The Malta Independent that the remuneration paid to jurors should be increased to reflect today's economic realities and better compensate citizens for the time, effort and personal sacrifice required when serving on a jury.
This comes after Professor of Law Kevin Aquilina urged the government to form a commission to conduct a thorough review of Malta's jury system, claiming that it has grown more complicated and challenging to oversee.
Aquilina questioned whether the jury system is still relevant in its current form in an opinion piece that was published in The Malta Independent on Sunday on 16 August. He cited the jury's lack of formal training, the intricacy of modern trials, and the length of time jurors may be forced to spend apart from their families and the outside world.
On the topic of remuneration, Aquilina pointed out that jurors are paid very little for the time they spend serving. This is especially difficult for self-employed people, whose income depends on working every day. If they are called for jury duty, they may have to stop working altogether, meaning they earn nothing while the trial is ongoing.
Under Malta's Payment of Fees to Jurors Regulations, self-employed jurors or those not receiving a salary are paid €30 a day for the first 15 working days of a trial and €40 a day thereafter. Jurors who continue receiving a salary from their employer, as well as pensioners, unemployed persons and housewives, receive €10 a day.
Describing jury service as an "important civic duty", the Chamber said those called upon to serve often have to set aside their personal and professional commitments in the interests of the administration of justice.
"It is only right that their compensation should properly reflect the value of that contribution," the Chamber said, arguing that current remuneration is no longer commensurate with modern economic conditions.
Beyond the issue of juror compensation, however, the Chamber declined to take a position on the broader merits or shortcomings of the jury system, stressing that now is not the appropriate time for such a debate.
It noted that jury trials, like all institutions created by human beings, are inherently imperfect, but said the system has served Malta's criminal justice system with "considerable merit" over many years.
The Chamber emphasised that the institution continues to uphold important constitutional principles, including the participation of ordinary citizens in criminal justice, the diffusion of accountability, and the right of accused persons to be judged by their peers.
Despite acknowledging that public debate on the future of jury trials is both legitimate and worthwhile, the Chamber said it would refrain from contributing substantively while high-profile criminal proceedings remain before the courts.
According to the Chamber, commenting on the strengths or weaknesses of the jury system while cases are still sub judice could risk its views being interpreted as commentary on ongoing proceedings.
"Any considered reform of the jury system ought to be the product of calm and reasoned reflection, undertaken once the present proceedings have run their course, and not of debate conducted in the shadow of live cases," the Chamber said.
The Chamber said it intends to contribute to the discussion at a later stage, once the current proceedings have concluded, maintaining that any review of the jury system should be approached with "rigour, care, and a proper sense of timing".
Until then, it said the one issue requiring immediate attention is ensuring that citizens who fulfil their duty as jurors receive fair and appropriate compensation for the service they provide to the justice system.