A court expert snubbed by the Court of Appeal received about €500,000 in fees over the past six years, the Times of Malta has learnt.

The Justice Ministry has so far failed to list the judges and magistrates using the services of Martin Bajada but Minister Owen Bonnici told this newspaper the court expert was paid a total of €496,479 between 2010 and 2015.

Martin Bajada

Stressing that the judiciary operated independently from the government and that it was solely up to the members of the judiciary whom to appoint as court experts, Dr Bonnici said Dr Bajada had served as court expert for many years both under the Nationalist and the present Labour administration.

“Dr Bajada has been appointed as court expert in the criminal sphere for a number of years,” Dr Bonnici said. “During the last three years of the PN administration, Dr Bajada was paid €216,722”, he added.

“In the first three years of the Labour administration, which also included three months under the previous administration, Dr Bajada was, through his appointment as court expert by the judiciary, paid €279,757 for his work,” the minister said.

Deciding a case filed by three private individuals, the Court of Appeal ruled last week that it was not only in the interest of those making the claim but also “in the general interest of the administration of justice” that Dr Bajada’s expert report was removed from the records of the case and not given any weight.

The request was made after the three individuals learnt that Dr Bajada had a criminal record involving the falsification of documents.

Legal experts contacted by this newspaper said the judgment could have wide-ranging consequences because technical reports penned by Dr Bajada could be challenged in cases before the court.

The Times of Malta is informed that the fact that Dr Bajada had a previous criminal record had been made known to previous justice ministers under both Nationalist and Labour administrations. The matter was also reported to the Commission for the Administration of Justice.

Asked whether guidelines had been given to members of the judiciary not to use Dr Bajada’s services any longer, Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri said the judgment “is of itself sufficient guidance to the members of the judiciary on the matter in issue”.

The dean of the Faculty of Laws, Kevin Aquilina, said he expected that no court would use Dr Bajada’s services in the future.

The Chamber of Advocates said the case proved there was need of a major change to ensure the system became transparent.

The chamber had described the appointment of court experts as “a racket”, saying that what mattered was how friendly experts were with magistrates and police inspectors.

In 2013, the Bonello Law Reform Commission had proposed a complete revamp of the system.

ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com