A mega Bill encompassing the entire justice reform promised before the last general election will be finalised by the end of the month and will make its way to Parliament in the coming months, Times of Malta has learnt.

The 355-page legislative amendment, seen by this newspaper, is based on the 450-point document drafted last year by retired European Court of Human Rights judge Giovanni Bonello.

The legal review is expected to be one of the most comprehensive of its kind and formed part of the Labour Party’s list of electoral promises prior to the 2013 election.

Entitled the Proper Administration of Justice Bill, the draft law is being penned by the Dean of the Faculty of Laws, Kevin Aquilina, who was tasked with including Dr Bonello’s suggested amendments.

This process was originally expected to last until about 2016. However, Times of Malta is informed the first draft of the document is expected to be discussed in Cabinet in the coming weeks.

When contacted, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici described the Bill as “a huge step forward” saying it was comparable to an entire code of law: “This addresses all the issues raised by the justice reform board headed by Dr Bonello. Is this the answer to all our problems? Well, it will be the best shot we’ve ever given it. I can’t remember a law this big ever being passed before,” he said.

To put the size of the reform into perspective, it is four times the length of the law governing the general elections and will also serve as an umbrella legislation for other reforms, such as that being discussed on drug use.

It includes some 600 articles across 43 parts, which range from amendments to the Family Court to improved access and legal aids.

Dr Bonnici said the toughest hurdles would come in the form of institutional reforms. “The biggest challenges will come when we address issues such as the way judges and magistrates are answerable to the Commission for the Administration of Justice and other similar measures,” he said, adding the Bill also touched on such issues as appointments to the judiciary and training.

Is this the answer to all our problems? Well, it will be the best shot we’ve ever given it

Many of the changes will require a number of constitutional changes, which will need a two-thirds majority to pass through the House.

Dr Bonnici said he would be holding another round of consultation with the judiciary and the Opposition once the draft was completed.

The reform will also put forward a number of ways to simplify the manner in which the courts operate to hasten decisions. Dr Bonnici said a number of these had already been brought into force, such as a facility allowing online filing of claims in the Small Claims Tribunal and the introduction of SMSs to advise lawyers when sittings are postponed.

The reasons for Malta’s low EU justice scores

Malta’s poor showing in the latest EU justice scoreboard boiled down to the resignation of a “hardworking” judge and the fact that improvements in the criminal court were not taken into consideration, Dr Bonnici said.

On Monday, Brussels said the island’s law courts had fared worse in 2013 than in 2012, taking 83 days longer to settle civil and commercial cases.

Dr Bonnici said that in 2013, the civil courts were like an engine firing on one piston, after the late Ray Pace resigned as judge following a motion to impeach him.

“The reason for these results is clear: we had a judge who resigned. When you have a small pool of judges and one leaves, you have less engine power,” he said, adding that Dr Pace used to handle an “incredible” workload.

Dr Bonnici has appointed a full-time analyst to compile an internal scoreboard because the EU review did not include the criminal courts.

New amendments introduced to the criminal courts last year had left a positive impact but he expected better results from the civil courts.

Asked about what he expected to see in the 2014 scoreboard, he said a similar one would not be out of the ordinary.

The real changes would come into force after the wider reform had been introduced.