The double murder trial of Brian Vella will be appointed once the ongoing constitutional proceedings come to an end, the Criminal Court ruled yesterday.
Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono gave the ruling after taking note of the Constitutional Court's judgment handed down last month.
The legal battle of Mr Vella started three years ago when he was arraigned and charged with the murder of Gerald and Josephine Grima at their home in Sta Lucija on February 17, 2000.
His case went to the Criminal Court in February 2004 for him to undergo a trial by jury but his trial was dissolved when the court ruled that the testimony of a co-accused, who had admitted his involvement, was not admissible.
A second trial, appointed for last January, was also dissolved when Police Commissioner John Rizzo was deemed to have given evidence considered prejudicial to the accused.
The Criminal Court had again set a date for Mr Vella's trial, which was to start on June 5 but, on June 2, Mr Justice Galea Debono ordered that the trial by jury be postponed by a week, to June 12, as a measure of prudence pending developments in a constitutional application filed by Mr Vella in the First Hall.
On June 9, the First Hall dismissed Mr Vella's claim that his right to a fair hearing had been violated and, since on June 12 Mr Justice Galea Debono was still caught up in another trial that had started the week before, Mr Vella's trial was rescheduled to June 26.
Meanwhile, on June 23, the Constitutional Court overturned the First Hall's decision and ordered the case back before the First Hall to review the evidence produced by Mr Vella's lawyers. This included evidence related to media reports and comments by Police Commissioner John Rizzo during a press conference after the trial was dissolved a second time.
Following an application by Mr Vella's lawyers, the trial was rescheduled to start yesterday when, in the light of another application, Mr Justice Galea Debono put off the case sine die pending the decision by the First Hall and/or the Constitutional Court.
The judge ordered the lawyers to present him with a copy of the constitutional case documents within one week from every sitting.
Lawyers Mark Said and Cynthia Scerri Debono represented the Attorney General.
Lawyers Anglu Farrugia and Kris Busietta were counsel to Mr Vella.