Justice Minister Owen Bonnici this evening described as “scandalous” a situation where Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona, who is due to retire later this year, has been putting off all cases allocated to him until after his retirement.

Dr Bonnici was reacting to remarks by Justice Shadow Minister Jason Azzopardi who draw Parliament’s attention to what was taking place, saying that cases heard as early as last October had been adjourned to November this year, without specific dates for hearings.

The minister told Dr Azzopardi he was already aware of the issue, and had approached Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri about the matter.

He said that it was “scandalous” for a magistrate to refuse to work out the remaining year of his tenure, and he praised those judges and magistrates who had, in the past, handed down sentences until their very last day in office.

Dr Azzopardi joined him in appealing to Magistrate Micallef Trigona to see out his duty to the end.

The matter was raised during the debate on a Bill to amend the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure Act, in order to extend the jurisdiction of the First Hall of the Civil Court to Gozo. This would allow cases heard in Gozo to be presided over by a judge.

Dr Bonnici described the amendments, written by Professor Kevin Aquilina, Dean of the Faculty of Laws, as fulfilling the long-awaited promise of giving the Gozitan Court the same standing as the Maltese Court. Currently, all civil causes in Gozo, except for appeals, are heard before a magistrate, even if they would ordinarily be heard before a judge.

Minister Bonnici said that this, combined with the fact that it was usually novice magistrates who got their start in the Gozo Court, gave the impression that Gozitans were worth less before the law. Appeals, and matters involving Superior Courts, would continue to be heard in Malta.

Dr Azzopardi said the Opposition was in favour with the spirit and the letter of the law, agreeing with Parliamentary Secretary Justyne Caruana’s view that it represented “a historic moment”.

The Government’s decision would return to the judicial autonomy enjoyed by Gozo under the Knights of St John, thereby undoing Governor Maitland’s decision to reduce the Gozo Court into an “incubator” for magistrates that would eventually sit in Malta.

However, he suggested that witnesses who live in Malta, but who are involved in cases being heard in Gozo, should be able to give their deposition through video conferencing.

Turning to another issue, Azzopardi pointed out that, apart from Magistrate Micallef Trigona, Mr Justice David Scicluna would also be retiring this year, Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri and Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi would be following suit in 2018. European Court of Human Rights Judge Vincent De Gaetano’s tenure would also be coming to an end this year.

Dr Azzopardi asked whether the government had thought of replacements, as the appointment of a judge or magistrate was a process that could take several months.

Furthermore, both Appeals Courts were suffering from a significant backlog. In the case of the Inferior Court of Appeals, all appeals were being heard by a single judge, Mr Justice Tony Ellul, who could not possibly be expected to keep up.
The Superior Court of Appeals, on the other hand, which heard Appeals presided over by three judges, had a four-year backlog.

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