'Several hundred' magisterial inquiries pending

The judges' bribery case last August led to a major reshuffling of roles which, in turn, led to big problems, President Guido de Marco, who chairs the Commission for the Administration of Justice, said.

"The situation led to a big setback in the smooth running of the system," Prof. de Marco said yesterday as he presented the commission's third report covering the period between October 2001 and last September.

During this period the commission met 14 times and received 61 complaints from the public, 28 of which were referred to the Committee of Advocates which determined 24 of them. At the moment this committee has 45 pending complaints.

Meanwhile, two complaints referred to the Committee of Legal Procurators were concluded.

Four of the complaints referred to the commission did not fall within its jurisdiction and seven others were pending further information.

Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano said the majority of these complaints involved objections against lawyers' behaviour and pending cases.

"On the other hand there is also a percentage of these complaints which lack a concrete point," Dr De Gaetano said.

Prof. de Marco said three complaints on members of the judiciary had been referred to the commission and it had decided to tackle them in the light of the code of ethics of the judiciary which it had approved last year.

Giving the number of cases that have been pending for five years and over, he said that up to January 15, 2002 there were 2,713 cases before the civil courts, 158 cases before the Magistrates' Court in its civil jurisdiction and 81 cases before a tribunal.

"In certain cases the commission is asking for an explanation on the delay," Prof. de Marco said.

He explained that in such cases he appointed the Chief Justice to discuss the delay with the judiciary and together determine the best way to remedy the situation.

In the rare cases where no solution is found, the Chief Justice refers the matter to the commission president, in this case Prof. de Marco himself.

The Chief Justice said that although drawing up the report on pending cases was time-consuming, it helped the judiciary come face-to-face with the problem.

"It helps us give more attention to cases which have been pending for some time and makes us all the more accountable," he said.

In the period under review the commission tackled the issue of magisterial inquiries and discovered there were "several hundred" which were pending.

Prof. de Marco said the commission was investigating the reason behind those which have been pending for a long time.

While Chief Justice De Gaetano felt the number of cases was worrying, Attorney General Anthony Borg Barthet explained that the high number should not reflect badly on the magistrates.

"Rather, it's a situation where the system needs to be improved," Dr Borg Barthet said.

Touching on another subject, Prof. de Marco said Magistrates' Court sittings were now being held at two different times - 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.. This was done to avoid congestion and not waste the time of those called to the witness stand.

The system, introduced on an experimental basis, had worked extremely well and it was hoped it would be adopted permanently, he said.

On the subject of the general prosecutor, Prof. de Marco said that after discussions, Justice Minister Austin Gatt had withdrawn a proposal that the general prosecutor should be a member of the commission.

"This was done to ensure that the existing balance in the commission's composition is maintained," Prof. de Marco said.

In its report, the commission also reaffirmed its stand on Dr André Camilleri who had been nominated as judge by the prime minister.

The Commission had advised the prime minister that Dr Camilleri did not have the required legal experience to serve as a judge.

The prime minister disagreed but Dr Camilleri subsequently opted not to accept the nomination.

The commission reaffirmed its faith in the judiciary and the judicial system and said it was convinced that all those involved would continue serving with dedication and integrity.