Justice watchdog backs call for more judges

The Commission for the Administration of Justice has agreed with calls made by the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights to increase the number of judges and magistrates in Malta.

The commission said it agreed with the observations and recommendations made in the commissioner's recent report on Malta.

It cited its own report covering the period October 2002 to September 2003 in which it had recommended a temporary increase of judges (and, if need be, magistrates for the Gozo court) to address the problem of pending cases.

Since that date, the duties of magistrates connected with police investigations have increased considerably following the issue of Legal Notice 273 of 2003 (dealing with amendments to the Criminal Code).

The commission thus recommended an increase in the number of magistrates to ensure such duties are carried out in the best possible way.

In its report, the commission had also made its recommendations over the issue of pensions for judges and magistrates. It had noted that the big discrepancy between a judge's salary and his pension could lead to "negative repercussions".

According to a report published by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice last year, Malta has among the least number of professional judges for every 100,000 people.

The commissioner's recommendation for an increase in the number of judges and magistrates was therefore "timely", the justice watchdog said.

This stand contrasted with that taken by the Ombudsman, a former Chief Justice, who, among things, said he did not agree with the commissioner's proposal to recruit more judges and magistrates, suggesting, instead, greater care to be taken in their selection.