Use of new technology in the law courts

Mr Justice Anthony Ellul, who has just held his first sitting in the superior court after four years as a magistrate in Gozo, used his inaugural speech to raise a number of interesting proposals for the better administration of justice. His constructive proposals for improvement deserve the most careful attention.

Among the suggestions he made are some that it is difficult to believe have not already been introduced. He asked that documents be filed in court digitally as this would solve many logistic problems. He hoped that an e-filing system would be implemented instead of having to rely on the court registry office, thus allowing for access to them by the judiciary and lawyers alike at any time and from any location.

Here was a plea, if ever there was one, for the court system to relinquish the quill pen and embrace the new technology. Given that the government has made such huge strides in the last 20 years in the introduction of the latest information technology, it is indeed surprising to find that the courts are apparently still lagging behind. This is a matter that the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs should address with urgency. The costs of doing so may be a factor holding matters back but the benefits in speed, efficiency and effectiveness in the administration of justice would be fully justified.

In the same vein, following his experience in Gozo, Mr Justice Ellul called for the introduction of evidence to be taken via video links for Maltese witnesses summoned in Gozo and vice-versa in order to obviate the need for travel between the two islands to attend court. There would, of course, be exceptional cases where the physical presence of a witness is essential but Mr Justice Ellul’s proposal will save both time and money if implemented. Again, it is surprising this has not yet been done.

He also called for greater powers and competence to be given to the Small Claims Tribunal since it had patently shown its value in speeding up the system of justice. Clearly, a realistic expansion of its terms of reference would lead to more cases being dealt with there without the need to involve overworked members of the judiciary in the higher courts.

As to the organisation and administration of the courts, although the new judge made no specific recommendations, he clearly indicated that magistrates who dealt mainly with criminal cases needed more resources to cope with their caseload.

He pleaded for the roles of judicial assistants to be strengthened and for an overhaul of the legal aid system.

All these proposals hint at the frustration felt by everybody involved in the judicial system at the lack of manpower support, the overcrowded and inadequate facilities available to lawyers and the judiciary in the law courts (he specifically referred to the lack of space at the Gozo court, which had been designed for a different era) and the general feeling (left unsaid) that the justice system required modernisation and greater manpower and financial support.

Chief Justice Emeritus Vincent Degaetano had proposed only about two years ago that an independent body should be set up to look into the judicial system, to see what difficulties exist and to propose solutions. It is a pity that nothing seems to have come of this sensible proposal as it is clear from what Mr Justice Ellul has said that there is no dearth of good ideas for making radical improvements.