A number of judges and magistrates are angry about their working conditions, with one of them saying this was why he boycotted the Victory Day Mass and will also boycott today's Independence Day Mass in protest.
Labour MP Owen Bonnici last week asked why the only member of the judiciary attending this year’s Victory Day Mass was the Chief Justice, whereas usually there is much healthier attendance.
Speaking to The Times on condition of anonymity, one magistrate said he has been boycotting such remembrance Masses for a long time because he was sick and tired of the present situation.
He claimed working conditions were “absolutely terrible” and the members of the judiciary were not receiving any backing from the courts’ administration or the government. His private chambers were so inadequate he was forced to work exclusively from home, he added.
“The only reason I’ve continued working is out of respect for others,” he said, regretting ever accepting his nomination to the Bench.
Since things had not changed for many years, everyone was left feeling demoralised and the low salaries did not help, he said.
Although salaries were marginally increased recently, they are still a far cry from the earnings of the British judiciary, despite Maltese magistrates having a comparatively larger workload.
Maltese magistrates earn €43,698 while judges earn €49,969. On the other hand, judges in the lowest scales in the UK make more than €100,000. Maltese ministers earn nearly €70,000 annually.
“The system needs to be completely overhauled,” the magistrate said.
Meanwhile, a judge complained that members of the judiciary were treated like “non-entities, if not punching bags”.
The government is currently working on a €1 million project in Strait Street to upgrade the judiciary’s chambers but this judge said he was never consulted about the project. “If you don’t wave your political flag in here, you are kept in the dark.”
If you don’t wave your political flag in here, you are kept in the dark.
He added that there were far more pressing issues that needed to be addressed rather than this new office block.
Another magistrate also complained about never having been consulted about the court extension project and said the move would mean her staff would have to shift all their files and documents every day from her hall to the new office. Although she described the current court house as “filthy”, she was sceptical about whether the new building would be any better.
Another judge complained about the crammed state of the private chambers and about the salaries and workload but declined to comment further, while several other magistrates preferred not to comment, with one saying the problems should be discussed in private.
Asked to react to the criticism, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry did not say whether the ministry was aware of the deliberate boycott of certain events because of working conditions. Nor did the spokesman say whether any meeting would be held to address some of the many grievances.
He said consultations on the court’s extension had been held with the court-appointed architect and the then Chief Justice Vincent Degaetano. He added that the new extension would be linked to the main court building by a bridge, provided the planning authority approved this structure.
He denied claims that the courts were filthy, adding that the court administration carried out day-to-day maintenance and long-term upgrading, as well as addressing complaints.
“Though the courts see thousands of people passing through them every day, a quick visit to the public areas of the building will reveal that describing the place as ‘filthy’ is, at best, incorrect.”