New amendments to the Criminal Code will enable people to appeal the Attorney General’s decision on whether they must face a trial by jury or in the Magistrates’ Court, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici has said.

He said the amendments would be proposed “imminently”, the second set of amendments to the Criminal Code since the beginning of this legislature.

Dr Bonnici was replying to questions from Times of Malta after a judge on Thursday ruled that the Attorney General’s unfettered discretion on which court should try the accused could lead to a breach of the right to a fair hearing.

The ruling was given by Madam Justice Lorraine Schembri Orland in two constitutional cases made in the course of trials by jury of Nelson Mufa and Patrick Ndubisi Nisi, both of whom are facing charges of drug trafficking.