There are 366 civil cases in court that have been waiting for judgment for more than a year and 60 per cent of these are presided over by one judge.

Figures obtained by The Sunday Times of Malta show that Mr Justice Joseph R. Micallef has 219 civil cases that have been put off for judgment for more than a year.

The judge also tops the list with the highest number of civil cases that have been waiting for judgment for more than two years and more than five years.

Of the 216 cases before the civil courts that have been waiting for judgment for more than two years, Mr Justice Micallef is responsible for 161, or 74 per cent of cases, in this category.

When contacted, Mr Justice Micallef acknowledged the disparity between the load of his pending judgments and that of other members of the judiciary in the civil courts. “The statistics cannot be denied and I am conscious of the situation because it is cause for stress even for me but I have to clarify that over the 14 years I have been a judge I have had to absorb numerous cases from former colleagues who have retired.”

Read more in The Sunday Times of Malta.