The government is ready to immediately introduce legal provisions providing that in minor cases, when an accused person persists in not turning up for court cases, hearings can still go ahead in absentia. 

Speaking in the Budget debate, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said such amendments had already been included in a Bill approved by the House, but he had decided not to bring them into force following objections led by Carm Mifsud Bonnici for the Opposition.

The provisions, he said, included safeguards in case of possible cases of miscarriage of justice.

But, he insisted, there had to be a change from the current system and he was sure that once this system was introduced, the number of people who did not turn up would fall drastically.

The Opposition, he said, needed to decide if it wanted change after complaining about the backlog of cases, some of which was caused by people who did not turn up.

“We are ready for change, the moment you agree with this change, I will sign a legal notice to bring it into force,” Dr Bonnici said.

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