Attorney General Peter Grech has defended his office’s role in an alleged domestic abuse case after a magistrate accused him of delaying the process for 16 months.
In uncharacteristically strong language, Dr Grech insisted that the Bennetti file spent more time in court than it did at his office.
“Had anyone bothered to check, it would have resulted that the Benetti file spent a total of 10-and-a-half months in court and a total of seven-and-a-half months at the Attorney General’s Office,” he said.
The file spent 10-and-a-half months in court and seven-and-a-half at the AG’s Office
The case goes back to December 2012 and concerns 38-year-old Oswald Bennetti, who was accused of injuring his partner and her daughter.
Last week, Magistrate Francesco Depasquale acquitted Mr Bennetti and in his judgment chastised the Attorney General and the police for denying the court the chance to hand down judgments quickly.
Magistrate Depasquale blamed the delay on “an archaic” system, listing the number of times the case file went in front of the AG for review.
The magistrates’ court was initially hearing the facts of the case as part of the compilation of evidence, which would eventually lead to a decision whether there was enough proof to indict Mr Bennetti.
It was only after the AG granted approval that the same court continued to hear the case and deliver judgment, which according to the magistrate could have been handed down much earlier.
But Dr Grech took umbrage at the magistrate’s conclusion and the subsequent statement released by the Chamber of Advocates that welcomed the judgment.
He insisted the comparison of the time a file spent at the AG’s office and at the court during compilation of evidence proceedings was “ill-conceived”.
“The roles of the court and the prosecutors differ and do not necessarily require equal time,” he insisted.
Dr Grech explained that at the compilation of evidence stage the court was not deciding the case but merely hearing the evidence brought forward to it by the prosecution, the AG and sometimes by the defence in order to establish whether a prima facie case existed.
He said the AG’s role was to examine all evidence brought forward and to decide whether more evidence was required or whether a bill of indictment could be issued or whether the case could be referred to the magistrate’s court for judgment.
“It is, moreover, surprising how all this fuss about time limits is being made in circumstances where the law actually grants equal times to the court and the AG to fulfil their functions with both having the possibility of extending those time limits,” Dr Grech said.
He noted that in the Bennetti case his office used its power to extend a time limit once not to oblige the court to recall a sitting that had already been set for June 5 last year.