The Price of Justice
The law is the basis of all civilization, but over the years my respect for our justice system has gone…well…down the filthy drain. That I’ve somewhat lost faith in our legal system, is to say the least, an understatement. The truth is that I’d rather have my nails pulled out with a pair of pliers than have anything to do with our law courts.
Whenever I read about a court case, there’s always something that gets my goat. It’s usually the ridiculously harsh or lenient sentence; other times it’s the ludicrously long time it takes for a case to come to an end; and sometimes, it’s sheer disgust at how our money, the tax payer’s money, is wasted fighting useless battles.
Speaking of useless battles, the latest case that comes to mind is the Attorney General’s appeal of the Constitutional Court’s decision which had granted Joanne Cassar, a transsexual, the right to marry. The AG appealed this on the basis that “same-sex marriages are certainly diametrically opposite to the Maltese public order.” Please note that today, Joanne’s birth certificate says ‘female’, and she’d like to marry a man, not a woman, so clearly this is not an application for a same-sex marriage. And how on earth would public order be under threat if two consenting adults chose to legalize their relationship in marriage? Surely we have bigger things threatening public order, and surely our money can be put to better use? And, which public is the AG referring to? Are Joanne and her prospective partner, not part of it?
Speaking of money going down the proverbial drain, last week JS productions, the company which brings the animal circus to Malta, dropped the libel case that they had initiated against TV personality Moira Delia.
Back in 2009, JS Productions, acting on behalf of Circo Fantasy, filed a libel suit against Moira Delia, Micheline Sciberras - Director General at the Directorate of Educational Services, and Mario Galea - Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly and Community – all of whom had alleged that it is cruel to keep animals in the confined spaces of circuses, to use them for human entertainment, and to assume that animal circuses are an educational outing for children. JS productions felt injured by these allegations, filed a triple suit, and held all of them responsible for damages.
Last week, almost eighteen months down the line, three court sittings later, and with another animal circus having been brought to Malta by the same company, JS productions agreed to withdraw their libel suit!
In an unprecedented turn of events, the Magistrate presiding over the case strongly suggested that the parties should simply agree to disagree. In a written statement, Magistrate Silvio Meli explained that whilst JS productions have all the legal rights to bring animal circuses to Malta, Moira Delia, who comes from a different cultural background, and is by far more aware of emotional cruelty and animal welfare, has the right to express her opinion. He went on to explain that her sole scope was to raise awareness about the matter, and not to harm JS productions in any way. Both parties agreed to sign the statement and the case against her was dropped.
I was about to sigh with relief, roll my eyes back into my forehead, and feel victorious, but seconds later I found out that the whole ordeal had cost Moira over €1000 in non-refundable court charges and lawyer fees. So, essentially, she won and yet she lost.
Seriously, how many of us can afford this kind of money? How many of us would stand strong against the odds, and not be beaten into silence? Who would blame anyone for backing down when our justice system seems to thrive on unfair burdens, infuriating long waits and exasperating judgements?
With our legal system as it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if a surfer who sues another surfer for stealing his wave actually wins some handsome compensation.
I wouldn’t be surprised if I could actually pay off my home loan by suing a friend for giving me a bad haircut.
In fact, I’m seriously thinking about suing the weather channel for wrongfully predicting sunny weather and making me catch the flu, when I went out and got drenched in the pouring rain!