Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri today made sweeping proposals for mediation while cases are pending appeal, special appeal hearings when sentences issued by different judges appear divergent, and a system for more cases to be set by appointment.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the opening of the Forensic Year, Dr Camilleri said he agreed with calls made by the Chamber of Advocates for the introduction of a Case Management System to speed up court hearings.

A substantial part of undue delays in court proceedings could be eliminated through the better management of cases, Dr Camilleri said.

Since the number of pending appeals had built up, there was a significant delay until cases were appointed, he noted.

"Perhaps one should examine the possibility of making better use of the time that an appeal is pending, by, for example, considering the submission of the case to mediation. Should mediation achieve results by the time the appeal submissions are due to be heard the appeal would be immediately tackled and decided."

EVALUATION OF MEDIATION

Indeed, Dr Camilleri said, the time was ripe for an evaluation of the whole process of mediation. He observed that Malta had two systems, mandatory and voluntary, and one needed to estabish which was the most effective.

He noted that sometimes, mediators were available for only short sessions in the morning, often of not more than 30 minutes. This lengthened proceedings because very little could be done in half an hour. Furthermore, appointments were often not agreed between the parties and their lawyers and this led to disagreement, even animosity, when the purpose of mediation was the opposite.

Questions had also been raised on the level of training of some of the mediators, the Chief Justice said.

Furthermore, the facilities available for mediation were far from adequate. At the Family Court, where mediation was mandatory, he was disappointed to find that the process took place in tiny rooms with poor ventilation.

Despite the fact that the proceedings raised emotions, there was a lack of security. The atmosphere that was generated in such circumstances was potentially explosive.

In view of this, the Judicial Studies Committee had decided to hold a seminar for the judiciary for a detailed discussion on the situation.

CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

On the case management system, the Chief Justice said he felt a system should be introduced gradually.

Therefore, he would initially ask a small number of members of the judiciary to commit themselves to a system of appointments for the hearing of court cases.

Should the experiment succeed, the process would be gradually extended.

"We have to start somewhere, but I do not think that the whole system should be changed overnight," the Chief Justice said.

He noted that such a system had already been introduced for the hearing of appeals and, by and large, the system was working well , although it was not perfect.

The Chief Justice insisted in his speech that the state needed to give more importance to the justice sector and ensure that the judges had the resources they needed for increased efficiency.

"I regret to say that it appears that the Executive does not give the administration of justice the value it deserves, independently of other considerations. It appears that the Executive gives priority to activities which it feels will generate revenue for the state or turn the wheels of the economy," the Chief Justice said. The administration of justice deserved equal importance, because justice in a reasonable time itself contributed to a stronger economy, Dr Camilleri pointed out.

Referring to instances where divergent sentences may be handed down on the same matters, the Chief Justice said that this was possible, once there now were more than one Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court.

While he was not advocating another appeal process, Dr Camilleri proposed that on the points where sentences were divergent, the parties could appear before a Court of Appeal formed of five, rather than three judges to set direction on the legal points at issue. He said he would await reactions to that proposal

JUDICIARY'S BOYCOTT

On calls for better remuneration for members of the judiciary, Dr Camilleri said there was no doubt that the members of the judiciary deserved to be better compensated.

Still, he said, no judge or magistrate considered himself an object of luxury. Their appointment was far more noble than that. The administration of justice was a burden, an hour and a privilege, it was a vocation for all those asked to serve in the administration of justice.

When they accepted their role, the members of the judiciary promised not to abdicate their duty to administer justice with independence and impartiality whatever their personal circumstances and conditions of work.

"The commitment which we voluntarily entered into as judges comes before the compensation which we feel should be appropriate, and the conditions of work which we find ourselves in".

The Chief Justice said questions appeared to have been raised when he attended national functions (when other members of the judiciary had observed a boycott).

Dr Camilleri said the Judiciary was one of the pillars of the state. It was an integral part of the state. Where there was the state, there was the judiciary. That was why he had always been there. He was the Chief Justice of Malta and in view of that appointment under the Constitution, he did not intend to renege his function, whatever the circumstances.

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