UPDATED: Nationalist MP Franco Debono said this evening that his private motion on justice and home affairs was meant to spark much needed reform after years of slow and half-hearted action.

Dr Debono was speaking in parliament as he introduced a motion which he had announced last November. 

The motion provides, among other points, for: Separation of prosecution and investigative functions of the police, better equipment for the police, separation of inquiring magistrates from magistrates who sit in judgement, a new method of appointing judges, a raising of their retirement age and improvement of their conditions; a revision of the role and powers of the Attorney General; a reform of court procedures; a reform of the Office of Legal Aid; a reform of the Family Law, particularly the mediation service; the creation of a Drug Court; a law to regulate the legal profession; the transfer of authority for the issue of warrants for wire tabs to the courts from the minister; revision of the libel laws and a revision of the law courts.

Dr Debono at the opening of his speech also added a call for the setting up of a Supreme Court or equivalent and a study how the jury system could be improved.

See the full motion at: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111108/local/franco-debono-moves-private-motion-on-justice-the-police.392894

At the opening of his speech, Dr Debono said this motion was the fruit of years of experience. The purpose of the motion, he said, was to serve as a catalyst, a spark, to bring about reform. There appeared to be wide-ranging agreement on most of the points he was making in the motion, he said. Most people also agreed on their urgency, especially where human rights were involved.

Some of the reforms needed specific legislation while other sectors could be improved through administrative measures. The motion reflected the state of play on November 8, but he was pleased to see some positive movement on some points since then.

Dr Debono noted the call by the Chief Justice himself for great importance to be given to the justice sector.

A DELICATE BALANCING ACT

Dr Debono said that the current state of justice and home affairs was encapsulated in the haiku he had sent Lino Spiteri which read: "Justice: Tension in the strings balancing the scales".

This was a delicate balancing act. One could not strengthen the rights of the accused but not the police.

What had happened in Malta, however, was that because the rights of the accused had been held back, so too were better conditions for the police.  

The Nationalist MP said a milestone change was how, six months ago, ministerial responsibility for justice and home affairs was split. This was an important starting point which showed government commitment to reform. One could not have the same minister responsible for the police, the prisons and the courts. 

He said that all the points made in his motion were in line with the beliefs of the Nationalist Party. Some were in the PN electoral programmes. That some of the points had not been implemented showed how the PN itself needed to reflect about itself.

SLOW, HALF-HEARTED REFORM

Dr Debono said he had not agreed with the general attitude of the minister because legislation was slow to come about or half-hearted. An example was how the introduction of legal assistance for persons under interrogation was introduced late and  half-heartedly and Malta was still not in line with EU requirements.  Thus, a positive step was late and did not go far enough. Lawyers should have at least passive presence during interrogation. In sensitive cases, interrogations should be video-recorded.

Malta also had only a partial rule of disclosure, and defence counsel often did not know what their clients were being investigated for and, therefore, what advice they should give.

Similarly, the Young Offenders Register was a positive step, but yet, four months on, no one was in the register, possibly pointing to the need to review the law.

Parliament had also enacted the Reparative Justice Act, but Malta still did not have the structures to introduce parole. As a result, prisoners were denied parole, even though they were entitled to it according to law.

Another case was how the Whistle-blower Act was slow in coming, and this text certainly needed to be revisited.

Such procrastination was unacceptable.

THE POLICE - NEED FOR TASK FORCE FOR AUDIT EXERCISE

Dr Debono said procrastination was also evident in the police force. The long-promised granting of trade union rights to the police was being introduced in a slow and half-hearted manner. How could the police be motivated when they were denied the rights which policemen abroad enjoyed?

The same applied to long-pending payment for overtime. This was a matter which needed to be urgently resolved.

It was good, Dr Debono said, that the police were managing to attract many recruits, but it was worrying that experienced and valued officers were leaving as soon as they served their 25 years of service.

Dr Debono said the police needed to be better equipped but, at the same time, action was needed to deter sad episodes such as three cases of drug trafficking where policemen were involved.

The Police Force should set up a task force to carry out a stock-taking exercise of the police force and how it could be improved. One change he was suggesting, he said, was to separate the roles of investigation and prosecution because experienced investigators were spending too many hours in court. In the past, an attempt was made to set up a Police Prosecution Service, but the members left the police because they were demotivated. He hoped some fresh attempt could be made.

Furthermore, Dr Debono said, the police needed to focus more on intelligent policing based on forensics and intelligence. This was the way forward, and something where a lot of spadework needed to be done. Some movement was noticed in the Forensic Department after this motion was presented, but much more needed to be done so that the police would not be dependant on statements by those under investigation.

He agreed with a call by The Times for a national conference on criminal justice.

Dr Debono said that foot dragging had been evident even on simple things. For example, the Electro-magnetic Recording of Proceedings Act was outdated and had still not been updated.

He was glad that since Justice Minister Chris Said took over, the attitude had change and he consulted him frequently, almost every day.

SEPARATION OF POWERS

Dr Debono said he wanted to stress his call for a separation of the roles of judicial and inquiring magistrates. To have magistrates working alongside the police in investigations and then to sit in judgement was legal heresy which needed to be stopped immediately.

Furthermore, one could not have a situation where Magistrates needed the permission of the Chief Justice to hold inquiries.

Magistrates, he stressed should not wear two hats. Inquiring magistrates should be specialised in that line of work while magistrates in court should focus exclusively on sitting in judgement.

A reform was needed in court on the appointment of court experts, Dr Debono said. It needed to be ensured that the experts were suitably qualified. The time had also come to enable the parties to produce their own experts.

REFORM OF THE AG'S OFFICE

Dr Debono said an analysis of the role and powers of the Office of the Attorney General was needed.

The AG drafted the laws, acted as prosecutor, was counsel to the government and was involved in many other things. All this needed to be reviewed.

Importantly, the AG needed to explain decisions which he took at his discretion, particularly when the accused were committed to trial by jury and another was sent before the lower courts.

Furthermore, as Justice Jacqueline Padovani said just this morning, the resources allocated to the office, particularly the number of lawyers, needed to be increased.

A root and branch reform was needed of the criminal code, Dr Debono said. There was confusion in the schedule of penalties, for example.

Another issue was how documents went to and fro between the court and the AG's Office.

The courts, Dr Debono said, also needed a sentencing policy and a review of how and when bail should be granted. The right of revision of bail decisions needed to be broadened, and review decisions should not be taken before the same magistrates who took the original decision.

The introduction of electronic tagging, he said, would remove the need for some people to be kept in prison.

It also did not make sense that people who were allowed out on bail for, say, three years, were held at Corradino while their trial was in progress. Such people, he said, should be kept within the court building until judgement.

A reform, he said, was also needed for the Institute of Legal Aid to ensure that everyone's right to a proper defence was observed. As The Times had reported, the current system was 'in shambles'. The problem, as in the other sectors, was not the individuals, but the system. Furthermore, people who could afford a lawyer but claimed that they could not had to face the music when they were found out.

APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES

Dr Debono said he was of the view that a revision should be made of the method of appointment of judges. One should reconsider the years of service necessary for the appointment of judges, and one should certainly extend the retirement age of judges because Malta had lost many valid persons.

The House rose at 9 pm. with Dr Debono in possession.

The House meets again on Monday when it will consider and vote on the opposition motion calling for the resignation of Richard Cachia Caruana, Malta's permanent representative to the EU.

 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.