If there was one scene which sums up the Carol Peralta debacle last Thursday, it was the sight of the magistrate puffing away right under a ‘no smoking’ sign in the Law Court corridors as he ordered the police to arrest a reporter for doing his job.
During one ill-advised party in a courtroom – the location is wholly inappropriate, Christmas is no excuse – the magistrate highlighted what is wrong with the judiciary and inadvertently united the Maltese in a concerted demand for justice reform.
Last Thursday, Times of Malta simply did what any responsible media organisation should do and attempted to report a Christmas party hosted by a magistrate inside a room which dictates the destiny of many.
This magistrate, whose sense of judgment has already been called into question on too many occasions, was not just unrepentant. He displayed arrogance and utter disrespect for the law he was appointed to uphold.
Instead of taking the only route that would have left him with a semblance of credibility and resigning, Dr Peralta called a news conference on Friday to try to justify the unjustifiable.
In defiant tone, he dismissed as “insignificant” the condemnation of his actions and calls for his resignation. He simply thinks he is above it all.
As if it were not bad enough to call our reporter a “parasite of society” – is this how our judiciary view the free press in Malta? – he is now calling on the Press Ethics Commission to investigate the reporter’s behaviour.
With his behaviour, Dr Peralta has merely underlined the need for a long-overdue justice system review this government has pledged to carry out.
The public anger transcends the Peralta case, as evidenced by the several comments posted on the social media.
The judiciary (rightly) demands respect, but some of its members appear to make no effort to earn it. Certain members of the judiciary want to act like socialites, which is destroying public confidence in the office they hold.
It is the norm for members of the public called to court to waste hours on end waiting, having their cases flippantly adjourned or being treated like schoolchildren at the whims of the judiciary. People have had enough.
There have been too many scandals concerning members of the judiciary in recent years, clearly showing that some do not fear anybody or anything. Some members, a minority thankfully, need to learn that the safeguards guaranteeing their independence do not give them the right to do as they please.
Let’s not forget that Dr Peralta even instructed the police to arrest a Times of Malta reporter for trying to report the incident, a move described as “illegal and abusive” by Parliamentary Secretary Owen Bonnici.
The way the police reacted to the magistrate’s orders is symptomatic of the culture of dealing with the untouchables.
While the policemen in question handled the issue courteously, they should have used their discretion – as well as fined the magistrate for smoking below a notice saying it was illegal to do so. No one is above the law.
The Chief Justice cannot be happy with the state of the judiciary today but he must speak out. The Commission for the Administration of Justice needs to give Dr Peralta a fair hearing but, unlike previous cases, in a speedy manner.
It is crystal clear that the Giovanni Bonello reform report needs to be adopted as soon as possible.
What is less clear is whether all the members of a now tarnished judiciary have the wherewithal to make it work.