The President can make a difference

President George Abela is already meeting people's expectations, as he has taken a number of very welcome initiatives during his relatively short time in office.

On assuming the role, he automatically became Chairman of the Commission for the Administration of Justice. This is one area where he may achieve a much needed quiet revolution of our judiciary system which is regrettably perceived very negatively by most of the populace.

Being a lawyer himself, President Abela must have come across instances where our judicial system was used and manipulated by unscrupulous characters to inflict injustice and to financially ruin third parties by harassment through the tabling of repeated, frivolous court cases that are destined to be lost by the petitioner from the very start.

Innocent defendants in such cases have only two alternatives: Pay prohibitive defence costs, or else pay for the petitioner's unjust demands for damages and all his legal costs. Either way, this spells ruin when used as a weapon over and over again in an unmistakable pattern, against persons struggling daily to make both ends meet.

Chairing the same commission, President Abela may also achieve the seemingly impossible by striving to set in motion amendments to the system that will ensure justice within a reasonable time.

Instances still abound where court cases have been going on for 10, 11 or more years, and many of these are relatively straightforward civil cases that simply need a dose of determination and discipline by the judiciary.

Persons seeking justice become too old, weak and frail, and may lose the energy and alacrity they once had, during such a long lapse of time - and so fail to keep up with the pressure the system requires to ensure real justice. They may even die during the overly stretched process, without ever receiving the justice they once sought.

Justice is one area where President Abela may make a great difference to the suffering public during his tenure.