Call for better use of new technology in court

A newly-appointed judge has called for documents to be filed in court digitally, saying this would solve many logistic problems.

Mr Justice Anthony Ellul raised the issue, together with others, during his inaugural speech at the court house yesterday.

The new judge said he spent four years as a magistrate in the Gozo courts and before that he served as a judicial assistant to three Chief Justices and also as deputy registrar to former Chief Justice and now Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino. It was such experience that gave him a solid base.

Almost immediately delving into problems he felt needed to be addressed, Mr Justice Ellul said he hoped that an e-filing system would be implemented in the near future instead of having to rely on the court registry office.

Such a system would allow lawyers to file new documents in the acts of proceedings at any time and allow access to the judiciary and lawyers alike from any location.

He called for more competence to be given to the Small Claims Tribunal, which now deals with requests for payment for a maximum of €3,494. The amount of work handled by this tribunal was testament to its success even though it was viewed with much scepticism at its inauguration, he added.

Magistrates who worked mainly in dealing with criminal cases needed more help and resources in coping with their case load.

There was also need for an overhaul of the legal aid system and, without going into much detail, Mr Justice Ellul said a debate was going on in the UK about an overhaul of the system there.

The roles of judicial assistants had to be strengthened and, although not always the right people were found to fill such posts, a method had to be introduced whereby young lawyers could carry out the work of assistants in order to gain more experience.

The judge referred to his work in Gozo, saying the court house could not remain housed in the present building because of lack of space. Although it was a beautiful and historic building it was not designed to cope with today’s work and so a new site had to be found. He knew the government had plans in this regard and hoped such plans could be implemented as soon as possible.

To make life easier for Maltese witnesses summoned in Gozo and vice-versa, evidence could be heard via video links, making the need to travel between the two islands the exception, rather than the rule, thus saving time and money.