Justice Minister Clifton Grima gave details about several reforms that are either ongoing or have been completed within the justice sector in a press conference on Tuesday morning.

Addressing journalists, Grima spoke about the numbers within the judiciary – there are currently 62 members of the judiciary in total: 30 judges and 32 magistrates.  Two new judges – Leonard Caruana and Elaine Rizzo will be sworn in later in the day.

He said that the increase in members of the judiciary confirms the government’s dedication to providing more resources to the courts, and also in favour of increased specialisation.

On the topic of specialisations, Grima outlined how there are two judges assigned specifically to commercial cases, noting that this includes sectors such as aviation, maritime, and intellectual property which are all becoming more and more complex.

Four magistrates, he said, are assigned specifically to the Inferior Courts, which handles a large volume of cases, while three more magistrates have been assigned specifically to domestic violence cases.  This, Grima said, is “a clear sign of where we need to go as a country” on this topic.

He continued that Judge has been assigned all the work of the Voluntary Jurisdiction Court, which is an important one as it handles cases such as adoptions.

Four magistrates have also been assigned exclusively to magisterial inquiries and are working out of a specific building – Palazzo Conte in Valletta.  Grima said that its importance is such that Palazzo Conte was his first official visit as Justice Minister – even before the Law Courts themselves.

Grima also spoke about the reforms to Family Law, noting that the majority of these will come into force on 1 October.

He said that this reform offers more structured mediation which gives a fixed number of six mediation sessions within eight months which offers a framework that can at least offer clarity of where each party wants to get to.

Grima said that another important aspect is strengthening children’s rights and support in this process, and noted that a Support Office had been opened to offer more training to professionals and better operational procedures for this sector.

On the topic of infrastructure, Grima said that a property in Rabat in Gozo has been acquired to serve as a new court house, and he said that works on the property being converted to this end has begun.

Work, meanwhile, on the new building which will be dedicated to the Criminal Court of Appeal is at an advanced stage while permits are in hand for the works for a dedicated Commercial Court, with work expected to begin soon, Grima said.

Grima also said that there has also been progress on a new building for the Family Court which will offer a better environment for these particular cases with particular needs.

On the topic of digitisation, Grima said that work is ongoing on the Court Services Management Information System by the Court Services Agency in order to modernise the court’s administrative systems and simplify processes.

Grima said that an important change that is almost concluded is that documentation from banks and other entities can be handed in electronically rather than being done by hand.

Another important development in the pipeline is a digital system for freezing orders which would see these be sent to banks and financial institutions electronically, rather than having a Court Marshall physically going to each bank to hand them in.

Grima also said that electronic noticeboards are set to be introduced in Court so that notices and documents can be shared digitally.