When you go to court

Before I start this article, I would like to state that I have the greatest respect for the large majority of the Maltese judiciary - including two who are closely related - but I do not have so much respect for our judicial system.

Surely, with the enormous amount of talent we have in this country among the legal profession, there must be a way to change the chaotic and most unfair way we presently have to deliver justice to the general public.

Why should it take one, two, five or even 10 years to take someone to court? It's not fair on the accused, the victim, the jury, or even the witnesses. And it certainly is not fair on justice.

Who on earth can honestly remember what happened one, two or 10 years ago? I personally can't really remember very clearly what happened yesterday let alone after such a long period.

Why should a court case take such a long time to be concluded? Why should a court case be put off because a witness doesn't turn up, or the lawyer doesn't turn up, or the judge doesn't turn up? Why can't a court case just start and finish like any other happening in life? Why should a person who wins a court case, in many cases, still not get justice?

A foreign friend of mine has been to Malta six times because he was called to a court case and each time there was a postponement because of one reason or another. He wasn't told of the deferment until he was actually outside the courtroom.

Is this fair? Is this right? I certainly do not think so, and I'm sure that most of the law-abiding people of Malta and Gozo agree with me.

How can individual lawyers cope efficiently with 20 court cases in a morning? Can they honestly concentrate and do justice to them all? Can lawyers really be in three courtrooms at the same time? If not, then something suffers, and that could be justice.

There must be a better way. Some people I know don't bother to take people to court because of the problems and inconvenience they will have to face. In such cases, justice may not be done again.

Maybe the answer is regional courts. Maybe the answer is to start a court case and finish it in one session or, at the most, two or three. Maybe the answer is more judges and magistrates. I'm sure the majority of people would prefer to pay a bit more and get things over quickly than pay less and have things continue as they are.

Everybody complains about our legal system. Everybody knows that it is wrong and very inconvenient. Everybody has his or her own terrible experiences to tell. Everybody knows that sometimes, because of our system, justice isn't done. And, yet, just like so many other things that are wrong in our country, nobody does anything about them.

Well, I think it is about time that the legal brains in our country get together and get the mess sorted out once and for all. For their own sakes and their clients' sakes and, most of all, for the sake of real justice.

While the legal profession is busy sorting out its own problems, maybe at the same time it could put some serious thought into sorting once and for all the terrible rent law problems that are plaguing our housing market. But that's another talking point!

frank@homesofquality.com.mt