Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri does not want to comment on the Peralta case as the magistrate continues to hear cases while being investigated by the Commission for the Administration of Justice.
Dr Camilleri once again brushed off questions as to whether he will stop the magistrate doing so.
“I have nothing to say on the Peralta case,” was Dr Camilleri’s terse reply yesterday when confronted by Times of Malta after exchanging greetings with President George Abela.
“What I had to say I said in there. Listen to it, analyse it and reach your own conclusions,” he said, while wishing the journalist a happy New Year.
In the presence of the President, Dr Camilleri spoke of “another year” during which the judiciary were “under massive scrutiny” by the authorities and the public. The reference was to the judicial reform process started by the government and the more recent controversy surrounding Magistrate Carol Peralta, who had a Times of Malta journalist arrested for reporting on a courtroom party.
It is only right that people expect us to exercise authority without arrogance and show good behaviour
Magistrate Peralta’s actions earned widespread criticism and prompted the government to ask the Commission for the Administration of Justice to investigate.
Dr Camilleri said administering justice was a privilege the judiciary had a duty to conserve and make good use of.
“It is only right that people expect us to exercise authority without arrogance and show good behaviour.”
But Dr Camilleri also called for the judiciary to be treated fairly. He said the failures “or alleged failures” of the few must not be projected on the rest.
In an indirect reference to the media, Dr Camilleri urged patience so that facts are verified before conclusions are reached.
And in a moment of self-reflection he admitted that judges and magistrates were “also human and made mistakes”.
It was a similar message Dr Camilleri took with him to Archbishop Paul Cremona.
Many did not understand the burden placed on members of the judiciary, Dr Camilleri said at the Archbishop’s Palace in Valletta. This he said precluded magistrates and judges from being able to relax even in their private life.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com
Additional reporting Ivan Martin.