The Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government would like to clarify the caption underneath Minister Owen Bonnici’s picture carried in this newspaper on June 19, in the section ‘’Week in pictures’.

The urgent Justice Reform Bill moved in February does not only reform the way members of the judiciary are appointed but also regulates matters relating to the accountability of the members of the judiciary and their pensions. It seems that, for this paper, matters relating to the increased accountability of members of the judiciary are unimportant. We beg to differ on this point.

As has been repeatedly stated in the House and outside, the government has been meeting with the key stakeholders to come up with amendments to the Bill – which will be moved at committee stage – in order to reach as wide a consensus as possible.

The Sunday Times can rest assured that what was not done on the matter in the previous 25 years by a Nationalist government will be done during this legislature, as has been promised in our electoral manifesto.

On the matter of court experts, Dr Bonnici did not take any umbrage at all at the comments made by the Times of Malta regarding the nomination of Martin Bajada as court expert – rather, the minister views this debate as a very interesting and important one with valid points being aired by the various stakeholders and opinion makers, including the Times of Malta.

However, he did take umbrage at the dangerously misleading perception which the Times of Malta – knowingly or unknowingly – gave to its readers that the judiciary is in the pockets of court experts or that the judiciary somewhat stands to gain financially from the very same experts it nominates. This is very serious. The Ministry would like to take the opportunity again to advise this newspaper to keep in mind the crucial role it has as a leading opinion maker in society before torpedoing trust in the judiciary by allegations of rackets or, in other words, corruption, between the judiciary and the experts it nominates.

Contrary to what the Times of Malta is claiming, the government is doing something about the matter of court experts. The newly-set up Justice Department has started the laborious process of regulating the field. The Ministry would be only too happy to show the Times of Malta’s journalists the work we are doing.

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