Opposition justice spokesman Jose' Herrera has called for legislation to deter bomb hoaxes in court.

He spoke in parliament this morning as army bomb disposal experts searched the law courts building after what could be the second hoax this week.

Dr Herrera said such bomb hoaxes were becoming far too regular, practically twice a week.

People found guilty of this crime were liable to one year of imprisonment, he said, but clearly, there should be stronger deterrence.

This, he said, was becoming a sick joke. Such bomb hoaxes were seriously hindering the administration of the courts and causing great inconvenience to hundreds of people.

He said that security should also be beefed up. Improvement had indeed been improved in the past few years, but, perhaps, teams should be set up for each floor to handle such security alerts quickly and effectively.

It was obvious, he said, that no bomb warning could be taken lightly but action should be taken to prevent them as far as possible.